Interaction Methods for Interactive Storytelling

• How can social networks be effectively used as interaction platforms for collaborative storytelling?
• What natural language interfaces enable users to freely interact with virtual characters via text or speech?
• How can multimodal systems integrate multiple interaction methods while maintaining narrative coherence?
• What approaches enable multi-user interaction without requiring manually created branching story structures?
• How can interface design balance simplicity with robust interaction mechanisms that don't restrict creativity?

This research explores multiple interaction paradigms for interactive storytelling, each addressing different aspects of user engagement and narrative participation. The work investigates how emerging technologies and communication platforms can be adapted to create more natural and accessible interfaces for interactive narratives.

One direction examines social networks as interaction platforms, allowing users to influence stories through familiar social media interfaces. The system enables users to comment, suggest actions, and interact with narratives through platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, using the functionalities of each platform (direct comments, hashtags, or posts) to communicate story preferences and influence plot development.

Another approach develops natural language interfaces for interactive television and cinema, enabling multi-user interaction through text or speech. Users can freely communicate with virtual characters using natural language, with the system processing suggestions and integrating them into the narrative generation process. This supports both local interaction through mobile devices and remote participation through broadcast media.

The research also investigates multimodal, multi-user, and adaptive interaction systems that integrate multiple input methods (speech, gestures, text, and sketches), creating flexible interaction servers that support diverse user preferences and capabilities while maintaining coherent narrative experiences across multiple simultaneous users.

A unique contribution is the development of non-branching interactive comics that generate dynamic narratives in comic book format. This approach allows user interaction and story variation without requiring manually created branching structures, enabling users to influence narrative outcomes while the system maintains visual and narrative continuity through procedural panel generation.

Non-Branching Interactive Comics

System generating dynamic interactive narratives in comic book format with user interaction capabilities