The goal of the ‘Scenejo’ project is to provide an experimental platform for ‘Interactive Digital Storytelling’, which can be used to experience emerging dialogues or conversations between a number of virtual and human actors. Scenejo connects several A.L.I.C.E. chatbots in a conversational loop of turn taking, which is controlled by a software component called ‘Dramatic Advisor’.
Each virtual actor is modelled as a chatbot, which connects to a meeting point. From the perspective of the meeting point, a human actor (user input) is treated the same way as input from chatbots. For each turn, the meeting point receives ‘acts’ by every actor (bot or user). In the current version, these acts are verbal utterances generated by the chatbots or the user. The dramatic advisor selects one of these acts to be played and sent back to all actors, who then can react and step into the next turn.
By text-chat via a standard keyboard, users can join in the conversation at any time. The system has been tested with a prototype learning game finished in 2007, called the "Killer Phrase Game". The human actor (user/player) has the role of the moderator in a debate between two virtual actors, in which the main challenge is to react upon so-called ‘killer phrases’ uttered by the bots.
Currently the system is not directly downloadable, but the developers are working on a downloadable version. The tool in the recent finished version (of 2007, running the ‘KillerPhraseGame’) is available on request by first contacting the developers. http://www.scenejo.org . The architecture and the authoring process have been described in some papers: Here, and here.
Tags: Architectures