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Emotional reward

Scientists have developed a video game that adjusts difficulty based on player emotions, with applications for visitor attractions, as Tom Walker reports


Korean scientists have developed a dynamic way of adjusting the difficulty of video games – by estimating the players’ emotions based on in-game data. The new technology has important applications for the visitor attractions sector.

A team at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) have created a model in which the difficulty level is tweaked to maximise player satisfaction.

Until now, most developers have relied on dynamic difficulty adjustment (DDA) to crack the tough nut of appropriately balancing a videogame’s difficulty – something deemed essential to provide players with a pleasant experience.

Using DDA, the difficulty of a game adjusts in real-time according to player performance. If a player’s performance exceeds the developer’s expectations for a given difficulty level, the game’s DDA agent automatically raises the difficulty to increase the challenge presented to the player.

While DDA is useful, it’s limited, as the level of difficulty is adjusted simply on player performance – not on how much fun they are having.

Therefore, the team at GIST decided to put a twist on the DDA approach.

A different focus
Instead of focusing on the player’s performance, they developed DDA agents that adjusted the game’s difficulty to maximise one of four different aspects related to a player’s satisfaction: challenge, competence, flow, and valence (positivity or negativity).

The DDA agents were trained via machine learning using data gathered from actual human players, who played a fighting game against various artificial intelligence (AI) systems and then answered a questionnaire about their experience.

Using an algorithm called Monte-Carlo tree search, each DDA agent employed actual game data and simulated data to tune the opposing AI’s fighting style in a way that maximised a specific emotion, or ‘affective state.’

The team verified – through an experiment with 20 volunteers – that the proposed DDA agents could produce AIs that improved the players’ overall experience, no matter their preference.

This marks the first time that affective states have been incorporated directly into DDA agents, which could be useful for commercial games.

Major impact
The new technique to adjust difficulty levels could have a major impact on tech-based entertainment and simulation-type rides at visitor attractions.

It also has potential for other fields that can be ‘gamified’ – including physical activity and exercise.

Professor Kyung-Joong Kim, who led the study at GIST, said: “One advantage of our approach over other emotion-centred methods is that it doesn’t rely on external sensors, such as electroencephalography.

“Once trained, our model can estimate player states using in-game features only.

“Commercial game companies already have huge amounts of player data. They can exploit these data to model the players and solve various issues related to game balancing using our approach,” he said.

COMPANY PROFILES
Polin Waterparks

Polin was founded in Istanbul in 1976. Polin has since grown into a leading company in the waterpa [more...]
Clip 'n Climb

Clip ‘n Climb currently offers facility owners and investors more than 40 colourful and unique Cha [more...]
Sally Corporation

Our services include: Dark ride design & build; Redevelopment of existing attractions; High-quality [more...]
Taylor Made Designs

Taylor Made Designs (TMD) has been supplying the Attractions, Holiday Park, Zoos and Theme Park mark [more...]
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FEATURED SUPPLIER

How two water rides are creating refreshing adventures in Vietnam’s biggest theme park
Aiming to become a top entertainment destination in southern Vietnam for both domestic and international tourists, VinWonders Phú Quốc opened in 2021 as the biggest theme park in the country. [more...]
VIDEO GALLERY

Red Raion - Testimonial Richard Needham - SimEx-Iwerks Entertainment
Last July 7th, Red Raion took part in the opening event of FICO Eataly World, the Italian theme park dedicated to food - the only one worldwide! Find out more...
More videos:
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Palmaïa, The House of Aia, Playacar, Playa del Carmen, Mexico
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Jobs    News   Products   Magazine   Subscribe
Tech
Emotional reward

Scientists have developed a video game that adjusts difficulty based on player emotions, with applications for visitor attractions, as Tom Walker reports


Korean scientists have developed a dynamic way of adjusting the difficulty of video games – by estimating the players’ emotions based on in-game data. The new technology has important applications for the visitor attractions sector.

A team at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) have created a model in which the difficulty level is tweaked to maximise player satisfaction.

Until now, most developers have relied on dynamic difficulty adjustment (DDA) to crack the tough nut of appropriately balancing a videogame’s difficulty – something deemed essential to provide players with a pleasant experience.

Using DDA, the difficulty of a game adjusts in real-time according to player performance. If a player’s performance exceeds the developer’s expectations for a given difficulty level, the game’s DDA agent automatically raises the difficulty to increase the challenge presented to the player.

While DDA is useful, it’s limited, as the level of difficulty is adjusted simply on player performance – not on how much fun they are having.

Therefore, the team at GIST decided to put a twist on the DDA approach.

A different focus
Instead of focusing on the player’s performance, they developed DDA agents that adjusted the game’s difficulty to maximise one of four different aspects related to a player’s satisfaction: challenge, competence, flow, and valence (positivity or negativity).

The DDA agents were trained via machine learning using data gathered from actual human players, who played a fighting game against various artificial intelligence (AI) systems and then answered a questionnaire about their experience.

Using an algorithm called Monte-Carlo tree search, each DDA agent employed actual game data and simulated data to tune the opposing AI’s fighting style in a way that maximised a specific emotion, or ‘affective state.’

The team verified – through an experiment with 20 volunteers – that the proposed DDA agents could produce AIs that improved the players’ overall experience, no matter their preference.

This marks the first time that affective states have been incorporated directly into DDA agents, which could be useful for commercial games.

Major impact
The new technique to adjust difficulty levels could have a major impact on tech-based entertainment and simulation-type rides at visitor attractions.

It also has potential for other fields that can be ‘gamified’ – including physical activity and exercise.

Professor Kyung-Joong Kim, who led the study at GIST, said: “One advantage of our approach over other emotion-centred methods is that it doesn’t rely on external sensors, such as electroencephalography.

“Once trained, our model can estimate player states using in-game features only.

“Commercial game companies already have huge amounts of player data. They can exploit these data to model the players and solve various issues related to game balancing using our approach,” he said.

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+ More news   
 
COMPANY PROFILES
Polin Waterparks

Polin was founded in Istanbul in 1976. Polin has since grown into a leading company in the waterpa [more...]
Clip 'n Climb

Clip ‘n Climb currently offers facility owners and investors more than 40 colourful and unique Cha [more...]
Sally Corporation

Our services include: Dark ride design & build; Redevelopment of existing attractions; High-quality [more...]
Taylor Made Designs

Taylor Made Designs (TMD) has been supplying the Attractions, Holiday Park, Zoos and Theme Park mark [more...]
+ More profiles  
FEATURED SUPPLIER

How two water rides are creating refreshing adventures in Vietnam’s biggest theme park
Aiming to become a top entertainment destination in southern Vietnam for both domestic and international tourists, VinWonders Phú Quốc opened in 2021 as the biggest theme park in the country. [more...]
VIDEO GALLERY

Red Raion - Testimonial Richard Needham - SimEx-Iwerks Entertainment
Last July 7th, Red Raion took part in the opening event of FICO Eataly World, the Italian theme park dedicated to food - the only one worldwide! Find out more...
More videos:
+ More videos  

CATALOGUE GALLERY
+ More catalogues  
DIRECTORY
+ More directory  
DIARY

 

24-26 Oct 2023

ASEAN Pool & Spa Expo

IMPACT Exhibition Centre, Thailand
24-27 Oct 2023

Synergy - The Retreat Show

Palmaïa, The House of Aia, Playacar, Playa del Carmen, Mexico
+ More diary  
 


ADVERTISE . CONTACT US

Leisure Media
Tel: +44 (0)1462 431385

©Cybertrek 2023

ABOUT LEISURE MEDIA
LEISURE MEDIA MAGAZINES
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