Minuano: A Fuzzy-Logic-Based Drama Manager
Marcio Ribeiro Justo, João Ricardo Bittencourt · 2011
This paper describes Minuano - a fuzzy-logic-based drama management architecture model for interactive storytelling. Minuano uses Freytag's dramatic analysis, Tobias' master plots and Vogler's archetypes as rule source for beat generation. This architecture maintains story consistency using Fuzzy Logic for character selection, act transition and tension level. This model was implemented in a Java prototype, using XML for story world specification, JSON for scenario description and FuzzyF as rule base and inference engine for the drama manager. A case study was created with a Brazilian southern legend called Negrinho do Pastoreio, adapted for Minuano story world model, and rules extracted from Tobias' Underdog plot. Three tests are performed to evaluate drama manager influence over beat generation. In first test, with significant player actions, the drama manager creates beats with tension levels oscillating similarly to Freytag's dramatic arc, taking story forward. In second test, story stagnates because the drama manager try to advance story through conflict - selecting antagonistic characters â" but player select only minor actions and tension level never rises. The final test is a combination of the first two tests: drama manager advances story thanks to significant player actions, but from Crisis to end, player takes only minor actions and drama manager can't advance the story: tension level ceases to growing up and story stagnates. We expect that this architecture can integrate stories and games consistently creating emergent stories from a limited set of beats and rules.