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Real-time rule-based classification of player types in computer games

Authors:

Darryl Charles,

Michaela Black,

Ray HickeyAuthors Info & Claims

User Modeling and User-Adapted Interaction, Volume 23, Issue 5

Pages 489 - 526

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11257-012-9126-z

Published: 01 November 2013 Publication History

Abstract

The power of using machine learning to improve or investigate the experience of play is only beginning to be realised. For instance, the experience of play is a psychological phenomenon, yet common psychological concepts such as the typology of temperaments have not been widely utilised in game design or research. An effective player typology provides a model by which we can analyse player behaviour. We present a real-time classifier of player type, implemented in the test-bed game Pac-Man. Decision Tree algorithms CART and C5.0 were trained on labels from the DGD player typology (Bateman and Boon, 21st century game design, vol. 1, 2005 ). The classifier is then built by selecting rules from the Decision Trees using a rule- performance metric, and experimentally validated. We achieve ~70% accuracy in this validation testing. We further analyse the concept descriptions learned by the Decision Trees. The algorithm output is examined with respect to a set of hypotheses on player behaviour. A set of open questions is then posed against the test data obtained from validation testing, to illustrate the further insights possible from extended analysis.

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Cited By

Cowley B(2020)Generalised Player Modelling: Why Artificial Intelligence in Games Should Incorporate Meaning, with a Formalism for so DoingHCI in Games10.1007/978-3-030-50164-8_1(3-22)Online publication date: 19-Jul-2020
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1007/978-3-030-50164-8_1
Snodgrass SMohaddesi OHart JRodriguez GHolmgård CHarteveld CDeterding SKhosmood FPirker JApperley T(2019)Like PEAS in PoDSProceedings of the 14th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games10.1145/3337722.3337756(1-15)Online publication date: 26-Aug-2019
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3337722.3337756
Hooshyar DYousefi MLim H(2018)Data-Driven Approaches to Game Player ModelingACM Computing Surveys10.1145/314581450:6(1-19)Online publication date: 3-Jan-2018
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3145814
Show More Cited By

Real-time rule-based classification of player types in computer games

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cover image User Modeling and User-Adapted Interaction

User Modeling and User-Adapted Interaction Volume 23, Issue 5

November 2013

81 pages

ISSN:0924-1868

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Copyright © Copyright © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

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Kluwer Academic Publishers

United States

Publication History

Published: 01 November 2013

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Cited By

Cowley B(2020)Generalised Player Modelling: Why Artificial Intelligence in Games Should Incorporate Meaning, with a Formalism for so DoingHCI in Games10.1007/978-3-030-50164-8_1(3-22)Online publication date: 19-Jul-2020
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1007/978-3-030-50164-8_1
Snodgrass SMohaddesi OHart JRodriguez GHolmgård CHarteveld CDeterding SKhosmood FPirker JApperley T(2019)Like PEAS in PoDSProceedings of the 14th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games10.1145/3337722.3337756(1-15)Online publication date: 26-Aug-2019
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3337722.3337756
Hooshyar DYousefi MLim H(2018)Data-Driven Approaches to Game Player ModelingACM Computing Surveys10.1145/314581450:6(1-19)Online publication date: 3-Jan-2018
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3145814
Cowley BCharles D(2016)BehavletsUser Modeling and User-Adapted Interaction10.1007/s11257-016-9170-126:2-3(257-306)Online publication date: 1-Jun-2016
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1007/s11257-016-9170-1
Cowley BKosunen ILankoski PKivikangas JJärvelä SEkman IKemppainen JRavaja N(2014)Experience Assessment and Design in the Analysis of GameplaySimulation and Gaming10.1177/104687811351393645:1(41-69)Online publication date: 1-Feb-2014
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1177/1046878113513936

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