neh vectors korsakow workshop
DESCRIPTION
A brief overview of computational narrative followed by an introduction to the (old!) Korsakow SystemTRANSCRIPT
The Korsakow System
NEH Vectors Institute 7.23.09
Labyrinth Research Initiative
USC School of Cinematic ArtsInteractive Media Division
“A story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end... but not necessarily in that order.”
-Jean-Luc Godard
Interactive narrative provides an opportunity to think about storytelling along multiple axes
(i.e., we are not shackled to a three-act structure)
Kinder-Manovich Debate
Lev Manovich: database is the opposite of narrative“[new media], are the new battlefield for the competition between database and narrative.”
Marsha Kinder: all narrative is database narrative“virtually all stories – like language itself – derive from combinations of narrative elements within a given set of parameters, which is very much in keeping with the way databases function.”
Ludology vs. Narratology
Ludology: interactivity is the opposite of narrative; we should not impose the critical apparatus of linear-based narratology on games; we need new models for thinking about game mechanics, social dynamics of gaming, etc.
Narratology: both narrative and interactivity take many forms; even traditional linear narrative has elements of (emotional, cognitive) interactivity; narrative can be emergent, algorithmic, dynamic, etc.
Narration vs. Narrative
Designing narratives in an interactive structure means releasing a degree of control into the hands of two seemingly unreliable entities:
1. the user
2. the computer
What’s the problem?
Releasing authorial control goes against cherished beliefs about artistic production: creativity, originality, authenticity, authority, etc.
Ian Flitman, Hackney Girl (generative / random)
http://www.blipstation.com
Andrea Flamini: Melodrama 8(generative / ambient)
Lev Manovich & Andreas Kratky: Soft Cinema (2005) (generative / algorithmic)
Barbara Lattanzi, HF Critical Mass
http://www.wildernesspuppets.net
Subservient Chicken | Burger King | Crispin, Porter & Bogusky
The Subservient Presidenthttp://iml.usc.edu/remix/subservientpresident
http://www.davisanddavis.org/askarnold
Georgia-Pacific, Innocent Escapes (2005) - Fallon
Dexter | Icetruck.tv (2007)http://icetruck.tv
Bob Dylan, His Greatest Songs (2007)http://www.dylanmessaging.com
Greg Roach, Virtual Cinema X-Files Game (Fox Interactive 1998)
Greg Roach, Virtual Cinema
“artificial intuition”
Chris Hales, Cause and Effect (2003)
combines interactive cinema with live theater
http://www.koti.org/tomtom/causeandeffect
Morten Schjodt, Switching (2003)
Michael Lew, Office Voodoo (2003)
http://alumni.media.mit.edu/~lew/research/voodoo
Pia Tikka, Obsession (2006) http://www.enactivecinema.net
Michael Mateas & Andrew Stern, Façade (2005)
http://www.interactivestory.net
emotional, interactive character behavior and drama-managed plot
Korsakow System
Florian ThalhoferUniversity of the Arts, Berlin
Mediamatic Amsterdam
Korsakow workshops
Korsakow 5 (2009)
Florian Thalhofer, 13terStock (2005)
http://13stock.thalhofers.com
Florian Thalhofer, Love Story (2003)http://www.lovestoryproject.com
snu
SNU
Smallest Narrative Unit
(determine granularity of project)
snu
Personal ad
Keywords describe a SNU and express preferences for other SNUs
I am a man / woman ISO man / woman
I am a cat / dog person ISO a cat / dog person
I am a smoker / nonsmoker ISO a smoker / nonsmoker
woman
woman
“I am a woman in search of other women”
woman
woman<woman>
“I am a woman in search of other women”
“I am a woman in search of other women”
dogcat>
dogcat>
“I am a dog person in search of dog or cat people”
“I am a dog person in search of dog or cat people”
(random = lack of agency)
“I am a dog person in search of dog or cat people”
man<woman>smoker>
man<woman>smoker>
“I am a man in search of women who smoke”
woman<man>cat>
nonsmoker>
woman<man>cat>
nonsmoker>
“I am a woman in search of men who like cats and don’t smoke”
nonsmoker
“I don’t smoke and I am in search of others who don’t smoke”
nonsmoker
“I don’t smoke and I am in search of others who don’t smoke”
nonsmoker<cat>
“I’m a non-smoker and I am in search of someone who likes cats”
nonsmoker<cat>
“I’m a non-smoker and I am in search of someone who likes cats”
nonsmoker<cat>
“I’m a non-smoker and I am in search of someone who likes cats”
(lack of narrative motivation)
Korsakow authoring tool
3 link interface
Many link interface + subtitles
preview text
Positive/Negative linking
No Exit
No gateway movie
Multiple lifetimes
woman
“I am a woman in search of other women”
Women
woman
“I am a woman in search of other women”
Women
gateway SNU movie rating = low
woman
“I am a woman in search of other women”
Women
number of lifes = 1
womanman-
“I am a woman in search of other women only”
Women
killer keyword -
woman<man>
Gateway SNU:“I am a woman in search of a man”
Women
Men
woman<man>
Gateway SNU:“I am a woman in search of a man”
Women
Men
gateway SNU movie rating = 1
Gateway SNUs + movie rating
Gateway movie(low rating)
Shared keywords
No movie ratings
Interactive sweet spot
Functional relation (click left, go left; type an “a,” see an “a”)
Interesting relation(non-trivial, reflective, algorithmic response)
No relation(lack of agency: random results to user input)
Download Korsakow Software http://www.korsakow.com/ksy