The Authoring Problem Challenges in Supporting Authoring for Interactive Digital Narratives

• Main Authors: Hargood, Charlie, Millard, David E, Mitchell, Alex, Spierling, Ulrike
• Format: eBook
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing AG 2023; Springer International Publishing
• Edition: 1
• Series: Human–Computer Interaction Series
• Subjects: Computer Science; Digital storytelling; Game Development; Interaction Design; Interactive multimedia; Narration (Rhetoric); User Interfaces and Human Computer Interaction
• ISBN: 9783031052132; 3031052137
• ISSN: 1571-5035; 2524-4477
• DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-05214-9

Authoring, its tools, processes, and design challenges are key issues for the Interactive Digital Narrative (IDN) research community.The complexity of IDN authoring, often involving stories co-created by procedures and user interaction, creates confusion for tool developers and raises barriers for n...

Table of Contents:

• Intro -- Contents -- The Authoring Problem: An Introduction -- 1 The Authoring Problem -- 2 What Do We Mean by 'Authoring for Interactive Digital Narratives'? -- 3 Where Did This Book Come from? -- 4 What is the Structure of the Book? -- 4.1 Authors and Processes -- 5 Content -- 6 Form -- 7 Research Issues -- 8 What Next for the Authoring Problem? -- References -- Authors and Processes -- Understanding the Process of Authoring -- 1 Bringing an Interactive Digital Narrative into Existence -- 2 The Authoring Process -- 2.1 Tools Make It Possible, Authors Make It Real -- 2.2 Approaches to the IDN Authoring Process -- 3 The IDN Authoring Process Model -- 3.1 Ideation -- 3.2 Pre-Production -- 3.3 Production -- 3.4 Post-Production -- 4 The Awakening of the Interactive Digital Narratives Creator -- 5 Conclusion and Further Research -- References -- Interactive Digital Narrative: The Genealogy of a Field -- References -- Authorial Burden -- 1 Introduction -- 1.1 Authoring Wall -- 1.2 Complexity Ceiling -- 1.3 Forms -- 1.4 Strategies for Unburdening -- 2 Reducing -- 2.1 Limiting Objects -- 2.2 Limiting Verbs -- 2.3 Primacy of Text or Dialogue -- 2.4 Existing Tools -- 2.5 Abstraction -- 2.6 Gauntlet -- 3 Reusing -- 3.1 Merging Branches -- 3.2 Loops -- 3.3 World Modelling -- 3.4 Cumulative Variables -- 4 Decoupling -- 4.1 Storylets -- 4.2 Modularisation -- 4.3 Episodes -- 5 Generating -- 5.1 Procedural Content Generation -- 5.2 Supplementary Generation -- 5.3 Natural Language Processing -- 5.4 Simulated Agents -- 6 Embracing -- 6.1 More Hours -- 6.2 More Writers -- 6.3 Developing Craft Knowledge -- 6.4 Developing Better Tools -- 7 Conclusion -- References -- We Make How We Learn: The Role of Community in Authoring Tool Longevity -- 1 Who Survives? Who Tells Your Story? -- 2 Bitsy Game Maker -- 3 Narrative Scripting Language ink -- 4 Twine
• 5 We Make How We Learn -- References -- The Authoring Problem is a Publishing Problem -- 1 The Publishing Problem -- 2 Book Publishing -- 3 Book Worlds -- 4 Other Worlds -- 5 Finance -- 5.1 Finance and Interactive Digital Narratives -- 6 Acquisition -- 7 Production -- 8 Distribution and Marketing -- 8.1 Subscriptions -- 8.2 Binding and Branding -- 8.3 Books in Backwaters -- 9 Tilling the Field -- 9.1 Big Names -- 9.2 An Awkward Conversation -- 9.3 The Next Book -- 10 The Problem of Publishing -- References -- Content -- Getting Creative with Actions -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Actions as Instruments of Change -- 2.1 Preliminaries -- 2.2 Transition Functions: How Actions Change States -- 2.3 Observation Functions: How States are Conveyed to Players -- 2.4 Action Functions: How Observations Lead to Actions -- 2.5 The Interactive Process -- 3 Understanding Kinds of Action -- 3.1 Different Kinds of Action have Different Target Objects -- 3.2 Building an Interactive Process Model -- 3.3 Influence Paths: How Actions Affect Narrative Experiences -- 4 Exploring the Landscape of Different Kinds of Action -- 5 Summary -- References -- Authoring Interactive Narrative Meets Narrative Interaction Design -- 1 Introduction: Towards Natural Interaction in Interactive Digital Narrative -- 1.1 Beyond the Navigation Metaphor in Interactive Digital Narratives -- 1.2 The Quest for Natural Interfaces -- 1.3 Natural Interfaces Are Not Natural -- 2 Authoring IDN for Augmented Reality -- 2.1 Authoring Tools in Virtual and Augmented Reality -- 2.2 Augmented Reality and Location-Based Storytelling -- 3 Challenges and Recommendations for IDN Authoring with Interactions in Augmented Reality -- 3.1 Understanding the Technology -- 3.2 Understanding Users -- 3.3 Interaction Patterns -- 3.4 Iterative Design and Gaps Between Creation and Experience Platforms -- 4 Conclusion -- References
• 4 Reflections on Interdisciplinary Authoring Issues Beyond Tools -- 4.1 Issues in Authoring Research -- 4.2 Authoring Stories and Algorithms -- 4.3 Pain and Frustration -- 5 Key Collaboration Issues Regarding Research on Authoring -- 5.1 Dealing with Change (Agility) -- 5.2 Sharing a Vision -- 5.3 Dealing with a Range of Data Representations -- 5.4 Fighting Opacity -- 6 Recommendations and Conclusion -- References -- The Authoring Tool Evaluation Problem -- 1 Problem -- 1.1 Example Group -- 1.2 Partial Group -- 1.3 Evaluated Group -- 2 Explanation -- 2.1 Collaboration Between Research and Authors Is Hard -- 2.2 Reader Focus -- 2.3 UX Is Not a Priority -- 2.4 UX Methods Are Poorly Suited to the Study of Authoring Tools -- 3 Solutions -- 3.1 We Need New Methods -- 3.2 The Author Experience Needs to Become a Priority -- References -- Quantitative Analysis of Emergent Narratives -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Analyzing the Rules -- 3 Analyzing the Simulation -- 4 Analyzing the Interactor's Experience -- 5 Analysis Techniques for Authoring -- 5.1 Benchmarks -- 5.2 Comparisons -- 5.3 Verification -- 5.4 Classification -- 6 Conclusion -- References -- An Ethics Framework for Interactive Digital Narrative Authoring -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Interactive Ethics -- 2.1 Related Work -- 3 Ethics in Cultural Heritage IDN -- 3.1 Ethical Considerations of Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage -- 3.2 Addressing Shortcomings of Digital Cultural Heritage Representations -- 4 Ethics for IDN Authoring -- 4.1 An Ethics Framework for IDN Authoring -- 4.2 Applying the Ethical Framework -- 5 Conclusion -- References
• Writing for Replay: Supporting the Authoring of Kaleidoscopic Interactive Narratives -- 1 Introduction -- 2 What Do We Know About Repeat Experience? -- 3 What Is a Repeat Experience of an Interactive Narrative? -- 4 The Challenge of Creating Replay Stories -- 5 How Can Tools Support Authoring of Replay Stories? -- 5.1 Supporting Repetition and Replay Within a Single Playthrough -- 5.2 Supporting Replaying "from the Start" -- 5.3 Supporting Parameterised Replay Stories -- 6 How Much Support Is Appropriate? -- 7 Conclusion -- References -- Strange Patterns: Structure and Post-structure in Interactive Digital Narratives -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Structuralism, Narratology, and Design Patterns -- 3 Structural Patterns -- 3.1 Micro Patterns -- 3.2 Meso Patterns -- 3.3 Macro Patterns -- 4 Interactive Narratives and Post-structuralism -- 4.1 The Post-structural Complaint -- 4.2 A World Without Patterns -- 4.3 Post-structural Patterns -- 5 Conclusions -- References -- Mapping the Unmappable: Reimagining Visual Representations of Interactive Narrative -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Mapping the Unmappable Through Visualization -- 2.1 Contextualizing Approaches to Visual Language -- 2.2 Visualizations and Content Type -- 3 Visualization in Popular IDN Authoring Platforms -- 3.1 Inform 7 -- 3.2 Adventure Game Studio -- 3.3 Twine -- 3.4 Storyspace 3 -- 3.5 inklewriter -- 4 Common Visualization Features -- 4.1 Visual Authoring Aid Classification -- 4.2 Types of Mapping -- 5 Conclusions -- References -- On Story -- 1 The Uses of Writing -- 2 Twice-Told Tales -- 3 Money and Media -- 4 Category Fiction -- 4.1 Why Categories Are Useful -- 4.2 What Categories Are About -- 5 Limits of Interactivity -- 6 Discontent -- References -- Form -- Authoring for Story Sifters -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Authoring Sifting Patterns -- 2.1 Procedural Sifting Patterns
• 2.2 Declarative Sifting Patterns -- 2.3 Sifting Pattern Authoring Tools -- 3 Authoring Siftable Simulations -- 3.1 Authoring Sifters for Existing Simulations -- 3.2 Co-designing a Simulation and Its Sifter -- 3.3 Designing Simulations That Incorporate Sifting -- 4 Toward Sifting Heuristics -- 5 Conclusion -- References -- Authoring Locative Narratives-Lessons Learned and Future Visions -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Place and Space and as a Narrative Palimpsest -- 3 Location-Aware Narratives and the Role of the Author -- 4 The Author as an Enabler: Crowdsourcing Site-Specific Stories from Storyteller's Participants -- 5 The Author as a 3D Artist: Distributing the Story in Time and Space -- 6 The Author as a Game Designer: Locative Storytelling in Story-Driven Games -- 7 Reconciling the Trade's Challenges -- 8 Conclusions -- References -- Shower Curtains of the Mind -- References -- Game Mechanics as Narrative Mode -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Defining Game Mechanics and Narrative -- 2.1 Game Mechanics -- 2.2 Narrative -- 3 The Role of Game Mechanics in Meaning-Making -- 3.1 Game Mechanics as Metaphor -- 3.2 Poetic Gameplay -- 4 Telling Interactive Stories Through Game Mechanics -- 5 Conclusion -- References -- Working with Intelligent Narrative Technologies -- 1 Intelligent Narrative Technologies -- 1.1 Authoring with a Narrative AI System -- 2 Understanding the Behaviour of a Narrative AI System -- 2.1 Preparation: Understand the IDN System -- 2.2 Experimenting with a Narrative AI System -- 2.3 Examining a Narrative AI System -- 3 Ways to Influence a Narrative AI System -- 3.1 Determining the System's Inputs -- 3.2 Altering the System -- 3.3 Refining or Repurposing a System's Outputs -- 4 Summary -- References -- Research Issues -- Authoring Issues in Interdisciplinary Research Teams -- 1 Introduction -- 2 IDN-Specific Features -- 3 Approach