The Hyelight Process, an Adaptive Difficulty System That Enhances Player Enjoyment During Gameplay
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University of the Aegean, Syros Department of Product & Systems Design Engineering Thesis Project The Hyelight process, An adaptive difficulty system that enhances player enjoyment during gameplay Maximos Malevitis, October 2017 Committee Supervisor: Dr. Spryridon Vosinakis 1st Member: Dr. Panagiotis Koutsampasis nd 2 Member: Dr. Panagiotis Kuriakoulakos 1 2 3 I declare responsibly that the thesis work is entirely a personal work and no part of it is copied from printed or online sources, nor translated from foreign language sources, nor it is a reproduction from other researchers’ or students’ work. Wherever I have been based on ideas or texts of others, I have tried, as far as possible, to clearly make a reference following the academic ethics Δηλώνω υπεύθυνα ότι η διπλωματική εργασία είναι εξ’ ολοκλήρου δικό μου έργο και κανένα μέρος της δεν είναι αντιγραμμένο από έντυπες ή ηλεκτρονικές πηγές, μετάφραση από ξενόγλωσσες πηγές και αναπαραγωγή από εργασίες άλλων ερευνητών ή φοιτητών. Όπου έχω βασιστεί σε ιδέες ή κείμενα άλλων, έχω προσπαθήσει, όσο είναι δυνατόν, να το προσδιορίσω σαφώς μέσα από την χρήση αναφορών, ακολουθώντας την ακαδημαϊκή δεοντολογία. M.M. 4 5 Dedicated to my parents, the strongest people alive. Without your help none of this would have ever been possible. 6 Special thanks I would like to sincerely thank my friend Nikos Nikolaou, the coding mastermind behind the game I created, for without his help the game would not have been nearly as interesting and interactive! I would also like to thank Nikos Kolliniatis, a dear friend whose sketches and music always have and always will inspire me to create! I want to thank Stella Vaka, the person who stood by my side through thick and thin, always pushing me to do my best and reach my potential. Your never-ending support guided me through the darkness. Finally, I would like to thank the three greatest educators I could ask for. Dr. Spyros Vosinakis, for guiding me from the first moment I mentioned I wanted to become a game designer. You showed me the proper academic procedure and thus the way to improve my research substantially. Dr. Panagiotis Koutsampasis, for teaching me the importance of User Experience and usability testing, the pillar of my thesis. You helped me realize what I want to research and improve in the field of games design, player experience and game feel. Dr. Panagiotis Kuriakoulakos, for opening new doors for me in more than a couple departments of creativity. You helped me follow my dream and urged me to reach my potential before even I have decided what I wanted to do. 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 11 1.1 Problem Statement ................................................................................................. 11 1.2 Aim of the Thesis ..................................................................................................... 11 1.3 Methodology ........................................................................................................... 12 2 Games and Difficulty ....................................................................................................... 13 2.1 Why difficulty is a crucial part of games ................................................................. 13 2.2 Difficulty Curve ........................................................................................................ 13 2.3 Difficulty vs Challenge and Difficult vs Punishing .................................................... 15 2.4 Common Difficulty Systems ..................................................................................... 19 2.4.1 Difficulty Levels ................................................................................................ 19 2.4.2 Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment ........................................................................ 22 2.5 On the matter of Dominant Strategies .................................................................... 26 3 The Player ........................................................................................................................ 27 3.1 User modelling ........................................................................................................ 27 3.2 Player Modelling ...................................................................................................... 28 3.2.1 Play Personas ................................................................................................... 28 3.2.2 Dynamic Player Modelling ............................................................................... 30 4 The case for games with Multiple Gameplay Elements .................................................. 31 4.1 What are “multiple gameplay elements” ................................................................ 31 4.2 Games that make use of multiple gameplay elements ........................................... 32 4.3 A brief introduction to Flow Theory ........................................................................ 37 4.3.1 Games want to keep players in the Flow Channel .......................................... 40 5 The Hyelight System ........................................................................................................ 42 5.1 System Fundamentals ............................................................................................. 42 5.1.1 Player Profiling ................................................................................................. 42 5.2 Targeted Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment ................................................................ 48 5.2.1 Area Clustering ................................................................................................ 48 5.2.2 Difficulty Curve ................................................................................................ 49 5.2.3 Adaptation ....................................................................................................... 50 5.3 Hypotheses on the Player Experience ..................................................................... 51 5.4 Hyelight Concept Model .......................................................................................... 52 6 Testbed, Hyelight ............................................................................................................. 53 6.1 Story ........................................................................................................................ 53 6.2 Design ...................................................................................................................... 53 8 6.2.1 Concept art ...................................................................................................... 53 6.2.2 Art Style and early experimentation ............................................................... 54 6.2.3 Main Character and Final Art- Style ................................................................ 57 6.2.4 Animation ........................................................................................................ 58 6.2.5 Enemies ........................................................................................................... 59 6.2.6 The World ........................................................................................................ 61 6.2.7 Visual Effects.................................................................................................... 64 6.3 Gameplay ................................................................................................................. 66 6.3.1 Platforming ...................................................................................................... 66 6.3.2 Combat ............................................................................................................ 66 6.3.3 Bullet Hell elements ........................................................................................ 68 6.3.4 Data collection and profile analysis ................................................................. 70 6.3.5 Area Clusters .................................................................................................... 71 6.3.6 Fractal Curves .................................................................................................. 71 6.3.7 Difficulty manager ........................................................................................... 72 7 System Evaluation ........................................................................................................... 73 7.1 First System test- Dishonored 2 .............................................................................. 73 7.1.1 Gameplay ......................................................................................................... 73 7.1.2 Level division and Area Clusters ...................................................................... 74 7.1.3 Difficulty Curves ............................................................................................... 75 7.1.4 System Evaluation Process .............................................................................. 76 7.1.5 Player Approach and Reward System ............................................................. 76 7.2 Second System test – Pen and Paper games ........................................................... 77 7.2.1 Pen and Paper Games ..................................................................................... 77