Adaptive Game Play

1. Adaptive Game Play Mark Overmars Universiteit Utrecht

2. 1970 Small 2-dimensional Reaction speed Individual Hard-core gamers Now Large Virtual environment Strategic insight Groups General public What are Computer Games

3. What are Computer Games • Many different genres • Arcade/racing • Casual games • Strategy • Shooters • Simulators • Sport games • Different devices • Consoles • PC • Handhelds • Mobile phones

4. What are Computer Games • The future • Faster hardware, better displays, faster connections, … • Huge online virtual communities • Augmented reality • New forms of interaction

5. New Forms of Interaction

6. The Players • Young and old • Average age is 29 • Male and female • Study in California: 45% gamers is female • Shooters are NOT the most played games • Gaming slowly replaces television • Back to the old days • Gaming is a social activity • In groups, clans, online communities, … • Forums, chat groups, … • Gaming is a “way of life”

7. Serious gaming • Education • Training and simulation • Decision making • Marketing • Art • User interface

8. The Game Industry • Big industry • Entertainment games: revenue worldwide about 20 billion Euro • Serious games: similar numbers • Growing very fast • In the Netherlands • Fast growing • 8-10 next generation console titles • Branch organization BGIN • Interest from government • The production of a game • Costs many millions • Next generation consoles 10-30 million • Takes 2-3 years by a team of 20-100 people • Has to earn its investment back in a short period of time

9. Frustration challenges Flow Boring abilities What is a Good Game • Challenges, Story, Rules, Balance, … • FLOW • FLOW is dependent on the player

10. Adaptivity of Games • Current status • Some simple games do this (racing) • User can set a difficulty level • Problem lies in the game design process • Worlds are created by hand • Behavior and challenges are scripted

11. Process • Observing the player • His actions • Camera • Other devices (hearth beat, sweat, brain activity, …) • Create and maintain a dynamic player model • What he knows/understands • Level of frustration/boredom • What he likes or dislikes • How he reacts to certain aspects • Adapt the game to this • The world • The challenges • The difficulty • The behavior of game characters

12. Observing the Player • Detecting emotion from face images • Track eye movements • Track movements • Determine body language (try to be non-invasive and non-intruding) Vicar Vision Noldus

13. Create a User Model • Simple • Level of playing • Achieved goals and failed tasks • Level of arousal or frustration • More complicated • Relations between challenges and responses • Intelligence, experience, expected behavior • Full cognitive model • Maintain global information between sessions • Maybe even a standard that can be shared between games

14. Four levels Global type of person Experience in the game Current mood Direct behavior Global level Pace of the game Role the player plays Global setting of the game Experience Type of challenges Difficulty of challenges Current Mood Fine-tune the challenges Pleasurable frustration Adapt the rewards Direct behavior Base challenges on the errors that are made Deduct the players intent and adapt to that Warning It must remain FUN Adapt the Game Play

15. Example: Driving Simulator • Create familiar surroundings (type of car, virtual instructor, buildings, etc.) • Keep track of progress to give new challenges, change traffic density, etc. • When the user makes a mistake on a round-about, create another 200 meters further • When the user does not look in the mirrors, let a bike come from the right • …

16. Technical Requirements • Automatic world generation • Realistic algorithmic (non-scripted) behavior of computer entities • Automatic scenario generation

17. But Also • Better understanding of learning processes in virtual environments • Transfer of training • Role of artistic style and drama • Emotioneering

18. AGS Research Center • Center for Advanced Gaming and Simulation • Partners • Utrecht University • TNO • Utrecht School of the Arts • Organization • Virtual center with central location in Utrecht • About 50 people • Mission • Become the largest European research center on game research • High scientific quality, coupled with a focus on the needs from industry • Just obtained a 10 million Euro grant from the Dutch government (GATE project) • www.gameresearch.nl

19. AGS Research Program • Cover the range from technology to usability to learning to art • Modeling the World • Virtual Characters • Simulating the World • Affective Appraisal • Interacting with the World • Adaptive Game Play • Learning with Simulated Worlds • The X-factor

20. Conclusions • Adaptivity is crucial for the games of the future • Creates a larger audience for games • Improves the player experience • Leads to better learning • Adaptivity poses many scientific challenges • Observation techniques • User modeling • New game technology • AGS will take up this challenge • By combining researchers from many disciplines • By collaboration between academia and industry