Showcasing Complex Behaviour Emergence in Multi-agent Simulation

Abstract

This thesis addresses the development of a game to showcase prior work at ETH-GTC on emergent narrative, which provides an interface to create real-time, concurrent simulations of agent behaviour in a simple, declarative fashion. First, we demonstrate a possible design process that is used to fulfil the unusual requirements of this system. We used it to explore three possible scenarios and chose one according to the process. Second, we make suggestions on how to improve the workflow derived from our own experience. Our largest contribution is a playable showcase using the NPC engine (with some minor corrections), along with a user interface and visualization in the Unity Engine. Subsequently, we evaluated it in a user study. The results indicate that the player role needs a clearer definition and players need to get used to this special type of interaction.