title: Playing in or out of character: user role differences in the experience of interactive storytelling.
abstract: Interactive storytelling (IS) is a promising new entertainment technology synthesizing preauthored narrative with dynamic user interaction. Existing IS prototypes employ different modes to involve users in a story, ranging from individual avatar control to comprehensive control over the virtual environment. The current experiment tested whether different player modes (exerting local vs. global influence) yield different user experiences (e.g., senses of immersion vs. control). A within-subject design involved 34 participants playing the cinematic IS drama "Emo Emma"( 1 ) both in the local (actor) and in global (ghost) mode. The latter mode allowed free movement in the virtual environment and hidden influence on characters, objects, and story development. As expected, control-related experiential qualities (effectance, autonomy, flow, and pride) were more intense for players in the global (ghost) mode. Immersion-related experiences did not differ over modes. Additionally, men preferred the sense of command facilitated by the ghost mode, whereas women preferred the sense of involvement facilitated by the actor mode.
authors.affiliation: Center for Advanced Media Research Amsterdam (CAMeRA), VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1105, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. roth@spieleforschung.de
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roth
authors.forename: Ivar
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Vermeulen
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vorderer
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Klimmt
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pizzi
authors.forename: Jean-Luc
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Lugrin
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cavazza
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D033262:Narration; D012380:Role; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D055815:Young Adult