Browsing by Author "Ma, Lynshao Celina"

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    Enriched Story Experiences with a New Video Interaction Model
    (2023-04-28) Ma, Lynshao Celina; Wang, Mea; Alim, Usman; Boyd, Jeffrey Edwin
    Interactive film is a video storytelling medium lying between films and video games. It traditionally gives users choices at fixed points. This supports non-linear storylines, as the user can influence what happens in the plot by making decisions. However, such films are tightly scripted, and limited in handling users with different needs for interactions. Passive film viewers may find frequent choices disruptive, while active users may feel such choices are shallow and confining. These issues contribute to interactive films being a niche form of entertainment. To lift these restrictions of the standard choice-based interactive film, this thesis proposes a novel anytime interaction film model where users can choose when, and how much to interact. At anytime, users can activate a switching mechanism to enter an interactive mode. This opens a variety of voluntary, plot-relevant interactions in an explorable virtual environment. These broadened interactive possibilities heighten the enjoyment and depth of the system. Furthermore, the complete user experience is personalized by implicitly guiding users to suitable interactions and branching storylines. Interaction guidance streamlines the recommendation of content to adapt to different user preferences. This module is achieved with the online learning of contextual bandits, using domain-specific features. Conversely, a story guidance module performs implicit emotion recognition on the user, as they engage with conversational agents representing story characters. Powered by natural language generation, these agents can discuss any topic the user wishes. Aside from granting an ongoing source of interaction, these agent conversations help model the user’s character preferences. Based on these feelings, suitable storylines for the user can be selected with little authorial scripting. Through user studies and simulations, the worth of these features in enhancing user engagement and autonomy was realized. The new features of environmental exploration and character agents improved user satisfaction. User feedback also suggested this model’s strengthened flexibility was appealing. Furthermore, simulation of the personalization schemes indicated their potential in accommodating different types of users and scenarios. This unique anytime interaction film model eases authorial burden while granting an adaptive user experience, driving a new form of video storytelling.