Adaptive storytelling and story repair in a dynamic environment

Abstract

Most stories constructed by game designers are inherently linear in nature, with the result that player interactions have limited impact on the direction of the game narrative. Massively multiplayer online role-play games (MMORPGs) typically contain thousands of linearly scripted storylines, and stories generally do not adapt to player interactions or changes in the gameworld state. However, there is some evidence that interactive storytelling techniques may have the potential to enhance narrative experience in these online worlds. An important challenge is the need for ongoing stories to be seamlessly adapted when story plans are invalidated by unforeseen events in the game world, such as the actions of player characters. In this paper we present novel techniques for repairing story plans while maintaining plot coherence and demonstrate their ability to enhance the robustness of adaptive storytelling in dynamic game worlds. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.