Database Design and Creation for Interactive Multiplayer Events.doc

Database Design and Creation for Interactive Multiplayer Events Claire Balgemann, Dr. Michael Moshell, Mr. Jeff Wirth Department of Digital Media, University of Central Florida 4000 Central Florida Boulevard Orlando, Florida, United States claire.balgemann@ jm.moshell@ jwirth@ Abstract—In order for participants in interactive multiplayer fictional experiences to have a level of control over their choice of character, there must be a database or organizational system in place to house all possible characters and an interface that allows participants to choose from those characters available. INTRODUCTION The database system discussed in this paper was designed to be a part of the Multiplayer Story Engine (MPSE) as a part of the greater Interactive Performance form entitled Multi-Life. The MPSE and Multi-Life form are being designed and constructed by the Applied Interactive Story Graduate class at the University of Central Florida taught by Dr. Michael Moshell and Mr. Jeff Wirth. Multi-Life places many people (who are not actors) into a fictional world where each person is the protagonist of his or her own story. Multi-Life is made possible by a portable device, or prompter, that each player carries throughout the experience. The prompter is fitted with unique software, the MPSE. The character design database will be utilized as part of the orientation process within the MPSE software package. The character database allows participants to select personality traits they wish to play, choose a character that depicts those traits , and receive that character’s name, backstory, and story objective. In addition to aiding in the registration and orientation process, the prompter will alert the player of other relevant characters that he or she may want to interact with, offer help cues at the player’s command and offer general advice throughout the experience. For prototyping purposes, the character database will be housed in multiple networked computers to simu