Interdisciplinary Analysis

When we want to build computer models for any kind of human behaviour, whether automated or not, we must turn to realistic source material as a basis for our work. All too often, bastions within the ivory tower ensure that people with expert knowledge don't collaborate in ways that combine their respective disciplines. Seif El-Nasr, coordinator of the SIAT GameLab (now EMIEE), writes convincingly from a multi-disciplinary point of view, combining a formal computer science education with film and theatre training.

Her paper on "Interaction, Narrative, and Drama" starts by examining various forms of filmic flow. Flow, of course, is that amazingly concise term that encapsulates that state of being absorbed at peak capacity in a task. Coined by Csikszentmihalyi in 1990, it has been found in
film-land by Boorstin, who finds the "voyeuristic eye," the "vicarious eye," and the "visceral eye" describe the differing sense of engagement a viewer can have. Seif El-Nasr moves on to the debate by game developers over the sense of fun and engagement felt by the player of a video game. Developing this kind of theory is crucial to inform game designers in their efforts. Seif El-Nasr identifies a lack of theory and game design behind the "vicarious eye" type of pleasure, that "feeling of empathy through an understanding of characters’ emotions and choices." This could be because allowing the user to be surprised or learn along side a character, or cause them to respond emotionally to a character's actions (the voyeuristic and visceral eye, respectively) are more easily facilitated by computer games.

This is just one example of how Seif El-Nasr bridges filmic theory and game design theory. Other examples include Stanislavski's acting and directing theories. From this theoretic background, she proposes several dramatic techniques that can be used in video games to connect the player and the characters. These include: the ticking clock, character tactics, character goals. Useful definition of story engine methodology and agent models are presented.

While this is not a complete review of this paper, it covers its highlights, especially one of its most notable highlights, that of a comprehensive interdisciplinary approach to the work. That combination provides a legitimate real world set of experiences that ground the theory.

[paper]