Welcome to the website of the ETC Applied Research Team (or ETC ART for short). We have spent the Fall researching characters and emotions in computer and video games.

We have written a paper on how improvisational theater can be used in the design of massively multiplayer online games to evoke emergent stories with emotional impact.

Original High-Level Goal:

To research character and emotion in online games from a fresh perspective (Art & Drama) and to write a research paper that provides practical applications to game design.

Paper Title:

Emergent Stories in Massively
Multiplayer Online Games:
Using Improvisational Techniques
to Design for Emotional Impact

Screenshots (top to bottom): Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided (LucasArts/Sony Online Entertainment), Sims 2.0 (Electronic Arts/Maxis), Ico (Sony Computer Entertainment Inc), Sims 2.0 (EA/Maxis).