iMyth

Tag: Grammar Based Universes

  • No Man’s Sky to fulfill my prophecy?

    No Man’s Sky to fulfill my prophecy?

    Quite a few years ago, I was very excited about a project called No Man’s Sky, No Man’s Sky and No Man’s Sky Grammar Based Universe. For me this represented the very first wide-open Grammar Based Universe. You may be asking, “What is a grammar based universe?” If you follow the prior link you’ll be inundated by a long winded answer. For the short attention spanned present, a grammar based universe is a fancy way of describing a procedurally-driven world. There is a lot of confusion between the terms Procedural and Automated, and there are some very big differences. Procedural means the implementation of a set of rules and expressions which complement an artists’ skills far beyond what she could create unaided. The important factor here is without human input, there can be no procedurally created worlds. Automation is allowing the computer to create with human assistance. Without going into too much theoretical detail, automation cannot efficiently create realistic CGI worlds. Only when the processes are procedural can life be breathed into the CGI creations.

    No Man’s Sky represented the very first Grammar Based Universe or an entire alternative reality created by artists with the aid of a set, (a very complicated set), of rules and expressions. Regretfully, when the game came out, the gamers were not thrilled. While the Universe itself was impressive, the game-play was not. I did not purchase the game myself so I cannot judge for myself. However, No Man’s Sky appears to be rising from the ashes and being re-released as a VR game. Not only has the game received a google of improvements, it is now multi-player. This is even more exciting since now Not only is No Man’s Sky the first grammar based universe, it is also the first grammar based immersive experience theme world. While I am assuming it still maintains its procedurally driven origins, it now maintains the three fundamental rules of being an immersive experience theme world. A theme world is any collection of all possible human experiences related to a similar concept yet bound rigidly by one central story, theme or cannon; the theme world heart.

    No Man’s Sky is A Theme World – The entire experience is based on the spirit, of exploration and discovery of the the entire universe.

    No Man’s Sky Is physical. Being shifted to VR projects the third person, over the shoulder experience, into the first person. Equipped with CGI hands, the participant is now empowered to explore the universe from the first person perspective.

    No Man’s Sky Is Collaborative. The gameplay is now multi-player. Participants may now explore and , “do things” in the universe either by themselves or with their buddies.

    No Man’s Sky Is Unrepeatable. The entire universe is open for exploration such that no two world necessarily need to be the same. I am not sure of the exact number but I believe there is not enough time in the history of the universe to explore every one of the world No Man’s Sky creates.

    No Man’s Sky is an at home, or non-location-based experience. However, I am very excited for the game to achieve popular status. I want the audience to develop a taste for massive world discovery. The exploration of an open world with occurring events is the spirit of iMyth and I believe this type of experiential media will gain in popularity.

    As this type of media continues to grow in popularity, iMyth will continue to generate new grammar based universes based in different theme worlds; some familiar and some new. With the iMyth arena, the exploration of these theme worlds can not only happen from the home but in location-based facilities where participants can participate in the fullest immersive sensory experience possible.

  • Tosca AI Engine

    Part of my research and definitely a focus of iMyth is to be a generator of immersive theme world experiences. These experiences are not games but on-going interactions between the participant the current theme world. The theme world evolves and adjusts to ensure a rewarding and enriching experience for the participant.

    With that thought in mind, enter in the Tosca AI engine created by a Canadian company, Evodant. I was turned on to them through the Gammasutra article, How one studio is building game AI to replicate a human storyteller. The article goes on explaining the goals and ideals of Evodant as they create the Tosca AI engine and their new game, Gyre:Maelstrom to show it off. Ultimately Tosca listens to the participant and watches their activities. From these behaviors, the engine creates subtext in which to influence the participant’s experience unique doctored for that individual. This is just the sort of tool, I believe iMyth is working towards. Combined with Grammar based Universes, technology such as this will help shape the experiences of tomorrow.

  • The Coming Cyberbard

    I recently copied an excerpt written by Janet M. Murray from her book Hamlet on the Holodeck. The article is called The Coming Cyberbard.

    This is the follow up portion to the text I referenced, The Shaping Role of the Human Storyteller. In this excerpt, Murray describes a possible model upon which such an immersive theme-world experience might be implemented. The concept is based on Minsky’s theory of Frames. There will be more to come on the implementation of frames to come. Upon the implementation of this model onto an immersive theme-world engine, a solid structure to generate infinite possible theme-worlds is provided.

    I am currently looking into this model not only as a foundation for Grammar Based Universes but as an authoring platforms for rewarding, narrative experiences.

  • Another “How to” for Procedural Level Generation

    Procedural generation is sprouting everywhere and authors are more than eager to share their results. This net installment comes from Nick Donnelly in his article in his article “Procedural Level Generation for the Dungeoning“.

    It is an interesting article describing why and fundamentally how he implemented procedural level generation. However, if one was to look for a more “Hands On”, technical description of what he did you would find more information in Josh Newland’s article and the GDC presentation given by Zack Aikman.

     

  • The Link between GBUs and Interactive Storytelling

    Things in the VR/AR world have been going crazy lately. My website went down recently. However, after many hours of keyboard pounding, my lovely wife was able to get my site back up and running.(Thanks Ha!)

    I was very pleasantly surprised to bump into a couple of articles written by a young programmer from Cambridge, UK, Josh Newland. He posted two very nice articles on Gamasutra about procedural world building in Unity and Interactive Storytelling.

    Josh’s first article on Procedural World Building in Unity gives a brief description the the techniques Josh utilizes to generate procedural worlds in the Unity game engine. Throughout the article he provides helpful links to explanations of the algorithms he employs and how he integrates them into one system. This is an outstanding example of how GBUs can be generated utilizing basic modern game engines.

    Josh’s second article on Games and Interactive Storytelling, provides a wonderful introduction to the currently locked puzzle of Interactive Storytelling. He quickly describes the inevitable contradiction of Player Agency Vs. Linear Narrative. Reduced to a simple sentence, “How does one generate an engaging interactive, linear narrative experience while without constraining the full immersive experience?” He goes on to describe one possible solution to resolve this by employing social agents (Smart NPC’s) to marshal an enriching interactive experience. This is the approach legendary game designer, Chris Crawford, is employing to create Interactive Storytelling.

    I find it very refreshing to encounter yet another soul who has paired procedural world building with Interactive Storytelling. Anyone familiar with this blog is aware this is the entire foundation with which this blog is written. Great Job Josh!

  • Physical Immersion

    I have a couple of article to share today that relate to the physical immersion potential of VR.

    The first article is the first “documented” experience of The Void. I have been suspect of the claims The Void has been making concerning its abilities to do what it is claiming to do. However, according to the experience in this article, it would seem The Void is on the correct path. I’m am just surprised how out of left field this technology is coming. However, given enough will and enough money, anything is possible. Go Team – Go!

    The next article, on the contrary comes as no surprise. This is a report of what they are doing at a lab at NYIT headed by CG godling Ken Perlin. The Holodeck lab is exploring the possibilities of physical immersion within the virtual environment while still maintaining a physical presence. I look for very big things to come out of this lab. I am very excited to hear about procedural pioneer Ken Perlin heading this endeavor. I look for the solutions or at least directions fro generating Grammar Based Themeworlds to come from this lab.

    Being an optomist, I am always impressed with the results of an overwhelming intention and some time an money. Miracles can happen. However, when I hear about the giants of the industry working on the same problems, I can’t help but be biased towards their solutions.

  • No Man’s Sky Grammar Based Universe

    Here is an excellent link to a presentation given by Gran Duncan of Hello Games, creators of No Man’s Sky.

    Grant Goes on to talk about his discovery, trials and tribulations and eventual love for procedurally generated art.

    This is a prime example of what I like to label as “Grammar Based Universes.” Proceduralism is so misunderstood these days. I Think such a term does a better job describing what is really going on.

  • Improbable

    During my daily wanderings I happened to chance an article about a company in London, Improbable, obtaining $20 M in funding. Great job guys! Congratulations.

    I wanted to know more about who was Improbable and what are they working on. From my very brief introduction to their website and the brief lecture provided by their founder, Herman Narula, I can guess they are a simulation company providing content for games. I am not sure if their simulations are centered about “life” simulations such as the Simms or event simulations such as sports games, Madden, Fifa, etc. .Regardless, I think they are right track establishing what I call “Grammar Based Universes”.

    It will be interesting observing how this company develops. I hope for the best for these guys and hope they start providing solutions which not only simulate life and events within the context of the Storyworld but also generate content to populate the Storyworlds based on templates and style guides provided by the world’s authors.

  • Message From Kim Davidson

    Message From Kim Davidson

    While this is a sponsored add, I think Kim Davidson does a spectacular job introducing how procedural tools, such as Houdini, can be used for generating Grammar Based Universes. I believe, in the very near future, the consumer demand for digital assets and digital content will exceed the supply of available resources. In other words, there will be more demand for game, film and other digital media assets than the world’s digital artists can supply. Procedural techniques will be necessary to meet the demand. I further believe that for interactive Storytelling to take off, the interactive experiences will probably take place within Grammar Based Storyworlds. When the story worlds are Grammar Based, or procedurally generated, the individual experiencing the Storyworld is bound only by his imagination and rules originally generated by the Storyworld creators.

  • Grammar Based Facades

    This is very cool and has me super excited

    [embedyt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS-PLQ3tfzY[/embedyt]

    This is a way to define the look, style and motif through a grammar based facade.

    When used by an interactive storyteller, entire worlds can be generated rapidly.

    Of course, down the road, more variability will be needed. However, this is a great start. I look forward to be able to use tech like this in the very near future.