Story Construction and

Expressive Agents in Virtual Game Worlds

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INTRODUCTION
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Paper presented at the Other Players conference (http://www.itu.dk/op), Center for Computer Games
Research, IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark. 6-8 December 2004.
Proceedings available online: http://itu.dk/op/proceedings.htm
Editors: Miguel Sicart and Jonas Heide Smith
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Fig. 1 Creation of narrative potential in virtual game worlds
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TEXT LEVELS
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THE CODE LEVEL

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Text levels in virtual game worlds

Code level Story level Discourse Narrativ
level e level
Story Construction
Designed narrative potential Played narrative potential
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Engines, The overall The states of The
framework story (if the individual narrativ
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and game there is elements in the es told
programming. one), the now of the about
These deep playing, and the
together structure the sequential actions
manifest the and the order created an the
geographic individual between the events *
structure as expressive different parts in the
well as the agents and of the game
conditions for the static narrative world. % *
the deep story simultaneously The
structure of elements, with the narrativ
the narrative, which at the movements of es are
the overall discourse the player told
story and its level characters and both in-
construction. manifest the the game '
overall autonomous and out-
story, agents through of-
possible the game. game.
side-stories
and separate
independent
stories. & " -'
Fig. 2, Text levels in virtual game worlds *
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Code level
Engine Framework Game
programming
May include - abstracted Detailed
- Physics system model of the programming of # *
- Rendering game world and individual objects
system game system specific to the
- Dialog system - the glue game.
- Sound system between the
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- Media storage game D
system programming %
- Communication and the engine(s)
layer
Fig. 3, Code level
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THE STORY LEVEL
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 THE DEEP STRUCTURE
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Sender Object Receiver

Wizard (gives quest) Dragon (to kill) Wizard (gives reward)

Subject
Player character

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