Of intent and action : implementing personality traits for storytelling through concept patterns

[摘要] Personality traits such as ;;kind,;; ;;aggressive,;; and ;;brave;; are integral to storytelling because they impart succinct descriptors of character personalities. Authors apply traits to characters, readers infer characters;; traits from the narrative, and readers learn the meaning of new traits. For instance, a reader can learn the personality trait ;;vindictive;; from Alexandre Dumas;;s novel The Count of Monte Cristo and then use this trait to predict or explain a character;;s behavior. The reader can also infer that a character from this novel, such as Edmond Dantes, is ;;vindictive;; without needing Dumas to explicitly describe the character with this trait. With the goal of enabling computational storytelling systems to perform the abilities stated above, I present in this thesis a concept pattern-based approach to representing intentional personality traits. I articulate the processes of trait learning, application, and inference and provide steps and insights to how these processes can be computationally implemented. I also give examples of ten personality traits represented using concept patterns inside the Genesis system and show how these traits are discovered inside well-known historical narratives and works of fiction.

[发布机构] Massachusetts Institute of Technology