A method for procedurally generated narratives in video games

Hagen, Lars Strange

4. term

Medialogy, Master

2014

2014-05-28

46

Dette projekt undersøger proceduralt (algoritmisk) genererede fortællinger til videospil. Sådanne metoder kan potentielt sænke udviklingsomkostninger og -tid og øge spillets genspilningsværdi. Fokus er på rollespil, hvor fortællingen ofte bærer oplevelsen. Produktet består af to dele: en historie-motor, som genererer fortællingerne, og et spil, som afvikler dem i praksis. Historie-motoren bygger historier med udgangspunkt i “heltens rejse” – en klassisk fortællestruktur med faser som kaldet til eventyr, prøvelser og tilbagevenden. I rapporten gennemgås relateret arbejde, relevant teori samt design og implementering af både historie-motoren og spillet. Løsningen blev testet med 29 deltagere og evalueret på baggrund af deres oplevelser. Resultaterne viser, at motoren i sin nuværende form ikke skaber fortællinger, der er lange eller dybe nok til for alvor at engagere spillere. Testen indikerer dog, at proceduralt genererede fortællinger som dem fra motoren kan forbedre genspilningsværdien. Undersøgelsen kan endnu ikke drage endelige konklusioner.

This project examines procedurally (algorithmically) generated narratives for video games. Such approaches may reduce development cost and time while increasing replayability. The focus is on role-playing games, where story often drives the experience. The product has two parts: a story engine that generates narratives and a game that runs those narratives in practice. The engine is built around the Hero’s Journey, a classic story structure with stages such as the call to adventure, trials, and return. The report reviews related work and theory, and it describes the design and implementation of both the story engine and the game. The solution was tested with 29 participants and evaluated based on their experiences. Results show that, in its current form, the engine does not produce stories that are long or deep enough to fully engage players. The tests suggest that procedurally generated narratives like those produced by the engine can improve replayability, but the study cannot draw firm conclusions.

[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]

procedural ; content ; generation ; narrative ; video ; game

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