Story Visualization Techniques for Interactive Drama

Research on interactive drama, or interactive fiction in general, mostly focuses on character and plot development. It is important to investigate the change of plot and character responses due to interaction in interactive stories. However, it is also important to investigate the change of visual designs and setups, including lighting color, position and angle, camera angle, position, and movement, and characters’ movements and gestures, and their functions in interactive stories. While the importance of visual design is unquestionable in film and theatre, only a few research attempts have been made to devise a system that changes visual designs and setups depending on story interaction. The paper describes an approach to build story visualization systems that dynamically change visual designs/setups to suit plot and authorial intention, and to emotionally engage the participant in a dramatic experience.