Exploration of Emotion Perception in Serious Interactive Digital Narrative.

Area of Science:

• Digital learning
• Narrative psychology
• Human-computer interaction

Background:

• Children's emotional engagement is key in interactive digital narratives.
• Understanding emotional arcs can enhance learning and story preference.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore how narrative emotional arcs influence preference for serious digital stories.
• To identify optimal emotional arc designs for interactive narratives.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 474 Chinese short serious stories using natural language processing.
• Statistical analysis and supervised learning to cluster emotional trajectories.
• Generation of emotional topology and narrative design strategies.

Main Results:

• Identified six basic shapes of emotional arcs in serious stories.
• The 'N'-shaped emotional arc, with a positive end, showed the highest learner preference.
• Emotional fluctuations followed by a final uptick characterize preferred narratives.

Conclusions:

• Emotional arc design significantly impacts engagement with serious interactive digital narratives.
• The 'N'-shaped arc offers a promising model for designing future educational and serious games.
• Findings provide actionable strategies for creating more effective and engaging digital storytelling experiences.