Paradigms for the design of interactive drama

The essential purpose of drama, whether it is theatre, film or television, is to evoke subjective experience in its audience. The advent of interactive digital television opens up many new possibilities for the structure and presentation of drama and the way in which people may engage with it. However, the design of interactive, computer-based environments requires theoretical and practical bases that are largely new to the dramatic arts. This paper describes research which is exploring the convergence of ideas and design models from a range of traditional sources including HCl, psychology, the performing arts and media production for this new media form. It starts by reevaluating two traditional dramatic paradigms, Stanislavski's Realism and Brecht's objectivity, and contrasts them with Boal's spect-actor paradigm in which audiences become direct participants in the drama. Although existing technology cannot enable a faithful computer based implementation of the spect-actor paradigm, the model may be approachable in various ways and thus provides a useful goal for designers of interactive drama. The realities of designing and producing interactive drama are illustrated with a practical example. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the work for the design of interactive drama.