Visualizing AI Playtesting Data of 2D Side-scrolling Games

In the proceedings of IEEE Conference on Games, 2020

Abstract:

Human playtesting is a useful step in the game development process, but involves high economic costs and is time-consuming. While playtesting through artificial intelligence is gaining attention, it is challenging to analyze the collected data. We address the challenge by proposing visualizations to derive insights about level design in 2D side-scrolling games. To focus on the navigation behavior in the level design, we study the trajectories of computer agents trained using artificial intelligence. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach by implementing a web-based prototype and presenting the insights gained from the visualizations for the game Sonic the Hedgehog 2. We highlight lessons learned and directions to customize the approach for other analysis goals of playtesting.

PDF DOI

To cite: Shivam Agarwal, Christian Herrmann, Günter Wallner, Fabian Beck, "Visualizing AI Playtesting Data of 2D Side-scrolling Games" In the proceedings of IEEE Conference on Games, 2020. 10.1109/CoG47356.2020.9231915

BibTeX:

@inproceedings{Agarwal2020Visualizing,
author = {Agarwal, Shivam and Herrmann, Christian and Wallner, Günter and Beck, Fabian},
title = {Visualizing {AI} Playtesting Data of 2D Side-scrolling Games},
booktitle = {IEEE Conference on Games},
journal = {IEEE Conference on Games (CoG)},
abstract = {Human playtesting is a useful step in the game development process, but involves high economic costs and is time-consuming. While playtesting through artificial intelligence is gaining attention, it is challenging to analyze the collected data. We address the challenge by proposing visualizations to derive insights about level design in 2D side-scrolling games. To focus on the navigation behavior in the level design, we study the trajectories of computer agents trained using artificial intelligence. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach by implementing a web-based prototype and presenting the insights gained from the visualizations for the game Sonic the Hedgehog 2. We highlight lessons learned and directions to customize the approach for other analysis goals of playtesting.},
year = {2020},
pages = {572-575},
doi = {10.1109/CoG47356.2020.9231915}
}