HCC: Small: Plan-Based Models of Narrative Structure for Virtual Environments

本研究的主要目的是开发新的认知知情的基于计划的叙事行动模型，并证明这些模型既可以用来控制虚拟环境，也可以对用户对他们所描述的故事的心理模型的结果做出有效的预测。受计划心理模型和计划推理的启发，本研究在计划生成和计划相关交流的前人工作的基础上，开发了一种在面向叙事的虚拟环境中创建可理解的交互的架构。具体的研究计划可以分为两个高层次的推进：1)开发新的生成性知识表征方案来控制叙事动作，重点关注冲突和目标动态的结构。2)通过大规模的实证评估，对项目结果进行正式验证。这项工作将开发叙事的计算模型，重点放在叙事中的创造力元素(粗略地定义为连贯和违反预期)。该项目将探索这样一个假设，即许多人工制品设计中的创造力(特别是在叙事设计中)不仅是用于创建人工制品的算法的属性，也是人类用户如何体验或理解人工制品的属性。这项工作将对计算和认知之间的关系的理论和理解产生重大影响，特别是在叙事背景下。由于研究目标的多学科性质，该项目将在计算机科学和认知科学方面产生重大进展。预计由此产生的模型将作为支持混合倡议虚拟世界设计的新一代工具的基础，特别是侧重于叙事系统的生成。此外，研究还将探索使用这些模型来为基于计算机游戏的学习环境创建定制的、上下文敏感的故事情节。该项目将通过在广泛的多学科领域(计算机科学、认知科学和叙事理论)培训新的研究人员(研究生研究助理)，为科学和教育的基础设施作出贡献。这些新的研究人员将从该项目中获得对贡献学科的独特综合看法。该项目将通过参与部分由REU附录支持的正式和非正式的研究接触工作来培训本科生。

The primary objective of this research is to develop new cognitively informed plan-based models of narrative action and to demonstrate that these models can be used both to control a virtual environment and to make effective predictions about the results of users' mental models of the stories that they characterize. Motivated by psychological models of plans and plan reasoning, this research builds on prior work in plan generation and plan-related communication to develop an architecture for creating understandable interaction in narrative-oriented virtual environments. The specific research program can be divided into two high-level thrusts: 1) Developing new generative knowledge representation schemes for the control of narrative action, focusing on the structures of conflict and goal dynamics. 2) Formally validating the results from the items via large-scale empirical evaluations. This work will develop computational models of narrative, focusing on elements of creativity in narrative (as defined roughly by coherence and expectation violation). The project will explore the hypothesis that creativity in the design of many artifacts (and in the design of narrative in particular) is not only a property of the algorithms used to create the artifacts but also a property of how the artifacts are experienced or understood by human users.This work will have a significant impact on the theory and understanding of the relationships between computation and cognition, particularly in the context of narrative. Because of the multidisciplinary nature of the research objectives, the project will produce significant advances in both computer science and cognitive science. It is anticipated that the resulting model will serve as a foundation for a new generation of tools that support mixed-initiative virtual world design, particularly focusing on the generation of narrative systems. In addition, the research will explore the use of the models to create customized, context-sensitive storylines for computer game-based learning environments. The project will contribute to the infrastructure of science and education by training new researchers (graduate research assistants) in an area that is broadly multidisciplinary (computer science, cognitive science and narrative theory). These new researchers will gain from the project a unique integrated view of the contributing disciplines. The project will train undergraduates through involvement in formal and informal research exposure efforts supported in part by REU supplements.