Reference: Hayes-Roth, B. & Gent, R. v. Story-Making with Improvisational Puppets and Actors. Knowledge Systems Laboratory, January, 1996.
Abstract: Improvisational actors create engaging vignettes in real time, without detailed planning, and often working within constraints provided by the audience. We are exploring the possibility of creating intelligent computer agents that can be embodied as animated characters, can perform in a manner loosely resembling that of human improvisors, and can tailor their performances to abstract directions offered by users or other system components. We describe implemented systems in two paradigms. Improv Puppets improvise under players' directions in real time. Improv Actors improvise under scenarios provided in advance. We discuss potential applications related to entertainment, the arts and children's learning toys.
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