The Authoring Problem: Challenges in Supporting Authoring for Interactive Digital Narratives

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
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
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