Scripting Affective Communication with Life-Like Characters in Web-Based Interaction Systems

In this paper, we discuss scripting tools that aim at facilitating the design of web-based interactions with animated characters capable of affective communication. Specifically, two systems are developed. The SCREAM system is a scripting tool that enables authors to create emotionally and socially appropriate responses of animated characters. Content authors may design the mental make-up of a character by declaring a variety of parameters and behaviors relevant to affective communication and obtain quantified emotional reactions that can be input to an Animation Engine. While the default operations of a character's `mind' are based on psychological and sociological research, authors may easily modify and extend its rule set. In order to facilitate high-level scripting and connectivity with other web-based animated agent systems, the tool is written in a lightweight Java based Prolog system and Java. Connectivity is demonstrated by interfacing SCREAM with the our second syst...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2002
• Where: AAI
• Authors: Helmut Prendinger, Sylvain Descamps, Mitsuru Ishizuka
• Keywords: AAI 2002, Affective Communication, Animated, Scripting