Carlos H. R. Souza
ABSTRACT
Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment (DDA) has emerged as a prominent solution to address the demand for adaptive gameplay in digital games. However, various research challenges within the realm of DDA still require attention. This paper introduces an approach that addresses some of these challenges by merging the knowledge of self-adaptive systems with the specific requirements of adaptive gameplay. We present DDA-MAPEKit, a framework developed for Unity Engine, a solution that implements this approach. It was constructed based on the modular MAPE-K loop, enabling the integration of multiple DDA strategies. The aim is to provide customized treatment for each game mechanics by constructing a separate MAPE-K loop for each one of them. To examine the feasibility of the proposed model, a proof of concept is conducted through the application of DDA-MAPEKit in an exergame designed for telerehabilitation purposes. The results were promising. By comparing and analyzing the data gathered during simulations with and without DDA, it was observed that the inclusion of the DDA mechanism created with DDA-MAPEKit led to the adaptation of the variables that depict the complexity of the game mechanics according to the player’s performance. Hence, the effectiveness and feasibility of this mechanism are demonstrated by these findings, paving the way for further research.
- Yousef Abuseta and Khaled Swesi. 2015. Design Patterns for Self Adaptive Systems Engineering. International Journal of Software Engineering Math 11 Applications 6, 4 (July 2015), 11–28. https://doi.org/10.5121/ijsea.2015.6402Google Scholar
Cross Ref
- Bruno Baere Pederassi Lomba de Araujo. 2012. A study on dynamic adaptivity of game difficulty (in Portuguese). Master’s thesis. PUC-RIO, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.Google Scholar
- Camille El-Habr, Xavier Garcia, Pujana Paliyawan, and Ruck Thawonmas. 2019. Runner: A 2D platform game for physical health promotion. SoftwareX 10 (July 2019), 100329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.softx.2019.100329Google ScholarCross Ref
- Felipe Figueira, Lucas Nascimento, Jose Junior, Troy Kohwalter, Leonardo Murta, and Esteban Clua. 2018. BinG: A Framework for Dynamic Game Balancing using Provenance. In 2018 17th SBGames. IEEE, Brazil, 57 – 66. https://doi.org/10.1109/sbgames.2018.00016Google ScholarCross Ref
- Erik M. Fredericks, Byron DeVries, and Jared M. Moore. 2022. Towards self-adaptive game logic. In Proceedings of the 6th International ICSE Workshop on Games and Software Engineering: Engineering Fun, Inspiration, and Motivation. ACM, Pennsylvania, 24–29. https://doi.org/10.1145/3524494.3527625Google ScholarDigital Library
- Yann-Gaël Guéhéneuc and Narendra Jussien. 2001. Using explanations for design-patterns identification. In IJCAI, Vol. 1. Citeseer, Seattle, 57–64.Google Scholar
- Maurice Hendrix, Tyrone Bellamy-Wood, Sam McKay, Victoria Bloom, and Ian Dunwell. 2019. Implementing Adaptive Game Difficulty Balancing in Serious Games. IEEE Transactions on Games 11, 4 (2019), 320–327. https://doi.org/10.1109/TG.2018.2791019Google ScholarCross Ref
- Jan Kocur. 2021. Endless Runner Game with Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment. Master’s thesis. Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.Google Scholar
- Christian Krupitzer, Timur Temizer, Thomas Prantl, and Claudia Raibulet. 2020. An Overview of Design Patterns for Self-Adaptive Systems in the Context of the Internet of Things. IEEE Access 8 (2020), 187384–187399. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2020.3031189Google ScholarCross Ref
- T.C. Lethbridge and R. Laganière. 2005. Object-oriented Software Engineering: Practical Software Development Using UML and Java. McGraw-Hill Education, New York.Google Scholar
- Qingwei Mi and Tianhan Gao. 2022. Improved Belgian AI Algorithm for Dynamic Management in Action Role-Playing Games. Applied Sciences 12, 22 (Nov. 2022), 11860. https://doi.org/10.3390/app122211860Google ScholarCross Ref
- Ciprian Paduraru and Miruna Paduraru. 2019. Automatic Difficulty Management and Testing in Games using a Framework Based on Behavior Trees and Genetic Algorithms. In 2019 24th ICECCS. IEEE, China, 170 – 179. https://doi.org/10.1109/iceccs.2019.00026Google ScholarCross Ref
- Caetano Segundo, Kennet Calixto, and Renê Gusmão. 2016. Dynamic difficulty adjustment through parameter manipulation for Space Shooter game. In 2016 15th SBGames. SBC, Brazil, 234–237. https://www.sbgames.org/sbgames2016/downloads/anais/157718.pdfGoogle Scholar
- Gabriel K. Sepulveda, Felipe Besoain, and Nicolas A. Barriga. 2020. Exploring Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment in Videogames. In 2019 IEEE CHILECON. IEEE, Chile, 1 – 6. https://doi.org/10.1109/chilecon47746.2019.8988068Google ScholarCross Ref
- Andrew J. A. Seyderhelm and Karen Blackmore. 2021. Systematic Review of Dynamic Difficulty Adaption for Serious Games: The Importance of Diverse Approaches. SSRN Electronic Journal 1, 1 (2021), 1–45. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3982971Google ScholarCross Ref
- Siphesihle Philezwini Sithungu and Elizabeth Marie Ehlers. 2020. A Reinforcement Learning-Based Classification Symbiont Agent for Dynamic Difficulty Balancing. In Proceedings of the 2020 3rd International Conference on Computational Intelligence and Intelligent Systems. ACM, Japan, 15–23. https://doi.org/10.1145/3440840.3440856Google ScholarDigital Library
- Carlos Souza, Saulo Oliveira, Luciana Berretta, and Sérgio Carvalho. 2023. The Use of Health Data for Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment in Serious Games (in Portuguese). In Proceedings of SBCAS 2023 (São Paulo/SP). SBC, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil, 479–484. https://doi.org/10.5753/sbcas.2023.229632Google ScholarCross Ref
- Carlos Henrique Rorato Souza. 2022. Distributed exergame with cycle ergometer for patient rehabilitation and engagement generation at telerehabilitation contexts. Master’s thesis. Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia.Google Scholar
- Carlos Henrique Rorato Souza, Daniel Machado de Oliveira, Daniela Fernandes do Nascimento, Luciana de Oliveira Berretta, and Sérgio Teixeira de Carvalho. 2022. A Serious Games and Game Elements Based Approach for Patient Telerehabilitation Contexts. Journal on Interactive Systems 13, 1 (Aug. 2022), 179–191. https://doi.org/10.5753/jis.2022.2679Google ScholarCross Ref
- Alexander Streicher and Jan D. Smeddinck. 2016. Personalized and Adaptive Serious Games. In Entertainment Computing and Serious Games. Springer International Publishing, USA, 332–377. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46152-6_14Google ScholarCross Ref
- Leonardo Ramos Gonzalez Tagliaro. 2022. An implementation of adaptive difficulty systems for challenging video games. Undergraduate Thesis.Google Scholar
- Danny Weyns. 2021. An Introduction to Self-Adaptive Systems. Wiley, USA.Google Scholar
- Mohammad Zohaib. 2018. Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment (DDA) in Computer Games: A Review. Advances in Human-Computer Interaction 2018 (Nov. 2018), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/5681652Google ScholarDigital Library
Index Terms
- DDA-MAPEKit: A Framework for Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment Based on MAPE-K Loop
Recommendations
Investigating Reinforcement Learning for Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment
SBGames '23: Proceedings of the 22nd Brazilian Symposium on Games and Digital EntertainmentDynamic Difficulty Adjustment (DDA) is a technique to automatically adjust various game factors, such as items, maps, or opponent behavior, to provide players with a challenging and engaging experience. The goal is to maintain a balance ensuring an ...
Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment in a Multiplayer Minecraft Server
OzCHI '22: Proceedings of the 34th Australian Conference on Human-Computer InteractionMinecraft has given rise to diverse gameplay, including public servers that provide survival gameplay combined with Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game elements. In these servers, gameplay includes many players fighting mobs (non-player ...
Fuzzy-based dynamic difficulty adjustment of an educational 3D-game
AbstractAn educational game aims to employ the pleasant and fascinating environment of a game for educational purpose. However, when the game’s educational content or playing environment does not match with the player’s learning needs or game-playing ...
Comments