Complementary Companion Behavior in Video Games

Companion characters in are present in many video games across genres, serving the role of the player\u27s partner. Their goal is to support the player\u27s strategy and to immerse the player by providing a believable companion. These companions often only perform rigidly scripted actions and fail to adapt to an individual player\u27s play-style, detracting from their usefulness. Behavior like this can also become frustrating to the player if the companions become more of a hindrance than they are a benefit. Other work, including this project\u27s precursor, focused on building companions that mimic the player. These strategies customize the companion\u27s actions to each player, but are limited. In the same context, an ideal companion would help further the player\u27s strategy by finding complementary actions rather than blind emulation. We propose a game-development framework that adds complementary (rather than mimicking) companions to a video game. For the purposes of this framework a complementary action is defined as any that furthers the player\u27s strategy both in the immediate future as well as in the long-term. This is determined through a combination of both player-action and game-state prediction processes, while allowing the companion to experiment with actions the player hasn\u27t tried. We used a new method to determine the location of companion actions based on a dynamic set of regions customized to the individual player. A user study of game-development students showed promising results, with a seventeen out of twenty-five participants reacting positively to the companion behavior, and nineteen saying that they would consider using the framework in future games

MIMICA: A GENERAL FRAMEWORK FOR SELF-LEARNING COMPANION AI BEHAVIOR

Companion or support characters controlled by Artificial Intelligence (AI) have been a feature of video games for decades. Many Role Playing Games (RPGs) offer a cast of support characters in the player’s party that are AI-controlled to various degrees. Many First Person Shooter (FPS) games include semi-autonomous or fully autonomous AI-controlled companions. Real Time Strategy (RTS) games have traditionally featured large numbers of semi-autonomous characters that collectively help accomplish various tasks (build, attack, etc.) for the player. While RPGs tend to focus on a single or a small number of well-developed character companions to accompany a player controlled main character, the RTS games tend to have anonymous and replaceable workers and soldiers to be micromanaged by the player. In this paper we present the MimicA framework, designed to govern AI companion behavior based on mimicking that of the player. Several features set this system apart from existing practices in AI-managed companions in contemporary RPG or RTS games. First, the behavior generated is designed to be fully autonomous, not partially autonomous as in most RTS games. Second, the solution is general. No specific prior behavior specifications are modeled. As a result, little to no genre, story or technical assumptions are necessary to implement this solution. Even the list of possible actions required is generalized. The system is designed to work independently of game representation. We further demonstrate, analyze and discuss MimicA by using it in Lord of Towers, a novel tower defense game featuring a player avatar. Through our user study we show that a majority of participants found the companions useful to them and liked the idea of this type of framework

An audience perspective on the second screen phenomenon

Second screen applications are among the latest of the TV industry’s innovations to retain the TV viewer’s attention in a challenging multi-screen environment. These applications can be regarded as an extension of TV content consumed on a TV set towards lightweight portable devices such as tablets. While numerous commercial instances are available internationally and the existing literature on the topic from a technical perspective is extensive, the audience side of this phenomenon has been paid far less attention to. Moreover, in the case of Flanders, the successful commercial implementation of second screen applications remains limited. In this research, we aim to elicit what TV viewers’ expectations and preferences are regarding second screen functionalities. By applying means-end theory and a laddering approach we were able to discern how these preferences subsequently relate to the TV show itself, the consequences for the viewing experience, as well as how second screen applications and usages are expected to fit in the viewer’s everyday life

Cognitive-behavioral intervention via interactive multimedia online video game for active aging: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background Due to the progressive aging of the population, programs to promote active aging have been recommended. However, older adults have difficulty accessing them. Interventions administered through online video games may increase their accessibility, and complementing these with a smartphone app will likely increase adherence and allow for ongoing professional monitoring. The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of a cognitive-behavioral intervention for active aging administered through an online interactive multimedia video game that includes a smartphone app companion. The secondary objectives are to analyze the moderators and mediators of the change in the outcome variables and to evaluate the adherence to the intervention. Methods/design A randomized controlled clinical trial will be conducted. Adults 45 years and older will be randomly assigned to a cognitive-behavioral intervention administered through an online multimedia video game that includes a smartphone app companion or to a control group that will receive online information on active aging (274 participants per group). The intervention will be administered in eight weekly 45-min modules. An investigator-blinded evaluation will be conducted using online self-administered tests at baseline, post-intervention, and 6- and 12-month follow-ups. The primary outcome will be mental health status as evaluated using the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) at post-intervention. Secondary outcomes will be emotional well-being, depressive symptoms, reinforcement, negative thoughts, self-reported memory, cognitive task performance, sleep hygiene behaviors, physical activity, eating habits, body mass index, social support, dropout, treatment adherence, and satisfaction with the intervention. Discussion If the results are favorable, this study would involve the development of the first evidence-based active aging promotion intervention based on a video game that includes a smartphone app companion, providing evidence on its efficacy, accessibility, and clinical utility.The development of this protocol was funded by grant EXP - 00091195/ ITC20161137 from Center for Industrial Technological Development of Spain and the European Regional Development Fund, and grant 2018-PU054 from Department of Culture, Education and University RegulationS

Liber Domus: development of a prototype RPG for 6th grade mathematics and science learning

Recent studies shed an unfavourable light on existing tools that support at-distance learning in pre-university students. Concerns revolve around motivation, focus, engagement as well as long-term knowledge retention rates. Multiple attempts were made to connect digital games with education, designated by Game-Based Learning, although educational outcomes have been mixed. Possibly due to ad-hoc experimentation, the effects seem related to relationships between specific game mechanisms and structural design. This research project focused on potential effects of a digital 3D role-playing game in learning. A multidisciplinary team built a prototype, named Liber Domus, using game developing techniques and mechanisms that have never been used or explored in the area on this scale. Preliminary results show the game presents students with a more dynamic approach to learning inside the classroom, increasing motivation and fun levels and allowing for a less repetitive revision of subjects, and the flexibility of the tool for both classroom and at-home learning. Further development is ongoing.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Dual Consciousness: What Psychology and Counseling Theories Can Teach and Learn Regarding Identity and the Role-Playing Game Experience

Many psychologists, therapists, and educators have emphasized the practice of play, especially with enacted roles, as a site for learning and therapeutic growth. This article weaves together a plethora of theories from psychology, Counseling, and role-playing game studies in an effort to understand the nature of enacted roles, their relationship to identity, and their transformative potential. Challenging the notion that identity is a fixed, stable monolith, the article synthesizes four overall approaches to theorizing the nature of identity drawn from various theories: identity as a social construct, narrative identity, identity as psychodynamic, and identities as parts of a whole. The authors posit that these ways of framing identity can help role-players, designers, and facilitators better understand the multifaceted nature of selfhood. This work holds implications for understanding the enactment of characters in role-playing games, especially with regard to the transformative potential of the role-playing experience. Throughout the article, we also explore the psychology of play from the perspective of therapeutic practices and modalities that exist outside of the discourses of role-playing games as a hobby or field of academic study. We will emphasize how role-play, identity shifting, narrative, and embodied enactment are present in many existing therapeutic processes to various degrees. Examples include psychosynthesis, Gestalt therapy, drama therapy, narrative therapy, Internal Family Systems, and person-centred therapy. We will highlight clinical therapists who use role-playing games to augment more traditional practices. Furthermore, while role-taking activities are central to many human experiences throughout time, the article will emphasize benefits the imagination space of role-playing games, particularly with regard to prolonged perspective taking, co-creative improvisation, the alibi of fiction, and increased agency and empowerment. The article will also address limitations to the form that might interrupt its transformative potential, such as cognitive dissonance, identity defense, and difficulties with integrating these experiences within one’s life narrative after they conclude