Affective interactive narrative in the CALLAS Project

Interactive Narrative relies on the ability for the user (and spectator) to intervene in the course of events so as to influence the unfolding of the story. This influence is obviously different depending on the Interactive Narrative paradigm being implemented, i.e. the user being a spectator or taking part in the action herself as a character. If we consider the case of an active spectator influencing the narrative, most systems implemented to date [1] have been based on the direct intervention of the user either on physical objects staged in the virtual narrative environment or on the characters themselves via natural language input [1] [3]. While this is certainly empowering the spectator, there may be limitations as to the realism of that mode of interaction if we were to transpose Interactive Narrative for a vast audience.