This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the First Joint International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling, ICIDS 2008, held in Erfurt, Germany, in November 2008. The 19 revised full papers, 5 revised short papers, and 5 poster papers presented together with 3 invited lectures and 8 demo papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 62 submission. The papers are organized in topical sections on future perspectives on interactive digital storytelling, interactive storytelling applications, virtual characters and agents, user experience and dramatic immersion, architectures for story generation, models for drama management and interacting with stories, as well as authoring and creation of interactive narrative.

HANDBOOK ON INTERACTIVE STORYTELLING Discover the latest research on crafting compelling narratives in interactive entertainment Electronic games are no longer considered “mere fluff” alongside the “real” forms of entertainment, like film, music, and television. Instead, many games have evolved into an art form in their own right, including carefully constructed stories and engaging narratives enjoyed by millions of people around the world. In Handbook on Interactive Storytelling, readers will find a comprehensive discussion of the latest research covering the creation of interactive narratives that allow users to experience a dramatically compelling story that responds directly to their actions and choices. Systematically organized, with extensive bibliographies and academic exercises included in each chapter, the book offers readers new perspectives on existing research and fresh avenues ripe for further study. In-depth case studies explore the challenges involved in crafting a narrative that comprises one of the main features of the gaming experience, regardless of the technical aspects of a game’s production. Readers will also enjoy: A thorough introduction to interactive storytelling, including discussions of narrative, plot, story, interaction, and a history of the phenomenon, from improvisational theory to role-playing games A rigorous discussion of the background of storytelling, from Aristotle’s Poetics to Joseph Campbell and the hero’s journey Compelling explorations of different perspectives in the interactive storytelling space, including different platforms, designers, and interactors, as well as an explanation of storyworlds Perfect for game designers, developers, game and narrative researchers, academics, undergraduate and graduate students studying storytelling, game design, gamification, and multimedia systems, Handbook on Interactive Storytelling is an indispensable resource for anyone interested in the deployment of compelling narratives in an interactive context.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Interactive Digital Storytelling, ICIDS 2021, held in Tallinn, Estonia, in December 2021. The 18 full papers and 17 short papers, presented together with 17 posters and demos, were carefully reviewed and selected from 99 submissions. The papers are categorized into the following topical sub-headings: Narrative Systems; Interactive Narrative Theory; Interactive Narrative Impact and Application; and the Interactive Narrative Research Discipline and Contemporary Practice.

This is the first textbook dedicated to explaining how artificial intelligence (AI) techniques can be used in and for games. After introductory chapters that explain the background and key techniques in AI and games, the authors explain how to use AI to play games, to generate content for games and to model players. The book will be suitable for undergraduate and graduate courses in games, artificial intelligence, design, human-computer interaction, and computational intelligence, and also for self-study by industrial game developers and practitioners. The authors have developed a website (http://www.gameaibook.org) that complements the material covered in the book with up-to-date exercises, lecture slides and reading.

The rich programme of ICIDS 2009, comprising invited talks, technical pres- tations and posters, demonstrations, and co-located post-conference workshops clearly underscores the event’s status as premier international meeting in the domain. It thereby con?rms the decision taken by the Constituting Committee of the conference series to take the step forward: out of the national cocoons of its precursors, ICVS and TIDSE, and towards an itinerant platform re?ecting its global constituency. This move re?ects the desire and the will to take on the challenge to stay on the lookout, critically re?ect upon and integrate views and ideas,?ndingsandexperiences,andtopromoteinterdisciplinaryexchange,while ensuring overall coherence and maintaining a sense of direction. This is a signi?cant enterprise: The challenges sought are multifarious and must be addressed consistently at all levels. The desire to involve all research communitiesandstakeholdersmustbematchedbyacknowledgingthedi?erences in established practises and by providing suitable means of guidance and int- duction, exposition and direct interaction at the event itself and of lasting (and increasingly:living) documentation, of which the present proceedings are but an important part.

How the tools and concepts for making games are connected to what games can and do mean; with examples ranging from Papers, Please to Dys4ia. In How Pac-Man Eats, Noah Wardrip-Fruin considers two questions: What are the fundamental ways that games work? And how can games be about something? Wardrip-Fruin argues that the two issues are related. Bridging formalist and culturally engaged approaches, he shows how the tools and concepts for making games are connected to what games can and do mean.