# WhatELSE: Shaping Narrative Spaces at Configurable Level of Abstraction for AI-bridged Interactive Storytelling

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.18641 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.18641/

## Key facts

- Cited by 8 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 18 of its 92 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 25 Feb 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 18 of 18)

- [Generative Agents: Interactive Simulacra of Human Behavior](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.03442/) (2023)
- [AgentVerse: Facilitating Multi-Agent Collaboration and Exploring Emergent Behaviors](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.10848/) (2023)
- [Co-Writing Screenplays and Theatre Scripts with Language Models: An Evaluation by Industry Professionals](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.14958/) (2022)
- [LLMs Can't Plan, But Can Help Planning in LLM-Modulo Frameworks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.01817/) (2024)
- [Pretrained Language Models for Text Generation: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.05273/) (2022)
- [Synthetic Data Generation with Large Language Models for Text Classification: Potential and Limitations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.07849/) (2023)
- [Fantastic Questions and Where to Find Them: FairytaleQA -- An Authentic Dataset for Narrative Comprehension](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.13947/) (2022)
- [Humanoid Agents: Platform for Simulating Human-like Generative Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.05418/) (2023)
- [Luminate: Structured Generation and Exploration of Design Space with Large Language Models for Human-AI Co-Creation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.12953/) (2023)
- [Narrative Planning: Balancing Plot and Character](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1401.3841/) (2014)
- [Story Realization: Expanding Plot Events into Sentences](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1909.03480/) (2019)
- [Large Language Models and Video Games: A Preliminary Scoping Review](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.02613/) (2024)
- [Patchview: LLM-Powered Worldbuilding with Generative Dust and Magnet Visualization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.04112/) (2024)
- [ChatGPT and Other Large Language Models as Evolutionary Engines for Online Interactive Collaborative Game Design](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.02155/) (2023)
- [StoryVerse: Towards Co-authoring Dynamic Plot with LLM-based Character Simulation via Narrative Planning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.13042/) (2024)
- [Word2World: Generating Stories and Worlds through Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.06686/) (2024)
- [Player-Driven Emergence in LLM-Driven Game Narrative](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.17027/) (2024)
- [Authors' Values and Attitudes Towards AI-bridged Scalable Personalization of Creative Language Arts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.00439/) (2024)

## Built on by (most cited first, 8 of 8)

- [Constella: Supporting Storywriters' Interconnected Character Creation through LLM-based Multi-Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.05820/) (2025)
- [Narrix: Remixing Narrative Strategies from Examples for Story Writing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.07643/) (2026)
- [Can LLMs Generate Good Stories? Insights and Challenges from a Narrative Planning Perspective](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.10161/) (2025)
- [Texterial: A Text-as-Material Interaction Paradigm for LLM-Mediated Writing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.00452/) (2026)
- [PlayWrite: A Multimodal System for AI Supported Narrative Co-Authoring Through Play in XR](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.02366/) (2026)
- [Elsewise: Authoring Open-ended Interactive Narrative with Possibility Space Visualization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.15295/) (2025)
- [Design Techniques for LLM-Powered Interactive Storytelling: A Case Study of the Dramamancer System](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.18785/) (2026)
- [NarrativeSteward: Coordinating Delegation, Guidance, and Verification in Agent-Assisted Interactive Narrative Authoring](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.39333/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Generative AI significantly enhances player agency in interactive narratives (IN) by enabling just-in-time content generation that adapts to player actions. While delegating generation to AI makes IN more interactive, it becomes challenging for authors to control the space of possible narratives - within which the final story experienced by the player emerges from their interaction with AI. In this paper, we present WhatELSE, an AI-bridged IN authoring system that creates narrative possibility spaces from example stories. WhatELSE provides three views (narrative pivot, outline, and variants) to help authors understand the narrative space and corresponding tools leveraging linguistic abstraction to control the boundaries of the narrative space. Taking innovative LLM-based narrative planning approaches, WhatELSE further unfolds the narrative space into executable game events. Through a user study (N=12) and technical evaluations, we found that WhatELSE enables authors to perceive and edit the narrative space and generates engaging interactive narratives at play-time.