A stroll with Carletto: adaptation in drama-based tours with virtual characters

In this paper, we present an application for character-based guided tours on mobile devices. The application is based on the Dramatour methodology for information presentation, which incorporates a dramatic attitude in character-based presentations. The application has been developed for a historical site and is based on a virtual character, “Carletto”, a spider with an anthropomorphic aspect, who engages in a dramatized presentation of the site. Content items are delivered in a location-aware fashion, relying on a wireless network infrastructure, with visitors who can stroll freely. The selection of contents keeps track of user location and of the interaction history, in order to deliver the appropriate type and quantity of informative items, and to manage the given/new distinction in discourse. The communicative strategy of the character is designed to keep it believable along the interaction with the user, while enforcing dramatization effects. The design of the communicative strategy relies on the fact that the units of the presentation are tagged with metadata concerning their content and communicative function. The description of the application is accompanied by an evaluation study based on a sample of about 300 visitors, carried out in April 2006, when the installation was open to the public for 1 week.