A framework for narrative adaptation in interactive story-based learning environments

  • Authors:

  • Jonathan P. Rowe;Lucy R. Shores;Bradford W. Mott;James C. Lester

  • Affiliations:

  • North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC;North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC;North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC;North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC

  • Venue:
  • Proceedings of the Intelligent Narrative Technologies III Workshop
  • Year:
  • 2010

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Abstract

A key functionality provided by interactive narrative systems is narrative adaptation: augmenting story experiences in response to users' actions, and tailoring story elements to individual users' preferences and needs. However, the task of interactive narrative adaptation is not yet well defined. There is little consensus about the key features of a general model for narrative adaptation, which results in a limited ability to draw comparisons between alternate solutions. This paper aims to synthesize a diverse range of approaches to narrative adaptation, as well as related experience management techniques from intelligent tutoring systems, in order to devise a framework for more clearly conceptualizing the general task of interactive narrative adaptation. The framework has three components: plot adaptation, discourse adaptation, and user tailoring. The conceptual framework is illustrated with examples from Crystal Island, an interactive narrative-centered learning environment for middle school microbiology. The framework is being used to inform preliminary development efforts on an interactive narrative director agent for the Crystal Island learning environment, and aims to provide a first step toward establishing a general model of interactive narrative.