MPML and SCREAM: Scripting the Bodies and Minds of Life-Like Characters

Prendinger, Helmut; Saeyor, Santi; Ishizuka, Mitsuru

doi:10.1007/978-3-662-08373-4_10

Cited by 27 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…However, relevant research is also being carried out in a range of individual disciplines, including believable facial, gesture and body animation of virtual characters [4], modeling personality and emotion [5], expressive speech synthesis [6] and control mechanisms for story and interaction [7].…”

Section: Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing Animated Agents in an Instrumented Poker Game

Schröder

Gebhard

Charfuelàn

et al. 2008

Lecture Notes in Computer Science

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Abstract. In this paper we present an interactive poker game in which one human user plays against two animated agents using RFID-tagged poker cards. The game is used as a showcase to illustrate how current AI technologies can be used for providing new features to computer games. A powerful and easy-to-use multimodal dialog authoring tool is used for modeling game content and interaction. The poker characters rely on a sophisticated model of affect and a state-of-the art speech synthesizer. Through the combination of these methods, the characters show a consistent expressive behavior that enhances the naturalness of interaction in the game. MotivationAn application area with growing relevance for AI technologies are computer games. Specifically, driving the behavior of non-player characters raises a whole range of challenges, such as interaction design, emotion modeling, figure animation, and speech synthesis [1].Some research projects address these problems in combination, such as the interactive drama game Façade [2] or the Mission Rehearsal Exercise Project [3]. However, relevant research is also being carried out in a range of individual disciplines, including believable facial, gesture and body animation of virtual characters [4], modeling personality and emotion [5], expressive speech synthesis [6] and control mechanisms for story and interaction [7].In the project IDEAS4Games, we investigate how modern AI technologies can help to improve the process of creating computer games with interactive expressive virtual characters. Based on the experience of a computer game company (RadonLabs, Berlin), we identified four main challenges in creating computer games: (i) fast creation of game demonstrators; (ii) localization of game content; (iii) easy interaction; and (iv) consistent quality. We address these challenges by combining, in an integrated system, flexible multimodal dialog and story modeling, sophisticated simulation of affect in real time, expressive synthesis, and rendering of 3D virtual characters.We explain the concept of the integrated game demonstrator before providing some details about the individual component technologies.

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Section: Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing Animated Agents in an Instrumented Poker Game

Schröder

Gebhard

Charfuelàn

et al. 2008

Lecture Notes in Computer Science

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“…In [18], Prendinger et al discuss the systems MPML and SCREAM, an approach of scripting the bodies and minds of life-like characters.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

STEP: a Scripting Language for Embodied Agents

Huang

Eliëns

Visser

2004

Cognitive Technologies

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Summary. In this chapter we propose a scripting language, called STEP, for embodied agents, in particular for their communicative acts like gestures and postures. Based on the formal semantics of dynamic logic, STEP has a solid semantic foundation, in spite of a rich number of variants of the compositional operators and interaction facilities on worlds. STEP has been implemented in the distributed logic programming language DLP, a tool for the implementation of 3D web agents. In this chapter, we discuss principles of scripting language design for embodied agents and several aspects of the application of STEP.

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“…The Multi-modal Presentation Markup Language (MPML), for instance, has been designed so that ordinary people can write multi-modal character contents most easily like they write a variety of web contents using HTML. Moreover, MPML offers a visual editor that allows one to script interactive multi-character presentations in a drag-and-drop fashion using a graphical representation of the presentation flow [48]. MPML also provides an interface to the Scripting Emotion-based Agent Minds (SCREAM) system that enables authors to specify the propositional attitudes and affect-related processes of a character's (synthetic) brain [48].…”

Section: Authoring Life-like Charactersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, MPML offers a visual editor that allows one to script interactive multi-character presentations in a drag-and-drop fashion using a graphical representation of the presentation flow [48]. MPML also provides an interface to the Scripting Emotion-based Agent Minds (SCREAM) system that enables authors to specify the propositional attitudes and affect-related processes of a character's (synthetic) brain [48]. While MPML typically uses the Microsoft Agent package to control animated characters [40], the Galatea software toolkit allows authors to personalize core features of a facial spoken dialogue agent [31].…”

Section: Authoring Life-like Charactersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Introducing the Cast for Social Computing: Life-Like Characters

Prendinger

Ishizuka

2004

Cognitive Technologies

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Summary. Life-like characters are one of the most exciting technologies for humancomputer interface applications. They convincingly take the roles of virtual presenters, synthetic actors and sales personas, teammates and tutors. A common characteristic underlying their believability or life-likeness as conversational partners is computational models that provide them with affective functions such as synthetic emotions and personalities, and implement human interactive behavior or presentation skills. In social computing, a paradigm that aims to support the tendency of humans to interact with computers as social actors, life-like characters are key. They may embody the interface between humans and computers, and thus improve the otherwise poor communicative capabilities of computational devices.The success of life-like character applications today relies relies on the careful crafting of their designers, mostly programmers. The wide dissemination of life-like character technology in interactive systems, however, will greatly depend on the availability of tools that facilitate scripting of intelligent life-like behavior. The core tasks include the synchronization of synthetic speech and gestures, the expression of emotion and personality by means of body movement and facial display, the coordination of the embodied conversational behavior of multiple characters possibly including the user, and the design of artificial minds for synthetic characters.In this chapter we will first describe what life-like characters are, and how they differ from related synthetic entities. We will then explain how life-like character technologies may change and improve the interaction between humans and computers. Next, we report on some of the most promising character scripting and representation languages as well as authoring tools currently available. After that, the most successful life-like character systems are briefly introduced, demonstrating the wide range of applications where embodied agents are at work. Some final remarks on this highly active research field conclude this introductory chapter. Helmut Prendinger and Mitsuru Ishizuka

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MPML and SCREAM: Scripting the Bodies and Minds of Life-Like Characters

Cited by 27 publications

References 19 publications

Enhancing Animated Agents in an Instrumented Poker Game

Enhancing Animated Agents in an Instrumented Poker Game

STEP: a Scripting Language for Embodied Agents

Introducing the Cast for Social Computing: Life-Like Characters

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