Performance-Based Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment and Player Experience in a 2D Digital Game: A Controlled Experiment

• Authors: Robb Nigel , Zhang Bo
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Dynamic difficulty adjustment (DDA) in digital games involves altering the difficulty of a game based on real-time feedback from the player. Some approaches to DDA use measurements of player performance, such as success rate or score. Such performance-based DDA systems aim to provide a bespoke level of challenge to each player, so that the game is neither too hard nor too easy. Previous research on performance-based DDA shows that it is linked to better player performance but finds mixed results in terms of player experience (e.g., enjoyment). Also, while the concept of flow is regarded as an important aspect of digital game experience, little research has considered the effects of performance-based DDA on flow. We conducted an experiment on the effects of performancebased DDA on player performance, enjoyment, and experience of flow in a digital game. 221 participants played either the DDA version of the game, a control version (difficulty remained constant), or an incremental version (difficulty increased regardless of performance). Results show that the DDA group performed significantly better. However, there were no significant differences in terms of enjoyment or experience of flow.

Keywords

EN

adaptive software; digital games; dynamic difficulty adjustment; flow; game balancing; performance

• Publisher: Fakulta masmediálnej komunikácie Univerzita sv. Cyrila a Metoda
• Journal: Acta Ludologica
• Year: 2022
• Volume: 5
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 4-22
• Physical description: Media and Communication, Game studies, Theory of digital games
• Document type: Article

Contributors

author

Robb Nigel

• Hokkaido University, Research Faculty of Media and Communication

author

Zhang Bo

• East China Normal University, Faculty of Education