RIDERS: Research In Interactive Drama Environments, Role-Play and Story-telling

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The development of interactive graphical environments, mobile platforms, augmented reality and pervasive environments offers new technology resources for the creation of interactive drama, role-play and story-telling whether for entertainment, education, therapy or art. But what is the scientific and theoretical basis for these new media? How is it possible to reconcile the free interaction users expect in such environments with the satisfying narrative structures authors would like to design up front? Researchers have been trying to answer these questions in a range of often disparate disciplines: Computer Science and AI (e.g. planning, HCI, affective computing, digital gaming); Humanities (e.g narratology, digital media studies); Arts (e.g interactive installations, interactive drama); and Psychology (e.g user engagement, auto-biographical memory). Industrially, computer games companies have tried to find pragmatic and implementable solutions too in order to attract a wider range of gamers and move to more complex emotional engagement than the tension and adrenaline of shooting baddies. This network will bring together researchers in the many different disciplines involved so as to breach the current barriers between them, reduce fragmentation and create a synergy between technology development, theoretical analysis and practitioner applications. It will reach out to the creative industries in which new experiences and artefacts are being produced on a significant economic scale and to practitioners in relevant areas such as live and board-based role-play. It thus aligns with the objectives of the EPSRC Digital Economy programme.