Visualizing AI Playtesting Data of 2D Side-scrolling Games

Year: 2020

Journal: IEEE Conference on Games (CoG)

Authors: Shivam Agarwal, Christian Herrmann, Günter Wallner, and Fabian Beck

DOI: 10.1109/CoG47356.2020.9231915

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.

Citation

@inproceedings{Agarwal2020Visualizing,
  author     = {Shivam Agarwal, Christian Herrmann, Günter Wallner, and Fabian Beck},
  title      = {Visualizing AI Playtesting Data of 2D Side-scrolling Games},
  journal    = {IEEE Conference on Games (CoG)},
  booktitle  = {IEEE Conference on Games},
  pages      = {572-575},
  year       = {2020},
  month      = {aug},
  doi        = {10.1109/CoG47356.2020.9231915},
  paperurl   = {/publications/Agarwal2020Visualizing/Agarwal2020Visualizing.pdf},
  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.}
}