Experiments with the theatrical Greek chorus as a model for interactions with computational narrative systems - Narrative Intelligence - page 181

Fold 4. One chorus member reveals a “graffiti wall” associated with the scene.
Here the program is most true to the chorus metaphor: by adding his or her
own comments, the viewer in effect joins the chorus. In this early prototype
the comments are typed; ideally they would be spoken. Comments are marked
by glyphs that subsequent viewers can query to see the text that other viewers
have added.
Fold 5. Another chorus member reveals references citing sources of informa-
tion and media used in the presentation.
As TOGI plays and the viewer interacts, the program tracks the number of
times each chorus member is queried. A second tally tracks the viewer's in-
terest in a given perspective (positive, neutral, or negative). When the viewer
activates a new module, the program determines which of the module's rele-
vant chorus members to make available, focusing on those seen less often than
others in the overall presentation. Less-seen chorus members, and their atti-
tudinal counterparts in other choral sections, have a greater chance of being
available for interactions. In this way the program tries to balance perspectives
offered to the viewer. If a viewer continuously queries a chorus member who
speaks against the boycott, for example, the program is likely to make avail-
able a chorus member who speaks for it (and vice-versa). Thus the history of
interactions helps ensure access to a full range of views.
Further work
We are considering further experiments for multiuser systems, consistent with
the chorus as “the human collectivity confronting the event and seeking to
understand it” (Barthes 1985). This aim recalls the notion of “computers as
theatre,” a phrase that emphasizes the use of metaphor, so well understood
in theatrical contexts, in developing graphical user interfaces and other expe-
riential aspects of computational systems (Laurel 1991). In later work, Laurel
experimented more explicitly with theatrical spaces supported by computation
(Bates 1992; Laurel et al. 1994). Our designs reflect similar contexts for users
whose collective interactions help shape the system as it grows over time, and
whose interactions are supported by tangible or otherwise palpable objects.
One form for such experimentation could be room-scale spaces with hand-
held computational objects that mediate communication between users and to
the narrative system. Another form could be virtual spaces with multimodal,