FOR those who fret that their hard-earned money might be wasted on a dud computer game, help could soon be at hand. A new breed of game aims to suit everyone by adapting to an individual鈥檚 playing style.
Computer games have had an element of adaptability for decades, says at the IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark. 鈥淚f you play well the game gets harder and if you are lousy it might get easier,鈥� he says.
Togelius and colleague want to take this adaptability one step further by creating games that 鈥渓earn鈥� to identify whether an individual is a fun-junkie or a challenge-seeker, and then tailor later sections to suit these tastes. Two people might ultimately play very different versions of the game 鈥� but both should be satisfied by the experience.
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鈥淭wo people might play very different versions of the game 鈥� but both should enjoy the experience鈥�
To investigate the idea, the researchers altered the game Super Mario Bros, varying parameters such as the number and type of enemies and the size of gaps between platforms in response to how the players fared. The game also records a player鈥檚 moves, including how often they run and jump, and the time spent standing still.
Volunteers then played two slightly different versions of the game and were quizzed about which version they found more challenging or predictable, fun or frustrating. The researchers used algorithms to identify which particular suite of parameters is associated with different gaming experiences.
Some early results appear obvious. 鈥淚f you die by falling too often down gaps that is indicative of frustration,鈥� says Yannakakis. However, the approach goes beyond 鈥渃ommon sense鈥� associations to uncover those that are not so readily apparent, he says. In Super Mario Bros, for example, hitting bricks to release coins or stomping turtle shells and throwing them 鈥� activities not necessary to accomplish the overall goal 鈥� positively correlate with a fun experience, Togelius says.
While some games developers are interested, 鈥渢here is also considerable resistance to these ideas鈥�, says at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. 鈥淪ome wonder if this effort destroys the potential for art to produce the unfamiliar or disturbing.鈥�
