Towards player-driven procedural content generation

Attractive and realistic content has always played a crucial role in the penetration and popularity of digital games, virtual environments, and other multimedia applications. Procedural content generation enables the automatization of production of any type of game content including not only landscapes and narratives but also game mechanics and generation of whole games. The article offers a comparative analysis of the approaches to automatic generation of content for video games proposed in last five years. It suggests a new typology of the use of procedurally generated game content comprising of categories structured in three groups: content nature, generation process, and game dependence. Together with two other taxonomies – one of content type and the other of methods for content generation – this typology is used for comparing and discussing some specific approaches to procedural content generation in three promising research directions based on applying personalization and adaptation, descriptive languages, and semantic specifications.

2011

Abstract This paper discusses the concept of procedural content generation-based (PCG-based) game design as a way to create new kinds of playable experiences. We examine the different ways that PCG is currently used in games, and how that use impacts the meaning of the game and the player's experience.

HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), 2022

This paper describes an automated evaluation of the overall game experience using a synthetic agent, that we contextualize for First-Person Shooter games. This evaluation method is based on the characterization of the game experience through dynamics of major FPS games. We define dynamics as sequences of events that are meaningful for the player during the game session. As they trigger players' emotional responses, and influence their overall enjoyment and motivation, we classify them according to Motives for Play like curiosity, thrill-seeking, problem-solving, victory, and acquisition, in order to facilitate the evaluation process. Based on that, our evaluation method proposes to select synthetic agent routines that target a distinct game experience while playing a game session, using a selection of game dynamics. As the agent navigates through the level and interacts with opponents, dynamics may occur and, if so, are automatically identified, and then classified as Motives for Play. In the end, this classification can be used to evaluate the game experience and the quality of the level itself during playtesting sessions. It may also be utilized to assist the procedural generation of any level that target a specific game experience. CCS Concepts: • Human-centered computing → User models; • Applied computing → Computer games; Psychology.

Proceedings of The 8th Australasian Conference on Interactive Entertainment Playing the System - IE '12, 2012

This article focuses on personalised games, which we define as games that utilise player models for the purpose of tailoring the game experience to the individual player. The main contribution of the article is a motivation for personalised gaming, supported by an extensive overview of scientific literature. The motivatin concerns (a) the psychological foundation, (b) the effect on player satisfaction, (c) the contribution to game development, and (d) the requirement for achieving ambitions. The provided overview of scientific literature goes into the subject of player modelling, as well as eight adaptive components: (1) space adaptation, (2) mission / task adaptation, (3) character adaptation, (4) game mechanics adaptation, (5) narrative adaptation, (6) music / sound adaptation, (7) player matching (multiplayer), and (8) difficulty scaling. In the concluding sections, the relationship to procedural content generation is discussed, as well as the generalisation to other domains.

This work demonstrates the potentials of procedural content generation (PCG) for games, focusing on the generation of specific graphic props (reefs) in an explorer game. We briefly portray the state-of-the-art of PCG and compare various methods to create random patterns at runtime. Taking a step towards the game industry, we describe an actual game production and provide a detailed pseudocode implementation showing how Perlin or Simplex noise can be used efficiently. In a comparative study, we investigate two alternative implementations of a decisive game prop: once created traditionally by artists and once generated by procedural algorithms. 41 test subjects played both implementations. The analysis shows that PCG can create a user experience that is significantly more realistic and at the same time perceived as more aesthetically pleasing. In addition, the ever-changing nature of the procedurally generated environments is preferred with high significance, especially by players aged 45 and above.

IEEE Transactions on Computational Intelligence and AI in Games, 2015

This article focuses on personalised games, which we define as games that utilise player models for the purpose of tailoring the game experience to the individual player. The main contribution of the article is a motivation for personalised gaming, supported by an extensive overview of scientific literature. The motivatin concerns (a) the psychological foundation, (b) the e↵ect on player satisfaction, (c) the contribution to game development, and (d) the requirement for achieving ambitions. The provided overview of scientific literature goes into the subject of player modelling, as well as eight adaptive components: (1) space adaptation, (2) mission / task adaptation, (3) character adaptation, (4) game mechanics adaptation, (5) narrative adaptation, (6) music / sound adaptation, (7) player matching (multiplayer), and (8) di culty scaling. In the concluding sections, the relationship to procedural content generation is discussed, as well as the generalisation to other domains.

In this paper, we describe a methodology for capturing player experience while interacting with a game and we present a data-driven approach for modeling this interaction. We believe the best way to adapt games to a specific player is to use quantitative models of player experience derived from the in-game interaction. Therefore, we rely on crowd-sourced data collected about game context, players behavior and players self-reports of different affective states. Based on this information, we construct estimators of player experience using neuroevolutionary preference learning. We present the experimental setup and the results obtained from a recent case study where accurate estimators were constructed based on information collected from players playing a firstperson shooter game. The framework presented is part of a bigger picture where the generated models are utilized to tailor content generation to particular player's needs and playing characteristics.

2013

This chapter discusses the challenges and opportunities of procedural content generation (PCG) in games. It starts with defining three grand goals of PCG, namely multi-level multicontent PCG, PCG-based game design and generating complete games. The way these goals are defined, they are not feasible with current technology. Therefore we identify nine challenges for PCG research. Work towards meeting these challenges is likely to take us closer to realising the three grand goals. In order to help researchers get started, we also identify five actionable steps, which PCG researchers could get started working on immediately.

ILKOM Jurnal Ilmiah

The immersion is an essential component of the modern digital game. Currently, immersion is the required component which should be included in the digital game. The modern game which success within game industry surely has included immersion as a component. Although digital games have been introduced for many years, yet what is immersion game been known very little. Regarding the intensive study about user immersion, there is still a lack of knowledge about game immersion. First, the game designers, game developers, and gamers are facing problems how to understand whether their game is immersive or not. There is no knowledge regarding how to evaluate their game, whether immersive or not, and this process requires expert knowledge. Second, currently, the game designers are relied on speculative interpretation to evaluate their game because there is no method to examine whether the game is immersive or not. Therefore, this study aims to propose a method that enable to evaluate if the...