Psycho-Drama in VR

The goal of our group is to produce immersive virtual reality (VR) experiences that engage the user as a central protagonist in compelling interactive dramas. Our dramas are designed for CAVEs or CAVE-like systems – projection-based, 3-D stereo VR displays with one large screen or multiple screens forming a virtual theater. A tracking system and ”wand,” with joystick and programmable buttons, create the interface between the user and the virtual environment (VE) [12]. Immersive VR puts the user inside the virtual world with the other characters rather than outside, viewing the world on a monitor and manipulating an avatar of herself. In a projection-based system this integrated feeling is heightened as the user automatically uses her own real body to judge the physical proximity, scale and size of any virtual object including computer controlled characters. We believe that the production of VR drama requires the adaptation and extension of existing dramatic tools, structures and methods; and the appropriation of artificial intelligence techniques for the creation of responsive, believable, intelligent agents that act as characters in the story. This paper describes the narrative and ludic structures that support our VR dramas, (we discuss the agents in as far as they as part of these structures but do not have room here to discuss details of their architecture and implementation [7]). In particular we focus on the important role emotion plays in interative narrative [29], specifically detecting and stimulating the user’s psychological/emotional state. The first section briefly touches on the relationship between form and content for interactive fiction. The much longer second section discusses the current state of the dramatic structure we follow. This theoretical structure is evolving in a tight relationship with our practice, specifically the production and exhibition of ”The Thing Growing” [2] developed by Anstey and Pape, and the production of our work in progress ”The Trial The Trail” [6].