Engagement Scenarios

1. Engagement Scenarios

2. Overview • ORIENT story • Plot nodes and activities • Characters • RPG inspiration • Agents as novices • Character minds and personalities

3. 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

4. The Story Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 5 Stage 2 & 3 Reporting to Space Command Stage 6 Stage 4

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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?

11. Sets – Tree dwellings

12. Sets – The Beach

13. Sets – Ravine Floor

14. Sets – Lower Terraces

15. Sets – The Elder Commune

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. Plot Node 8: Tree Felling • To “win” users need • Bag of soil • Spryte that can be felled • Axe to fell tree • Understanding that seed needs to be taken from tree and planted • Collarborial damage scenario • Conflict / horrific scenes

21. 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

22. Plot Node 10: party • Reward screens • Relies on success at plot node 9

23. Plot Node 11 • Reporting to space command • Does not need to be in ORIENT • Will be output from interaction

24. 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

25. 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.)

26. 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.

27. 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.

28. 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.

29. Tigris AcerMilitary 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

30. 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