Engagement Scenarios
Overview
ORIENT story Plot nodes and activities
Characters RPG inspiration Agents as novices
Character minds and personalities
ORIENT
Purpose Meant to make learning about integration / friendship
fun… Use of game-based learning for PSHE and citizenship To help teenagers explore how to help people fit into a
group Aim: To help teenagers learn and use friendship
strategies for aiding refugee and immigrant children into becoming part of the class / school
Uses 3D characters / sets and sophisticated software architecture (FaTiMA and ION)
Audience - 13-14 year olds
The Story
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Stage 4
Stage 5
Stage 6
Stage 2 & 3
Reporting to SpaceCommand
Basic storyline
Users know that they need to identify where the parts of the device are and mend / reconnect them Know roughly where 4 of the 5 parts of the device are Sprytes also know where these are and will tell users this
(e.g. no taboo against discussing device) Need to identify where final part is – across ravine
Users need to identify that they need to cut the tree down to cross the ravine No idea of impact of cutting tree down Cutting tree down = death Death results in rebirth as sapling
Only sprytes that can be felled can cut tree down Must be felled with appropriate axe Needs soil to sow sapling and be reborn
Plot Node 1: Introduction
Represents stage 1: Rules in one’s own culture Achieved on spaceship
Embedded in the artefacts / activities Information use, maps, greetings, reactions, etc. Space ship represents our culture
High tech Visual, textual and audio artefacts Human appearance Meets user expectations
Only character is the ORA-CLE
Plot Node 2: Learning Gestures and Music
Represents stage 1: Rules in one’s own culture Represents stage 2: Activities related to finding
out information about Sprytes along with some key differences
Continuation of approach in plot node 1 Achieved on spaceship Embedded in the artefacts / activities
Again only interactive character is the ORA-CLE
Plot Node 3: Greeting Task
Continuation of approach in plot nodes 1&2 Achieved on spaceship Again only interactive character is the ORA-CLE
Task set to provide user with competences / abilities to interact with ORIENT / Sprytes
User learns about how to greet sprytes Approach needed to ensure that user can use
input /output devices Practicing – similar to pre-game tutorials so that
when user enters games world they are able to progress
Plot Nodes 1, 2 & 3
Requires Content generation Interaction specification ORA-CLE development (could be WofOz?) NO agent mind implementation
Can occur in parallel with other ORIENT development
Not really necessary Can be provided as “live” introduction / scene
setting
Plot Node 4: Exploration
Discovering what exists in the Spryteland of ORIENT
Navigation around various sets Significant modelling activity has already occurred
Initial observations / interactions with characters Character modelling underway
Interaction? Point and click Physical / tangible interface What can the user do?
Sets – Tree dwellings
Sets – The Beach
Sets – Ravine Floor
Sets – Lower Terraces
Sets – The Elder Commune
Sprytes
Hedonistic Focus on fun and extreme
sport style danger Companionable Some conflict with each other Farming / trading / military
society No implication that they are
no or low tech In tune with nature Eco-warriors
Plot Node 5: Tree Surfing
Spryte sport User can have a go Some of the sprytes they meet are great tree
surfers and can give advice Competition will be occurring User can integrate with other sprytes in a
“crowd” scene watching and enjoying sport Tree surfing plot hooks
Opportunity to identify final missing part of the device Winner of the tree surfing gets bag of soil Final device location can be seen from place where
winning spryte gets soil
Plot Node 6: The Meal
Social activity, highly communal, users need to fit in All sprytes will be within this scene (perhaps staggered
entry) Interaction / discussion with sprytes Each spryte will seek to follow own objectives /
motivations in conversations and actions User will learn (if they pay attention…)
Only some people can fell trees That felling trees has significance in Spryte society BUT not
explicitly that it equals death That soil is prized and valuable (something worth winning) That there are other cultures (Cogs / MeKs) That ceremonial axes used to fell trees That there are conflicts between sprytes That only Abbus knows about the meteor
Plot Node 7: Dance Off
Spryte social / fun activity User can join in At dance-off set there are the tree felling axes
Anyone can take these If user asks about them will find out that
For felling tress That they belong to anyone and can be taken / used
Winner of dance off can gain prize / possession / actions from loser User could win bag of soil if dance off against relevant spryte
(e.g. Abbus) User could ask spryte to accompany them to tree (e.g.
Erepo) Dance off plot hooks
Could get bag of soil Axe for tree
Plot Node 8: Tree Felling
To “win” users need1. Bag of soil
2. Spryte that can be felled
3. Axe to fell tree
4. Understanding that seed needs to be taken from tree and planted
Collarborial damage scenario Conflict / horrific scenes
Plot Node 9: Ravine
Occurs after tree has been cut down (end Collarborial damage scene)
Users need to know to plant seed from dead tree in soil or to be told that by any sprytes present
If users do not plant seed / create new sapling they have failed to some degree as there was no need for the Spryte’s permanent death
Failure at ravine means NO party but a lot of misery and being chased away from Spryteland
Plot Node 10: party
Reward screens Relies on success at plot node 9
Plot Node 11
Reporting to space command Does not need to be in ORIENT Will be output from interaction
The Characters
Characters specified in terms of Back story Some goals / motivations Appearance
Need minds to be specified What do the minds look like?
Big 5 / OCC???
Specifying the minds / personalities will identify likely actions of characters
Ico AgorisFarmer / Land owner
Owns coffee bean plantations, sells to both Sprytes and Cogs Major supplier of bamboo used in Spryte construction. Very rich and respected with large family Should be retired but addicted to work and doesn’t want to move
on (=die) yet Employs thousands of Sprytes. Grew up with Abbus but childhood friendship has dwindled (lack
of contact rather than animosity) Served in the military. Expects people to do what he tells them to do Objective: to maintain and extend trading relationships with
anyone. Whilst vaguely in support of security/military actions against MeKs would much prefer if resources were put into improving roads / transport with Cogs.
Status: could be the felled spryte but doesn’t want to be (enjoys life, enjoys working, big family, etc.)
Abbus LustrumHead Honcho
Elder & diplomat – member of the Spryte national council. Secretive, very intelligent, wise, rarely speaks. Regularly meets with Cogs and Meks. Has contacts with off-world Is Tigris’s boss and has ordered Tigris to bring Space Command to his
house Knows about meteor. Knows where the device is. Grew up with Ico but they don’t talk anymore. Served in the military. Objective: to get device repaired. Useful that it can blow up meteor BUT
more, his objective is to link device with Spryte technology to create free energy. Abbus keen to exploit this for greater production of goods for the Cog market and more economic stability for Sprytes. In attempting to improve stability Abbus believes that the MeKs need to be kept down / dealt with. No intention of creating trading links with MeKs.
Status: CANNOT be felled BUT could provide soil necessary for felling spryte ceremony. Will not give this soil to another spryte - Erepo Cissus has already asked for it and Abbus said no as he believes that a spryte needs to prove themselves (e.g. by winning competition / status) before being given the soil. However, will give to user.
Erepo CissusSurfer / Boarder
Fun loving, treeboarding, hedonistic, uber-spryte Is an explorer & has tools and abilities useful for exploration (e.g. to help
them navigate to the ravine and to find the broken bits of the device) Knows where the some of the bits of the device are But has the character of a hedonistic snowboarding / surfing type and is
rowdy, tactless, fun, talkative, speaks before thinking much (impetuous) Friendly, but very “in your face” Very good at tree-boarding Appearance: tall, thin, wears “loud” clothes, scars somewhere, boarder
characteristics, shirt has message (in spryte language) “Against the War”
Objective: to win the Spryte TreeSurfing competition before he dies – has been in training for a long time. Will not be prepared to leave to explore unless the competition is finished.
Strongly against military action, believes MeKs should be left alone. Intensely dislikes all people who are or have been involved with the military
CAN be felled BUT doesn’t have soil. Has already asked Abbus for soil, Abbus said No. Now very negative towards Abbus.
Arduus ArduroLocal Elder
Subordinate to Abbus, but good communication exists with Abbus. Friends with Ico and ships and distributes Ico’s produce from farmland Shrewd, Charismatic, Visionary. Trader – keen on making ties and links with everyone, whether Spryte,
Cog, MeK or user. Would like to remove border restrictions with Cogs Sees tree crossing ravine as an enabler to trade, open-ness and general
interaction. Doesn’t know about meteor. CANNOT be felled Does not have access to soil, but knows various ways that it can be got.
Knows that Abbus has soil. Knows traditions. Would be interested in gaining soil to sell to highest bidder.
Friendly but ultimately selfish as really only interested in making money. Cissus has told him that he needs to get soil and although Cissus hoping
to win it, chances are he might not and if this was to be so, he would pay a high price for the soil.
Tigris Acer Military General
Equal status to Arduus. Reports to Abbus and does what he’s told Was born locally but travels around the spryte rainforest. Has strong ethos related to environment – very positive: cogs, negative:
MeKs Commands a section of Spryte elite soldiers - militant attacks on Mek
sites Aggressive Tree-surfing champion when young Objective: To bring users to Abbus as soon as he finds them. Not very diplomatic
and has interpreted Abbus’s order to bring users as meaning “use necessary force to bring them to Abbus”
To replace Abbus in the long run (long term objective, being groomed for this by Abbus)
To decimate the MeKs because they have no environmental ethics CANNOT be felled unless ordered to by Abbus
Cercops FlosBuilder
Builder Constructs Spryte buildings. Head of a small construction “company”. Personally built many of the buildings in the area including the
Elder Commune. Friendly. Loud. Doesn’t know when to shut up. Expert in traditional building techniques. Knows the required
process and has materials (including soil) necessary for tree felling.
CAN be felled but believes that this must be done traditionally with the necessary procedures and would not be prepared to do this for anyone who was not a Spryte.
Not interested in commerce, finance and believes that contact with non-sprytes detrimental. Despairs of Ico and Arduus and worries for their immortal souls as they spend so much time producing for and trading with Cogs. For this reason will not support the felling of either Ico or Arudrus