Adaptation in Applied Video Games: from Player Modelling to Dynamic Game Adjustment and Enhanced Playability
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The document discusses adaptation in applied video games, focusing on player modeling, dynamic game adjustment, and enhancing playability. It covers various aspects including types of games, player-centric adaptation benefits, and the development of adaptive features in digital games for educational purposes. Key projects and methodologies for creating adaptable game experiences are also highlighted.
Adaptation in Applied Video Games: from Player Modelling to Dynamic Game Adjustment and Enhanced Playability
- 1. Adaptation in Applied Video Games: from Player Modelling to Dynamic Game Adjustment and Enhanced Playability Boyan Bontchev Prof. at Dep. of Software Technologies, Fac. of Mathematics and Informatics, Sofia Univ., Bulgaria Marie Curie Fellow at Brainstorm Multimedia, Spain
- 2. Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016 2 9/04/2016
- 3. Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics BSc, MSc, PhD programs in: Mathematics Applied Mathematics Mathematics and Informatics Statistics Informatics Computer Science Software Engineering Information Systems AI … 3 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016
- 4. Technology enhanced learning: models, adaptability, authoring/instructional/delivery platforms and interoperability Content collaboration and access to cultural heritage - MECITV: Media Collaboration for Interactive TV; semantic technologies for cultural heritage Software services and quality - software service design and discovery; cloud; methods Digital games: MMORPG (SHIVER project of MyAlert S.L., Spain, and Rila Solutions, Bulgaria); Creating virtual business models, tools and environments (FP6 PRIME: Providing Real Integration in Multi-disciplinary Environments); Models of board games for education for ADOPTA: ADaptive technOlogy-enhanced eduTainment platform for building edutainment H2020 RAGE (Realising an Applied Gaming Eco-system) ADAPTIMES (ADAPTIve player-centric serious video gaMES) - with Brainstorm Multimedia, Spain 4 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016
- 5. 5 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016
- 6. Agenda Introduction Types of computer games Features of computer games Applied games Player modelling Dynamic game adjustment Game adaptation for an enhanced playability The ADAPTIMES project (ADAPTIve player-centric serious video gaMES) Challenges to adaptive applied games Conclusions 6 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016
- 7. Introduction First Alfred Russel Wallace has explained in 19th century how varieties and species are forced to adapt to changes in their local environment (evolution through natural selection). Principles of adaptivity and adaptability - not only for floral & animal species but also to the human beings, social life, business, etc. Adaptive software platforms dedicated to domains such as real time applications, parallel computations, technology enhanced learning and many more. Adaptive computer games for education retain interest of players (learners) by attracting their attention better than traditional approaches, by tailoring the game to the player character. 7 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016
- 8. Digital video games today An ubiquitous visual media able to recreate both tangible & intangible artifacts in a highly interactive and dynamic way Provide a powerful and increasing appeal and engagement for all user ages by possessing an integrated form of fun and play 8 The average game player is 31 years old Source: The Entertainment Software Assoc., 2014 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016
- 9. Modern video games types 1/2 Competitive versus noncompetitive games Interactive versus non-interactive games Physical versus non-physical games (Vosen, 2004) Platforms – personal computers or tablets; game consoles like Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo Wii U, or Sony PlayStation; mobile phones Playing mode - multi- or single-player; Milieu (social environment) - describes the visual type of a video game - science fiction, fantasy, horror, etc… (Apperley, 2006) 9 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016
- 10. Modern video games types 2/2 Distribution – paid or free Openness – games with open code or not Mod’s – modified games with altered content Linear vs non-linear gameplay – while linear gameplay provides fixed sequence of challenges, non-linear gameplay poses challenges that can be completed in different sequences Progressive vs emergent gameplay – some games (like ‘The Sims’) do not have story structure planned in advance and, thus, offer emergent gameplay 10 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016
- 11. Entertainment video games11 (Entertainment Software Association, 2014) 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016
- 12. Applied (serious) video games “have an explicit and carefully thought-out educational purpose and are not intended to be played primarily for amusement “ (Abt, 1970) “produced, marketed, or used for purposes other than pure entertainment; these include, but are not limited to, educational computer games, edutainment and advertainment” + “health games and political games” (Nielsen, Smith, Tosca, 2008) 12 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016
- 13. 12 structural game elements (Prensky, 2001) 1. form of fun - provides enjoyment and pleasure; 2. form of play - gives intense and passionate involvement; 3. rules – determine structure of the play; 4. goals - provides motivation; 5. interactivity – leads to learning by doing; 6. adaptivity - provides flow 7. outcomes and feedback – serve as a basis for learning 8. win states – provides ego gratification 9. conflicts, competition, challenges and opposition – give more adrenaline 10. problem solving - sparks player’s creativity 11. interaction - gives social groups 12. narrative (story) and its representation – both they serve as a source of emotional experience before, during and after gameplay 13 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016
- 14. Player-centric adaptation Player-centric adaptation in video games needs to answer some important questions: Who – player character structural and behavioral changes => requires player modelling 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016 14
- 15. Player modelling Player modelling is crucial for realization of an effective player-centric adaptation in both applied and entertainment video games. It implies: Observation of individual player’s behavior “from a contextually omniscient view” Construction and updates of a model of that player based on observation, and Intelligent game adaptation for tailoring the gameplay to the individual player. 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016 15 Source: Magerko, B. Adaptation in Digital Games, COMPUTER, July 2008, pp.87-89.
- 16. Behaviour models: flow Flow is a process of optimal human experience (based on: Csikszentmihalyi, M. Finding flow: The psychology of engagement with everyday life. New York: Basic Books, 1997) 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016 16 LowChallenge/ComplexityHigh Individual average Anxiety Arousal Flow Worry Apathy Boredom Relaxation Low Skills High Control
- 17. The flow concept based on: Kiili, K. Evaluations of an experiential gaming model. Human Technology: An Interdisciplinary Journal on Humans in ICT Environments, 2006, 2(2), pp.187-201. 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016 17 Flow experience • Concentration • Loss of self- consciousness • Transformation of time • Autotelic experience (intrinsic motivation) Flow consequences • Increased learning • Positive attitude • Exploratory behavior • Perceived behavioral control Flow antecedents • Challenge–skill balance • Action–awareness merging • Goals of an activity • Unambiguous feedback • Sense of control Task Artifact
- 18. Behavioural models: Motivations 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016 18 pleased Valence Arousal PleasantUnpleasant Activated Deactivated Approach motivation (reward) glad Avoidance motivation (punishment) happy alert excited astonished aroused alarmed afraid tense annoyed frustrated miserable depressed sad gloomy bored tired contented satisfied serene calm relaxed sleepy The core emotional space with motivations to approach or avoid a stimulus (based on Russell, J.A. A circumplex model of affect, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1980, Vol. 39, No. 6, pp.1161–1178)
- 19. Motivational intensity (Fairclough & Gilleade, 2012) 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016 19 Effort Demand Boredom Engagement Zone Overload Behavioral model of motivational intensity for game adaptation (adapted from Fairclough, S., & Gilleade, K. Construction of the biocybernetic loop: a case study. Proc. of the 14th ACM Int. Conf. on Multimodal interaction, ACM, 2012, October, pp. 571-578)
- 20. GameFlow model for assessing player enjoyment (Sweetser and Wyeth, 2005) 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016 20 Element Criteria Concentration A game should require concentration and the player should be able to concentrate on it. Challenge Games should be sufficiently challenging and match the player’s skill level Player skills Games must support player skill development and mastery. Control Players should feel a sense of control over their actions in the game. Clear Goals Games should provide the player with clear goals at appropriate times. Feedback Players must receive appropriate feedback at appropriate times. Immersion Players should experience deep but effortless involvement in the game. Social Interaction Games should support and create opportunities for social interaction.
- 21. Adaptivity in serious games for education and training 21 (ENTRExprorer project, 2011) 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016 Concentration Challenge Player skills Control Clear Goals Feedback Immersion Social Interaction
- 22. Player competence model (Silva and Behar, 2015) 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016 22 Competences Skills Abilities Know- ledge Attitudes 12 player competences: digital fluency autonomy organization planning time management communication reflection virtual presence self-evaluation self-motivation flexibility teamwork
- 23. Playing style models 1/2 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016 23 Bartle, 1996 Characteristics Keirsey, 1998 Killer Acting (on) Players = External Change / Tactics Artisan Achiever Acting (on) World = External Structure / Logistics Guardian Explorer Interacting (with) World = Internal Structure / Strategy Rational Socializer Interacting (with) Players = Internal Change / Diplomacy Idealist (Stewart, 2014) proposed a unified model of personality and play styles, based on both Bartle styles & Keirsey temperaments
- 24. Playing style models 2/2 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016 24 Relationships between Honey and Mumford learning styles and playing styles of ADOPTA (Bontchev, 2011) and Bartle Honey and Mumford Learns by: ADOPTA Bartle Activist hand–eye coordination, planning and strategizing, problem-solving, teamwork and the ability to think quickly Competitor Killer Theorist logically entering problems step-by-step, with spatial awareness and verbal & numeracy skills Logician Achiever Pragmatist planning, decision-making, testing hypotheses, strategic thinking, management skills Strategist Explorer Reflector Observing and watching reflectively Dreamer Socializer
- 25. Player-centric adaptation Player-centric adaptation in video games needs to answer some questions: Who – player character structural and behavioral changes => requires player modelling How – how adaptation will be realized => requires adaptation loop design 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016 25
- 26. Adaptation loop in applied games The game adaptation control is supposed to be run time and implicit for the player; The adaptation control should make the video game aligned to specific response patterns of individual players and to bring positive effect on playability and learning outcomes; The adaptation process runs in the context of the game and aligns adaptable game features to player-centric metrics showing: Player’s progress and performance Player’s behavior and emotions Any individual subjective input expressed by the player 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016 26
- 27. Affective feedback loop - “Relax-to- Win” racing game (Bersak et al, 2001) 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016 27 2) the system replies to the users by appropriate affective response 3) the users feel greater involvement and reinforced emotions 1) users’ emotions are expressed and communicated to the system
- 28. Measuring player’s affect Relax-to-Win (Bersak et al, 2001) used player's galvanic skin response (GSR) for measuring current level of relaxation and, next, controlled the speed of a dragon according to this relaxation’s level Recognition of emotions by measurement of: behavioral indicators - facial and voice expressions, gesture, eye/head tracking, mouse pressure, ... physiological signals of autonomic nervios system – GSR or electro-dermal activity (EDA), heart rate variability (HRV), electromyography (EMG), temperature, ... physiological signals of central nervios system – electroencephalography (EEG), magnetoencephalography (MEG), functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Positron Emission Tomography (PET), … 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016 28
- 29. Player-centric adaptation Player-centric adaptation in video games needs to answer some questions: Who – player character structural and behavioral changes => requires player modelling How – how adaptation will be realized => requires adaptive loop design What – which game features can be adapted => requires adaptive gameplay design 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016 29
- 30. Adaptable game features 1/3 1. Adaptive automation of game tasks and feedback: explicit tasks - such as objectives, goals and missions posed to the player as part of the gameplay; implicit tasks - not explicitly stated by the game interface but expected to be fulfilled; such as “stay alive”, “maximize your skills”, or “collect as many items as possible”; player-driven tasks - created by the player thanks to his/her creativity within existing limitations of given game mechanics and leading to so called emergent gameplay, with no predefined narratives. 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016 30 Source: Murphy, C., Chertoff, D., Guerrero, M., Moffitt, K. Design Better Games: Flow, Motivation, and Fun. Design and Development of Training Games: Practical Guidelines from a Multidisciplinary Perspective, 2014, p.1773.
- 31. Adaptable game features 2/3 2. Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment (DDA): DDA by means of automatic level generation - uses methods for procedural content generation. Textual and multimedia game content such as narrative, dialogues, quests, camera profiles, levels, textures, etc. is created automatically. DDA by means of modification of artificial intelligence – dynamic adaptation of difficulty of an intelligent agent by picking out AI behaviour most relevant to current player’s abilities and emotions – dynamic scripting generation; machine learning; adaptive agents. DDA by means of adjusting level content, i.e. game items for player interactions – means dynamic adaptation of level of inventory interacted by the player for specific game context, according to player’s skill acquisition – e.g. game speed adjusted to player´s boredom, frustration and enjoyment (Tijs et al, 2008). 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016 31
- 32. Adaptable game features 3/3 3. Adaptation of audio-visual effects: reflecting user’s emotional state has initially been exploited within multimedia applications like affective music players, recommendation systems and online chat applications Dekker and Champion (2007) first tried enhancing the gameplay and display of a horror game mapping directly physiological player’s responses to audiovisual game properties Grigore et al (2008) used stochastic algorithms for adapting ambient light in rooms within a video game by using psychophysiological features, namely player’s heart rate and skin conductance Garner (2013) explored various psychophysiological approaches and sound design practices for creating greater emotional experiences in adaptive audio-centric gameplay, with a special focus on correlations between fear and game sound 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016 32
- 33. Player-centric adaptation Player-centric adaptation in video games needs to answer some questions: Who – player character structural and behavioral changes => requires player modelling How – how adaptation will be realized => requires adaptive loop design What – which game features can be adapted => requires adaptive gameplay design Why – advantages of game adaptation => requires analysis of outcomes in playability and learning results 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016 33
- 34. Playability model for player experience in applied games (Sánchez et al, 2009) 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016 34 Playability attribute Attribute’s properties Satisfaction Fun, disappointment and attractiveness Learnability Game knowledge, skill, difficulty, frustration, speed, discovery Effectiveness Completion, structuring Immersion Conscious awareness, absorption, realism, dexterity, socio- cultural proximity Motivation Encouragement, curiosity, self-improvement, and diversity Emotion Reaction, conduct, and sensory appeal Socialization Social perception, group awareness, personal implication, sharing, communication, and interaction (competitive, collaborative or cooperative)
- 35. The ADAPTIMES FP7 project ADAPTIve player-centric serious video gaMES ADAPTIMES aims at investigating how cognitive abilities, psycho-emotional processes and playing style can be used as a basis for efficient and effective player- centric adaptivity 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016 35
- 36. Conative psychology Adaptation in 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016 36 Game dynamics Gameaesthetics Player Player style metrics Playing styles Performance and efficiency (abilities, skills and knowledge) Emotions (flow, immersion & intrinsic motivation)
- 37. Principal workflow of game adaptation control 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016 37 Dynamic adaptation control Player model monitoring Dynamic game adaptations Player model updates Player dynamics (performance, emotions, style) Player statics (goals and preferences) Adaptive video game Measurement of adaptation effect Real time player feedback on adaptations
- 38. Player style measurement Implicitly during play time of specific mini-game Based on player’s metrics for specific game tasks: Performance (result) Efficiency (result/effort) Task difficulty Play time 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016 38 Rush For Gold, part 2 - https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=aJe61bUDE40
- 39. 39 Maze Editor Transitions table Property Editor Titles … Texts … Graphics … Python Scripts Brainstorm API 3D Maze Game Engine Brainstorm Run Time Environment Mini-Games GUI Front- End Property Metadata 9/04/2016 Software platform for generation of maze games Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016
- 40. 40 Rush For Gold (playing style) 9/04/2016 Generated labyrinth (maze game) 3D quiz game (assessment) 3D puzzle Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016
- 41. Problems with applied games 1/2 Higher development cost Lower attractiveness compared to entertainment games Transition between instructional design and actual game design implementation - how Game Mechanics impact and interact with the Learning Mechanics Insufficient personalization and adaptation: Emotional state Physiological/neurophysiological signals In-game performance & game progression metrics D1.6 GALA Roadmap 2, Nov. 2011 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016 41
- 42. Problems with applied games 2/2 Harmonization of distributed SG Environments supporting reusability, interoperability and standardization Human-Computer-Interaction & neuroscience - non- intrusive and natural interaction in SG by 2020 Assessment - effectively tracking and analysing of the right parameters related to learners’ progress (knowledge gain, reflection and application) How psychological theories should be used in the design of realistic and convincing NPCs? How different pedagogical paradigms relate to SG and SG mechanics - reference framework needed! D1.6 GALA Roadmap 2, Nov. 2011 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016 42
- 43. Conclusions 1/2 The market space of both entertainment and applied video games will continue to grow in next years, together with that of gamification applications. The same is valid for the impact of video games thanks to their synergy of story, art and technological achievements including affective and adaptive gameplay. Applied games with non-linear and interactive storytelling will be used more and more for immersive cultural presentation, teaching, assessment and training. 43 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016
- 44. Conclusions 2/2 Both applied and commercial entertainment games will include dynamic and implicit player-centric adaptation. New player-centric adaptive methods, technologies, frameworks and applications will be created and applied in video games More analysis of adaptation benefits is needed in regard of playability and learning outcomes 44 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016
- 45. Thank you for your attention! Discussion More info at: http://adaptimes.eu/ bbontchev@fmi.uni-sofia.bg 45 9/04/2016Adaptation in Applied Video Games e-Society’2016