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On Auto-Dynamic Difficulty In Videogames

Posted by simoniker on from the and-auto-dynamic-release-dates dept.

Thanks to Game Matters for its discussion of the problems with difficulty levels in videogames, as the weblog, authored by 3D Realms' Scott Miller, talks about why "games should only rarely allow players to set their own difficulty level." Miller argues: "One of the most common ways games sabotage their potential to appeal to larger numbers of players is by being too difficult... Practically everyone designing games nowadays is a hardcore player with elite skills. It's therefore easy for game designers to misjudge the difficulty of their own games." He describes 'auto-dynamic difficulty', related to Max Payne, as "...a few variables that rate the player's ability, and the player's rating (completely internal to the game) determines the damage that both the player's weapon delivers, and the enemies' weapons deliver against the player." Miller ends by pointing out: "If a player completes your game, they are much more likely to buzz about, spreading the word that it was a great game."

5 of 91 comments (clear)

  1. Unreal Tournament by a_peckover · · Score: 3, Informative

    Unreal Tournament supports this, increasing or decreasing the skill of its bots depending on how well you are playing. It's a good way of measuring your own skill, rather than just putting it on the highest setting and getting frustrated.

    UT does, however, change difficulty a bit too quickly. It's easy to get a few frags in front on Novice and suddenly find yourself on Godlike.

    1. Re:Unreal Tournament by Enfors · · Score: 3, Informative

      He said Unreal Tournament, not Unreal Tournament 2003. And I can verify that he's correct. There is a setting in Unreal Tournament that you can enable, called "auto-adjust difficulty" or something to that effect.

      --
      -Enfors-
  2. Re:Bull by nekura · · Score: 2, Informative

    Jak II is not made by the same developers, though the two share technology used in the games. Ratchet and Clank 1 and 2 were done by Insomniac Games, and Jak II was developed by Naughty Dog.

    --

    "Programming is like sex - one mistake and you'll have to support it for the rest of your life."
  3. and it's in UT2K3, too by waaka! · · Score: 2, Informative

    You can turn on the same feature in UT2K3, too, just not when you're running a multiplayer game. In Instant Action mode, it's in the Game Rules tab, which seems like a bizarre place to put it (i.e. away from the rest of the bot settings). I know in 2K3, at least, there's a limit on how many levels the computer is allowed to promote the AI--someone who initially chose Experienced bots won't get Godlike ones just because they're kicking too much butt.

  4. Re:Max Payne? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Probably not.

    If you read the article, you would see that Miller advocates making difficulty changes between levels, not during.