A user model for the generation of dilemma-based interactive narratives

This paper investigates a user model for a system which automatically generates interactive stories. These sto-ries are focused on dilemmas in order to create dra-matic tension. The system is provided with knowl-edge of generic story actions and dilemmas based on those clichés encountered in many of today’s soap op-eras. These dilemmas and story actions are instantiated for the given storyworld and a story planner creates se-quences of actions that each lead to a dilemma for a character (who can be the user). The user interacts with the story by making decisions on relevant dilemmas and by freely choosing their own actions. In this paper we propose a method of generating a model to predict user decisions. This model is used to optimise the user’s ex-perience- by selecting the next dilemma to be presented according to what will be the most interesting and by looking ahead when planning