Related papers: Level the Level: Balancing Game Levels for Asymmet…

We present practical approaches of using deep learning to create and enhance level maps and textures for video games -- desktop, mobile, and web. We aim to present new possibilities for game developers and level artists. The task of…

Text-to-level generation aims to translate natural language descriptions into structured game levels, enabling intuitive control over procedural content generation. While prior text-to-level generators are typically limited to a single game…

Evolutionary game theory is a powerful framework for studying evolution in populations of interacting individuals. A common assumption in evolutionary game theory is that interactions are symmetric, which means that the players are…

Machine learning has been a popular tool in many different fields, including procedural content generation. However, procedural content generation via machine learning (PCGML) approaches can struggle with controllability and coherence. In…

Game level editing is the process of constructing a full game level starting from 3D asset libraries, e.g. 3d models, textures, shaders, scripts. In level editing, designers define the look and behavior of the whole level by placing…

Algorithms that generate computer game content require game design knowledge. We present an approach to automatically learn game design knowledge for level design from gameplay videos. We further demonstrate how the acquired design…

Game balancing is an important part of the (computer) game design process, in which designers adapt a game prototype so that the resulting gameplay is as entertaining as possible. In industry, the evaluation of a game is often based on…

We construct several definitions of imbalance and playability, both of which are related to the existence of dominated strategies. Specifically, a maximally balanced game and a playable game cannot have dominated strategies for any player.…

Methods for dynamic difficulty adjustment allow games to be tailored to particular players to maximize their engagement. However, current methods often only modify a limited set of game features such as the difficulty of the opponents, or…

We present a new concept called Game Mechanic Alignment theory as a way to organize game mechanics through the lens of systemic rewards and agential motivations. By disentangling player and systemic influences, mechanics may be better…

Asymmetrical multiplayer (AMP) game is a popular game genre which involves multiple types of agents competing or collaborating with each other in the game. It is difficult to train powerful agents that can defeat top human players in AMP…

In recent years, reinforcement learning has been successful in solving video games from Atari to Star Craft II. However, the end-to-end model-free reinforcement learning (RL) is not sample efficient and requires a significant amount of…

Game balancing is a longstanding challenge requiring repeated playtesting, expert intuition, and extensive manual tuning. We introduce RuleSmith, the first framework that achieves automated game balancing by leveraging the reasoning…

Game designers use human playtesting to gather feedback about game design elements when iteratively improving a game. Playtesting, however, is expensive: human testers must be recruited, playtest results must be aggregated and interpreted,…

Game level blending via machine learning, the process of combining features of game levels to create unique and novel game levels using Procedural Content Generation via Machine Learning (PCGML) techniques, has gained increasing popularity…

Learning problems commonly exhibit an interesting feedback mechanism wherein the population data reacts to competing decision makers' actions. This paper formulates a new game theoretic framework for this phenomenon, called "multi-player…

We study a complementarity game as a systematic tool for the investigation of the interplay between individual optimization and population effects and for the comparison of different strategy and learning schemes. The game randomly pairs…

In strategy games, one of the most important aspects of game design is maintaining a sense of challenge for players. Many mobile titles feature quick gameplay loops that allow players to progress steadily, requiring an abundance of levels…

The balance of game content significantly impacts the gaming experience. Unbalanced game content diminishes engagement or increases frustration because of repetitive failure. Although game designers intend to adjust the difficulty of game…

The increasing complexity of gameplay mechanisms in modern video games is leading to the emergence of a wider range of ways to play games. The variety of possible play-styles needs to be anticipated by designers, through automated tests.…