| Interactive Environments | Art and Research | Syllabus |
Narrative
Description
Many groups are interested in the challenges of marrying interaction
and narrative. The goal is to preserve some of the dramatic qualities of
narrative - suspence, building tension, surprise - while adding the
sense of personal involvement and agency of interactivity. In this
panel we look at three approaches to this union with very different
goals, which in turn throw up different problems and different
solutions. Kidsroom is a "smart room" designed to immerse
children in an interactive story influenced by children's picture
stories such as Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Thing's Are.
It involves physical objects, a variety of sensors and tracking
systems, and projected computer graphics. Landscape is a
panoramic, digital video installation set in a park in Montreal by
artist Luc Courchesne who finds his creative roots in film. The
Mission Rehearsal Exercise is a military simulation of a peace
keeping scenario. It runs on a projected VR set up and makes
extensive use of artificial intelligence (AI). Some interesting
questions are high lighted up by these projects; can a story line be
both linear and interactive? what is the relationship between the
user's comfort level and sense of familiarity with the installation and
her ability to enjoy and understand it? is it better to put together a
variety of expert systems to produce your work or to build everything
from scratch?
Areas of Focus
Required Reading