Performance Evaluation of a Framework for Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment in Single Player Games
Abstract
The development of Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment (DDA) mechanisms in digital games is an alternative to increasing player retention. There are many open questions, and there is still little discussion on the impact of using DDA mechanisms on game performance. In this context, this work presents an experiment carried out to verify the possible impacts when mechanisms generated with DDA-MAPEKit, a framework developed for this purpose, are inserted into a game. Four metrics were considered: frames per second (FPS), frame time, and RAM and CPU consumption. The effects on FPS and frame time were noted (approximately 16.1% reduction in FPS), which can impact the player’s experience from a certain number of simultaneous engines (n = 10). This reduction was considered acceptable at a value of less than 10 mechanisms.
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Claypool, M., Claypool, K., and Damaa, F. (2006). The effects of frame rate and resolution on users playing first-person shooter games. In Chandra, S. and Griwodz, C., editors, Multimedia Computing and Networking 2006, volume 6071, page 607101. International Society for Optics and Photonics, SPIE.
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Dunlop, R. (2003). Fps versus frame time. Disponível em: [link]. Acesso em: 26 de set. de 2023.
Hunicke, R. (2005). The case for dynamic difficulty adjustment in games. In Proceedings of the 2005 ACM SIGCHI International Conference on Advances in Computer Entertainment Technology, ACE ’05, page 429–433, New York, NY, USA. ACM.
Li, Y.-C., Hsu, C.-H., Lin, Y.-C., and Hsu, C.-H. (2020). Performance measurements on a cloud VR gaming platform. In Proceedings of QoEVMA’20, QoEVMA’20, page 37–45, New York, NY, USA. ACM.
Mi, Q. and Gao, T. (2022). Improved Belgian AI algorithm for dynamic management in action role-playing games. Applied Sciences, 12(22):11860.
Sepulveda, G. K., Besoain, F., and Barriga, N. A. (2020). Exploring dynamic difficulty adjustment in videogames. In 2019 IEEE CHILEAN Conference on Electrical, Electronics Engineering, Information and Communication Technologies (CHILECON). IEEE.
Seyderhelm, A. J. A. and Blackmore, K. (2021). Systematic review of dynamic difficulty adaption for serious games: The importance of diverse approaches. SSRN E-Journal.
Souza, C., Oliveira, S., Berretta, L., and Carvalho, S. (2023a). The use of health data for dynamic difficulty adjustment in serious games (in Portuguese). In Proceedings of SBCAS 2023, pages 479–484, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil. SBC.
Souza, C. H. R., Oliveira, S. S. D., Berretta, L. O., and de Carvalho, S. T. (2023b). DDAMAPEKIT: A framework for dynamic difficulty adjustment based on MAPE-K loop. In Proceedings of SBGames 2023, pages 01—-10, New York, NY, USA. ACM.
Streicher, A. and Smeddinck, J. D. (2016). Personalized and adaptive serious games. In Entertainment Computing and Serious Games, pages 332–377. Springer International Publishing.
Tagliaro, L. R. G. (2022). An implementation of adaptive difficulty systems for challenging video games. Undergraduate Thesis.
Vahlo, J., Kaakinen, J. K., Holm, S. K., and Koponen, A. (2017). Digital game dynamics preferences and player types. JCMC, 22(2):88–103.
Wang, J., Shi, R., Zheng, W., Xie, W., Kao, D., and Liang, H.-N. (2023). Effect of frame rate on user experience, performance, and simulator sickness in virtual reality. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 29(5):2478–2488.
Weyns, D. (2021). An Introduction to Self-Adaptive Systems. John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Zohaib, M. (2018). Dynamic difficulty adjustment (DDA) in computer games: A review. Advances in Human-Computer Interaction, 2018:1–12.
Published
2023-12-07
How to Cite
SOUZA, Carlos Henrique R.; BERRETA, Luciana de O.; DE CARVALHO, Sérgio T..
Performance Evaluation of a Framework for Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment in Single Player Games. In: REGIONAL SCHOOL ON INFORMATICS OF GOIÁS (ERI-GO), 11. , 2023, Goiânia/GO.
Anais [...].
Porto Alegre: Sociedade Brasileira de Computação,
2023
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/erigo.2023.237289.
