[MUD-Dev] A footnote to Procedural Storytelling

[Travis Nixon]

Brandon Rickman wrote:

>Highlights of the symposium included:
>
>- Selmet Bringsjord's proof that "interesting stories are not computable,
>therefore cannot be generated."  (I've yet to buy the book, but it might
>be of academic interest to some of you: _Artificial Intelligence and
>Literary Creativity : Inside the Mind of Brutus, a Storytelling Machine_)


I might have to have a look at this book, because I firmly believe that
statement to be false.  It may very well be that interesting stories are not
computable by todays technology, but frankly, I've gone through some (very )
rough and preliminal on-paper tests of some ideas for doing just that, and
it certainly seems possible.  Anybody have any web-based reading on ideas of
this nature?  (mostly because I'm too lazy to go to a bookstore)

Of course, being that as much as I would like to be, I am not omniscient, so
there may be something I'm overlooking. :)

Actually, what I've been looking at trying to do so far is not so much
generate interesting "stories" so much as interesting things to see and do.
Sort of a spinoff of D&D's random dungeon generator, but of course much
cooler, and having the capability of generating at least parts of storylines
or interesting information.

As games grow more and more complex, there is a hurdle that is going to have
to be overcome.  You simply cannot create enough content quickly enough to
keep a large number of players interested for a significant amount of time
without abstracting the creation process immensely, and automating as much
of it as possible.

For example: take a look around the room you're in right now.  Look at all
the things in it, the little touches, the sticky note on your monitor, the
empty soda can over there on the desk.  (ok, maybe you're a much more tidy
person than I am and don't leave your discarded mountain dew cans on the
desk)  Really look, and try to take in all the little details of something
as insignificant as an office or a bedroom.

This level of detail is going to happen in games.  That's not even a
question in my mind.  But, I can guarantee that it's not going to happen
while artists are still building each and every item separately.  (the
computer, the speakers, the telephone, the soda can, my keyring, assorted
writing utensils, my computer beanies Byte, Web, Bit, and Ram - which were a
fathers day present from my kids, by the way, :) various sticky notes all
over with useful bits of information, like my cellphone number which I never
can seem to remember, and one that says "You I love Dad", which I think is
quite impressive considering it was our four year old who wrote it, a glass
vase that once upon a time was full of hershey's kisses, and still contains
a couple of empty wrappers...good lord, and I haven't even had to turn my
head yet, and I still haven't gone through everything that's just in my
current field of view)

The same thing will happen with "stories" in rpgs.  Those games that will
blow you away in the future won't be the ones that have human writers
writing out every plot twist and developing every character.  The ones that
blow you away will be the ones that have a "story server" generating those
kinds of things at a pace that no group of human beings could hope to match.
(well, unless you're sega and have a development staff of over 200 for shen
mue)  Novels definately have their place, and I enjoy laying down spending
time with Mercedes Lackey, David Brin, or Clive Barker as much as I enjoy
playing Everquest (probably more, as every time I play Everquest just seems
to get more and more shallow), but the pace is stepping up, and people
aren't always going to want to wait 3 years to read the next installment in
the Wheel of Time series that they read in a matter of days.

eek!  sorry for the evangelical tone.  :)  But seriously, these things are
going to happen, and they're probably going to happen a lot faster than you
think.  (although probably not as fast as I hope)

Travis Nixon, a virtual nobody who likes to think big thoughts. :)




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