Available at: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/3382
Date of Award
6-2026
Degree Name
MS in Computer Science
Department/Program
Computer Science
College
College of Engineering
Advisor
April Grow
Advisor Department
Computer Science
Advisor College
College of Engineering
Abstract
The video game industry is rapidly growing, and interest in game development is growing alongside it. Among this growing interest is a desire to include branching and emergent narratives in games. This subject is understood to be difficult, as every possible trajectory within the story creates exponential complexity. Large studios are sometimes able to create convincing implementations, but that is often with hundreds of developers and writers. Over the years, various solutions have been proposed to create frameworks and languages that aim to tackle this problem, with varying degrees of success. Some frameworks attempt this by placing the focus on individual characters (referred to as actors) and the social rules that guide their actions, making writing more modular and simulation-like. One such framework was Versu, which contained the Praxis domain-specific language for writing characters in a modular and flexible manner, but is no longer accessible. This paper will attempt to create a variation of Praxis built for a modern, more flexible setting, with the goal of making emergent narratives achievable for independent developers. It will also evaluate this model with case studies of real-world users.