Using Character Motives to Drive Plot Resolution in Interactive Stories

One of the most important parts of a story is its ending. This is the point in which all open questions and conflicts in the narrative must be resolved. This article presents a dynamic, motive-driven resolution method for interactive stories. In the type of stories supported by this method the user participates as one of the characters and influences dynamically the development of the plot. The rest of the cast consists of discrete computer characters. The resolution method takes into account the motives of the user character to decide on: (i) the outcome of all character actions and (ii) the presentation sequence for these outcomes. The decision process is based on the current story context. In addition, it addresses the need to avoid ambiguities, to preserve consistency and to create suspense during the end. This method has been implemented and tested in DEFACTO, an EU research program for the generation of a framework for interactive story design.