How VU is approaching the question of story and interactions in VR
We at Ukledo, the parent company behind VU — have come a long way in the last 5 years, taking note of what makes an immersive gaming experience and what fails to engage players.
Supporting our decision to take the simulation route in building a VR world, we are committing to building a VR experience that enables users to interact with our digital landscape in an interesting way. Linear storytelling alone isn’t enough, even if driven by the best graphics, motion-capture and voice acting; a player needs responsive and dynamic storytelling to stay engaged.
Re-visiting the subject of story in gaming is essential in an age where graphics are increasingly believable, and the initial impact of new technologies and mechanics are less and less effective in keeping players entertained.
Storytelling has, throughout human evolution, played an essential role in communication, learning and entertainment — and no group knows this better than authors and Hollywood filmmakers. Story arcs are specifically developed to influence the viewer, listener or reader in a particular emotional direction. Usually, there is some some source of conflict that is built up throughout an arc, then resolved in a spectacular conclusion. The intent of the writer being to take their audience on an emotional rollercoaster, working within one of the 7 classic modes of storytelling as established by author Christopher Booker, such as ‘Rags to Riches’, ‘Overcoming the Monster’, ‘Voyage and Return’, etc.
How storytelling applies to VR simulation
In the gaming space — also susceptible to the complexities and challenges of creating compelling story-driven content — to create the optimum, immersive experience within a game, the player needs to have some sort of autonomy and ability to choose how and when they interact with an environment, otherwise it can start to feel a bit stale. A real-world theme park rollercoaster, for example, offers a very exhilarating journey, full of twists, turns and perilous heights — but many of us have come to expect these ‘unexpected’ events whilst on board. It’s essentially a similar experience over and over again.
First-person shooter type systems suffer from the same sort of repetitive experience. A linear, ‘on-rails’ design means the user has little to no input in where they are being taken and usually have sparse interaction with anything outside the designated areas, being able to inhabit the scene and engage in a range of pre-defined behaviours as a minimum. These types of experiences are by no means boring, but are limited in their ability surprise users and ultimately keep them from feeling fully invested and attached — there just isn’t time to admire the view between rushing through objectives and action and so the bar for realistic interactivity is set pretty low.
VU’s hybrid — Gentle gameplay and interactive storytelling
The team at VU want to create a different type of beast. In a fast-paced society, people are intrinsically caught up in the hustle and bustle of life. It’s well known that oftentimes, people are so focused on their daily workload and stressors, they forget to ‘stop and smell the roses’. VU are conscious of these troublesome societal issues, and so wanted to create a world where people could take their time, soak in the atmosphere and enjoy the small details — offering a gentle reminder to enjoy the overarching experience and casually fulfil their own objectives, at their own pace.
To move away from the standard trajectory — gaming experiences must take the users’ curiosity to interact with their surroundings into account, allowing them to feel as though they are part of a wider experience and that their input has meaning. On the extreme side of the spectrum, giving users free roam with motivation left up to the individual does in reality allow for a chaotic system. We knew going in that VU would have to be a hybrid between a simulated world where you can interact with your surroundings and non-player characters freely, while being encouraged to progress with dynamic and unique storytelling in a gentle way.
Micro stories
The software we are developing ‘codifies’ a story, using a set of complex triggers from the persons playing style to create a responsive story arc, generated by the players actions and decisions. In-house we call them ‘micro stories’ — events generated by the environment that provide the user with dynamic experiences that tell unique stories and may have an impact on a larger story arc. The key here is that any activity will be optional, without the player feeling like they are being forced down a particular path.
By blending a player’s ability to manipulate the virtual world to their own will as well as develop organic and unique experiences with the AI characters within the universe, players have an opportunity to experience gameplay that is not forced, overly intense or feels like a never-ending tutorial. Instead, delving into something much deeper and reminiscent of real life.
This level of immersion can be extremely engaging and make the player feel as though everything they do within the game has consequences — both good and negative, encouraging them to cultivate their character in a way that aligns with their core values, ultimately forming a sort of bond or attachment to the game, their avatar and the players they spend time with in the virtual world.
To make the player feel like a part of the world, they need both to feel like they are important and their actions affect the world, as well as being given the freedom to co-create their experience as they choose, rather than being dictated to ‘go here,’ ‘react quickly’ and ‘collect 100 of item X.’
Why simple game artificial intelligence interactions are not enough
So, having established a realistic virtual environment, provided the user with a platform where they have some sense of agency and a level of autonomy, and engaged the user in some micro-stories — what is left to improve upon from existing simulations and top gaming titles?
We know that artificial intelligence is being utilized today to drive NPCs or non-player characters in games that require interaction or competition with other entities. Most often, these are implemented as characters that you might be shooting at, defending yourself against or are working on some behind the scenes strategy — interactions that absolutely benefit from AI, but are simple in their objectives nonetheless.
Generally, interactions with the AI algorithms in traditional video games are heuristically based, meaning they perform actions based on a certain set of criteria — quite akin to a trap. When you reach this location, these AIs will spawn, move to a certain location or perform a particular action. Some of them have a basic capability to learn built in, but by and large the requirement for something that looks sophisticated and that acts in an uncannily realistic way is just not there in most titles. This isn’t typically a problem in games that prioritise fast paced action, where there isn’t too much opportunity focus on the environment. On the other hand, participants of a virtual world or simulation shouldn’t have to suspend their disbelief to become immersed in a good VR title. The AI controlling such an experience should be deep and reactive.
Something we rarely take time for as adults is to notice the intricacies of the natural world; but if you take the time — and we recommend you do — to study ants in the grass and look at the way the clouds move and leaves rustle in the trees, you start to get a sense for how complex the world is. When we slow down, we feel more connected and immersed in the present moment. This type of natural focus is what creates an affinity for the things around us, allows us to feel more present and experience a state of flow with our surroundings. VR as a medium has the ability to deliver this magic trait, if utilized correctly.
The challenge we have taken on, is to integrate an AI that drives an entire virtual environment, facilitates engaging storytelling and breaks away from traditional AI creation in video games — infusing the simulation with elements of surprise and unpredictability to strengthen a players feeling of persistence and immersion. As soon as game AI becomes transparent and predictable, the magic that makes so special VR is lost.
Ciaran Foley is CEO of Ukledo and Immersive Entertainment, Inc. a Southern California virtual reality software company developing a new virtual engagement platform called Virtual Universe (VU).
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