A Ludic Dialogue System for Interactive Fiction

Abstract

Video games typically represent social interaction through branching dialogue systems, which have the specific goal of entertaining the player but are significantly less interactive than other systems found in video games. In this thesis, a ludic dialogue system is proposed with the purpose of increasing interactivity through the use of procedures. The ludic dialogue system consists of the movement of dialogue agents through a topic‑oriented dialogue space, using pre‑written dialogue choices similar to the ones in branching dialogue. The system was used in the prototype use case “Last Call” to prove its viability.