{"id":"https://openalex.org/W7133345812","doi":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3742413.3789218","title":"Guiding, Not Railroading: Design and Evaluation of a Multi-Agent System for Narrative Redirection in Role-playing Games","display_name":"Guiding, Not Railroading: Design and Evaluation of a Multi-Agent System for Narrative Redirection in Role-playing Games","publication_year":2026,"publication_date":"2026-03-03","ids":{"openalex":"https://openalex.org/W7133345812","doi":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3742413.3789218"},"language":"en","primary_location":{"id":"doi:10.1145/3742413.3789218","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3742413.3789218","pdf_url":null,"source":null,"license":"cc-by","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by","version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"Proceedings of the 31st International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces","raw_type":"proceedings-article"},"type":"article","indexed_in":["crossref"],"open_access":{"is_oa":true,"oa_status":"gold","oa_url":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3742413.3789218","any_repository_has_fulltext":true},"authorships":[{"author_position":"first","author":{"id":null,"display_name":"Nicolai Hejlesen J\u00f8rgensen","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0003-9024-3160"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I891191580","display_name":"Aalborg University","ror":"https://ror.org/04m5j1k67","country_code":"DK","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I891191580"]}],"countries":["DK"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Nicolai Hejlesen J\u00f8rgensen","raw_affiliation_strings":["Department of Computer Science, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0003-9024-3160","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Department of Computer Science, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I891191580"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5120444141","display_name":"Sarmilan Tharmabalan","orcid":null},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I891191580","display_name":"Aalborg University","ror":"https://ror.org/04m5j1k67","country_code":"DK","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I891191580"]}],"countries":["DK"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Sarmilan Tharmabalan","raw_affiliation_strings":["Department of Computer Science, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0002-4609-3989","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Department of Computer Science, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I891191580"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5077030428","display_name":"Ilhan Aslan","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4803-1290"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I891191580","display_name":"Aalborg University","ror":"https://ror.org/04m5j1k67","country_code":"DK","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I891191580"]}],"countries":["DK"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Ilhan Aslan","raw_affiliation_strings":["Department of Computer Science, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4803-1290","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Department of Computer Science, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I891191580"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5042476122","display_name":"Nicolai Brodersen Hansen","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2187-0104"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I891191580","display_name":"Aalborg University","ror":"https://ror.org/04m5j1k67","country_code":"DK","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I891191580"]}],"countries":["DK"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Nicolai Brodersen Hansen","raw_affiliation_strings":["Department of Computer Science, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2187-0104","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Department of Computer Science, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I891191580"]}]},{"author_position":"last","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5058228093","display_name":"Timothy Merritt","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7851-7339"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I891191580","display_name":"Aalborg University","ror":"https://ror.org/04m5j1k67","country_code":"DK","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I891191580"]}],"countries":["DK"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Timothy Merritt","raw_affiliation_strings":["Department of Computer Science, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7851-7339","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Department of Computer Science, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I891191580"]}]}],"institutions":[],"countries_distinct_count":1,"institutions_distinct_count":5,"corresponding_author_ids":[],"corresponding_institution_ids":[],"apc_list":null,"apc_paid":null,"fwci":0.0,"has_fulltext":false,"cited_by_count":1,"citation_normalized_percentile":{"value":0.27735327,"is_in_top_1_percent":false,"is_in_top_10_percent":false},"cited_by_percentile_year":null,"biblio":{"volume":null,"issue":null,"first_page":"1551","last_page":"1601"},"is_retracted":false,"is_paratext":false,"is_xpac":false,"primary_topic":{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11574","display_name":"Artificial Intelligence in Games","score":0.8012999892234802,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1702","display_name":"Artificial Intelligence"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},"topics":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11574","display_name":"Artificial Intelligence in Games","score":0.8012999892234802,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1702","display_name":"Artificial Intelligence"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10456","display_name":"Multi-Agent Systems and Negotiation","score":0.0706000030040741,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1702","display_name":"Artificial Intelligence"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11197","display_name":"Digital Games and Media","score":0.03700000047683716,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/3312","display_name":"Sociology and Political Science"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/33","display_name":"Social Sciences"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/2","display_name":"Social Sciences"}}],"keywords":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/narrative","display_name":"Narrative","score":0.8363000154495239},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/coherence","display_name":"Coherence (philosophical gambling strategy)","score":0.578000009059906},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/agency","display_name":"Agency (philosophy)","score":0.47119998931884766},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/key","display_name":"Key (lock)","score":0.44359999895095825},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/narrative-network","display_name":"Narrative network","score":0.42989999055862427},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/adventure","display_name":"Adventure","score":0.421999990940094},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/autonomy","display_name":"Autonomy","score":0.3774999976158142},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/plot","display_name":"Plot (graphics)","score":0.3443000018596649}],"concepts":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/C199033989","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1318295","display_name":"Narrative","level":2,"score":0.8363000154495239},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C41008148","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21198","display_name":"Computer science","level":0,"score":0.6344000101089478},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2781181686","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4226068","display_name":"Coherence (philosophical gambling strategy)","level":2,"score":0.578000009059906},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C108170787","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3951828","display_name":"Agency (philosophy)","level":2,"score":0.47119998931884766},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C26517878","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q228039","display_name":"Key (lock)","level":2,"score":0.44359999895095825},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C107457646","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q207434","display_name":"Human\u2013computer interaction","level":1,"score":0.4397999942302704},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C63985673","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6966216","display_name":"Narrative network","level":5,"score":0.42989999055862427},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C42133412","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q319221","display_name":"Adventure","level":2,"score":0.421999990940094},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C65414064","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q484105","display_name":"Autonomy","level":2,"score":0.3774999976158142},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C167651023","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1474611","display_name":"Plot (graphics)","level":2,"score":0.3443000018596649},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C185874996","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q269699","display_name":"Interdependence","level":2,"score":0.29989999532699585},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C154945302","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11660","display_name":"Artificial intelligence","level":1,"score":0.296099990606308},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C177212765","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q627335","display_name":"Workflow","level":2,"score":0.29350000619888306},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C12713177","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1900281","display_name":"Perspective (graphical)","level":2,"score":0.2849999964237213},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C503285160","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q858057","display_name":"Game design","level":2,"score":0.27810001373291016},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C117893075","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6966213","display_name":"Narrative inquiry","level":3,"score":0.2732999920845032},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C18762648","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q42213","display_name":"Work (physics)","level":2,"score":0.27000001072883606},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2776436953","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5163215","display_name":"Consistency (knowledge bases)","level":2,"score":0.26499998569488525},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2522767166","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2374463","display_name":"Data science","level":1,"score":0.2621000111103058},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C98045186","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q205663","display_name":"Process (computing)","level":2,"score":0.25839999318122864},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C120936955","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2155640","display_name":"Empirical research","level":2,"score":0.25519999861717224},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2780791683","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q846785","display_name":"Action (physics)","level":2,"score":0.2549000084400177}],"mesh":[],"locations_count":2,"locations":[{"id":"doi:10.1145/3742413.3789218","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3742413.3789218","pdf_url":null,"source":null,"license":"cc-by","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by","version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"Proceedings of the 31st International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces","raw_type":"proceedings-article"},{"id":"pmh:oai:pure.atira.dk:publications/83ceaf47-020a-4c3e-8db1-d87b038a3be4","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://vbn.aau.dk/da/publications/83ceaf47-020a-4c3e-8db1-d87b038a3be4","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306401731","display_name":"VBN Forskningsportal (Aalborg Universitet)","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":false,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I891191580","host_organization_name":"Aalborg University","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I891191580"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":"cc-by","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by","version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"J\u00f8rgensen, N H, Tharmabalan, S, Aslan, I, Hansen, N B & Merritt, T R 2026, Guiding, Not Railroading : Design and Evaluation of a Multi-Agent System for Narrative Redirection in Role-playing Games. in T Kuflik, S Kleanthous, L Chen, G Jaccuci & A Renner (eds), IUI '26 : Proceedings of the 31st International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces. Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), pp. 1551-1601. https://doi.org/10.1145/3742413.3789218","raw_type":"info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion"}],"best_oa_location":{"id":"doi:10.1145/3742413.3789218","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3742413.3789218","pdf_url":null,"source":null,"license":"cc-by","license_id":"https://openalex.org/licenses/cc-by","version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"Proceedings of the 31st International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces","raw_type":"proceedings-article"},"sustainable_development_goals":[],"awards":[],"funders":[],"has_content":{"pdf":false,"grobid_xml":false},"content_urls":null,"referenced_works_count":42,"referenced_works":["https://openalex.org/W1541767476","https://openalex.org/W1561304027","https://openalex.org/W1820498390","https://openalex.org/W1969990307","https://openalex.org/W1972018936","https://openalex.org/W2027549832","https://openalex.org/W2062751500","https://openalex.org/W2110411232","https://openalex.org/W2122650687","https://openalex.org/W2136538473","https://openalex.org/W2137246842","https://openalex.org/W2156827208","https://openalex.org/W2581042521","https://openalex.org/W2753930779","https://openalex.org/W3160970415","https://openalex.org/W4283159232","https://openalex.org/W4304195432","https://openalex.org/W4306809128","https://openalex.org/W4312045682","https://openalex.org/W4312320654","https://openalex.org/W4363651284","https://openalex.org/W4363671832","https://openalex.org/W4385287322","https://openalex.org/W4385574333","https://openalex.org/W4387394580","https://openalex.org/W4388748517","https://openalex.org/W4389984066","https://openalex.org/W4396600913","https://openalex.org/W4396827165","https://openalex.org/W4398796573","https://openalex.org/W4402508150","https://openalex.org/W4403621211","https://openalex.org/W4403863319","https://openalex.org/W4406018826","https://openalex.org/W4408072125","https://openalex.org/W4409100563","https://openalex.org/W4409562197","https://openalex.org/W4416154528","https://openalex.org/W4417049758","https://openalex.org/W4417069007","https://openalex.org/W6941199552","https://openalex.org/W6960260523"],"related_works":[],"abstract_inverted_index":{"Large":[0],"Language":[1],"Models":[2],"(LLMs)":[3],"are":[4,106],"poised":[5],"to":[6,42,70,90,131,135,157,239],"revolutionize":[7],"interactive":[8],"storytelling,":[9],"yet":[10],"they":[11,140],"introduce":[12],"a":[13,24,64,80,87,154,167],"fundamental":[14],"HCI":[15],"challenge:":[16],"balancing":[17],"player":[18,35],"agency":[19],"with":[20,166],"the":[21,34,92,95,98,124,136,188,192,202],"coherence":[22,214],"of":[23,54,94,114,121,170,191],"pre-authored":[25],"narrative.":[26],"Existing":[27],"LLM-driven":[28],"Game":[29],"Masters":[30],"(GMs)":[31],"often":[32],"undermine":[33],"experience":[36],"by":[37,46,61,83,148],"being":[38],"overly":[39],"compliant,":[40],"leading":[41],"disjointed":[43],"stories,":[44],"or":[45,219],"rigidly":[47],"\u2018railroading\u2019":[48],"players,":[49],"which":[50],"diminishes":[51],"their":[52,159],"sense":[53],"freedom.":[55],"This":[56],"paper":[57],"addresses":[58],"this":[59,115],"tension":[60],"introducing":[62],"SENNA,":[63],"novel":[65],"multi-agent":[66],"AI":[67,127],"system":[68],"designed":[69,143],"maintain":[71],"narrative":[72,122,175,213,246],"adherence":[73],"in":[74,187,201],"single-player":[75],"role-playing":[76],"games.":[77],"SENNA":[78],"operationalizes":[79],"prewritten":[81],"adventure":[82],"creating":[84],"and":[85,101,152,204,235,243],"using":[86],"Narrative":[88],"Graph":[89],"model":[91],"structure":[93],"story,":[96],"track":[97],"player\u2019s":[99],"progress":[100],"ensure":[102],"key":[103,174],"plot":[104],"points":[105],"met":[107],"while":[108,221],"maintaining":[109],"interactivity.":[110],"A":[111],"primary":[112],"contribution":[113],"work":[116,229],"is":[117],"an":[118,126,231],"empirical":[119],"investigation":[120],"redirection,":[123],"methods":[125,210],"GM":[128],"can":[129],"use":[130],"guide":[132],"players":[133,181],"back":[134],"intended":[137],"arc":[138],"when":[139],"deviate.":[141],"We":[142],"six":[144],"redirection":[145,184],"strategies":[146,172],"inspired":[147],"expert":[149],"human":[150],"GMs":[151],"conducted":[153],"user":[155],"study":[156,162],"evaluate":[158],"effectiveness.":[160],"The":[161],"combined":[163],"live":[164],"gameplay":[165],"within-subjects":[168],"comparison":[169],"different":[171],"at":[173],"junctions.":[176],"Our":[177,228],"findings":[178],"show":[179],"that":[180],"strongly":[182],"prefer":[183],"techniques":[185],"grounded":[186],"internal":[189],"logic":[190],"game,":[193],"such":[194],"as":[195],"offering":[196],"more":[197,241],"information,":[198],"experiencing":[199],"consequences":[200],"world,":[203],"influence":[205],"from":[206],"non-player":[207],"characters.":[208],"These":[209],"successfully":[211],"maintained":[212],"without":[215],"sacrificing":[216],"perceived":[217],"autonomy":[218],"immersion,":[220],"simplistic":[222],"\u2018hard":[223],"denials\u2019":[224],"were":[225],"poorly":[226],"received.":[227],"contributes":[230],"empirically":[232],"validated":[233],"framework":[234],"actionable":[236],"design":[237],"guidelines":[238],"create":[240],"robust":[242],"human-centered":[244],"AI-driven":[245],"experiences.":[247]},"counts_by_year":[],"updated_date":"2026-06-11T09:08:48.828518","created_date":"2026-03-04T00:00:00"}
