Bringing the Schoolhouse inside the Box – a Tool for Engaging, Individualized Training

The Interactive Storytelling Architecture for Training (ISAT) is designed to address the limitations of computer games for advanced distributed learning (ADL) and to fully realize the potential of games to become engaging and individualized training environments. The central component of the ISAT architecture is an intelligent director agent responsible for individualizing the training experience. To achieve this, the director tracks the trainee’s demonstration of knowledge and skills during the training experience. Using that information, the director plays a role similar to that of a schoolhouse trainer, customizing training scenarios to meet individual trainee needs. The director can react to trainee actions within a scenario, dynamically adapting the environment to the learning needs of trainee as well as the dramatic needs of the scene. This paper describes a prototype implementation of the ISAT architecture in the combat medic training domain, with an emphasis on the design of the director agent.