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Infinite Mario With Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment

Posted by Soulskill on from the there's-always-another-castle dept.

bgweber writes "There's been a lot of discussion about whether games should adapt to the skills of players. However, most current techniques limit adaptation to parameter adjustment. But if the parameter adaptation is applied to procedural content generation, then new levels can be generated on-line in response to a player's skill. In this adaptation of Infinite Mario (with source [.JAR]), new levels are generated based on the performance of the player. What other gameplay mechanics are open for adaptation when games adapt to the skills of specific players?"

17 of 103 comments (clear)

  1. Interesting Idea by chonglibloodsport · · Score: 2, Interesting

    But not a whole lot of fun in practice.

    Spelunky http://www.spelunkyworld.com/ is a way better example of a platformer with randomly generated levels.

    1. Re:Interesting Idea by gorzek · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Anyone here play Warning Forever? It's a shoot-'em-up consisting entirely of boss battles, but it has an interesting twist: the next boss adapts based on how you defeated previous bosses in terms of its body configuration, weapon placements, and weapon types. So, you're forced to change up your tactics or you'll be wiped out. I love it.

      Link for anyone interested: http://www18.big.or.jp/~hikoza/Prod/index_e.html (Yes, in Japanese, but the game is in English and not hard to download from the page.)

      --
      Check out my world simulator thingy.
  2. Only if it's an option by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    One of the fun part of video games is playing the same level as someone else then talking about it, sharing frustrations and strategies. Once every level is different, this becomes much less easily done.

    Thus, if infinitely adaptable levels *do* exist, they should exist as an extended option or potentially an expansion pack to existing games rather than having an entire game based on that.

    Whether the level itself needs to change, or if just spawn points, etc, should cause different things/amount of enemies to spawn is another option. I'm reminded of Left 4 Dead and its sequel with the Director system that alters the spawning of zombies and types of zombies based on difficulty and the apparent skill of the players.

    1. Re:Only if it's an option by noidentity · · Score: 2, Interesting

      One of the fun part of video games is playing the same level as someone else then talking about it, sharing frustrations and strategies. Once every level is different, this becomes much less easily done.

      You mean where it allows you to save the level you played and replay it? Not hard to do, just save the RNG seed state (see SimCity classic for example).

    2. Re:Only if it's an option by hairyfeet · · Score: 2, Informative

      I have to agree that while totally random can be a pain, it can also be fun. If you have ever played a PC game called Nosferatu you'd know, as the fact that BOTH the levels and enemy spawns are random (and if you save? It randomizes the spawns AGAIN, so rooms you may have cleared can bite you in the ass) really keeps you on your toes and makes you be conservative with ammo. Another good one is SWAT 3 & 4, which will randomize both the good guys and bad guys so you never know walking into a building what you are gonna face.

      So I'd say done right it can really add replay value to a game, but done wrong it can be a big pile o' suck. The developer can't just throw everything at the wall and see what sticks.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    3. Re:Only if it's an option by zwei2stein · · Score: 5, Insightful

      On contrary, your experience is still easily shared, frustrations voiced and strategies discused.

      Few examples:

        * Ever talked to someone about your Diablo session? How you like to use skill X against oponent Y, how that Z item dropped?

        * YASD - Yet Another Stupied Death (in ADOM or your roguelike of choice) stories. Thats about as much frustration sharing as it can get.

        * Dwarf Fortress - no two "levels" are alike, hell, everyone gets their personalised game world so one can easily play on dead planet where only few titan colosi and demons roam looking for sentiend beign to kill while someone else might be playing in populated and developed world. Yet people talk about their strategies, share tip and tricks.

      Given that there is actually more to talk about (two people talking experienced game differently) and it is more personal (when someone tells you about their experience, you will hear his unique story), i'd welcome that.

      --
      -- Technology for the sake of technology is as pathetic as eschewing technology because it's technology.
  3. Play more games by Yuioup · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The implementation of some of the monsters is wrong. I died when I tried to jump on a creature which I know can be jumped on.

    1. Re:Play more games by Mhtsos · · Score: 3, Funny

      No, you're just that good, that was a disguise!! The game is messing with the sprites to make you loose!
      A friend of mine was so good, the game started feigning door knocks and phone rings to distract him. When that didn't work, it threatened to delete his files if he didn't commit suicide ingame.
      He, for one, welcomes his new Mario Overlord..

  4. But that's not all gold by VincenzoRomano · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If you adapt too much, then the player won't feel challenges anymore. And in games challenges are the things that will demand players to push forward the efforts.

    --
    Maybe Computers will never be as intelligent as Humans.
    For sure they won't ever become so stupid. [VR-1988]
    1. Re:But that's not all gold by c0lo · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If you adapt too much, then the player won't feel challenges anymore. And in games challenges are the things that will demand players to push forward the efforts.

      Adapting for the level of the player or adapting against it: can work both ways. A careful approach can actually maintain the level of interest (frustrate the player, but not too much... rather tease) as well as driving up the level of skills

      --
      Questions raise, answers kill. Raise questions to stay alive.
    2. Re:But that's not all gold by homb · · Score: 2, Informative

      That's because you didn't use the features of the terrain and the party players' positioning correctly.
      When you move in a fight to place a wall behind you (or better yet a corner) and place the tanks in a front line, then it becomes very manageable.

      The thing with Wizardry 8 is that there was significant tactical expertise necessary, something "real" RPGs didn't use to require.

  5. New enemies by El_Muerte_TDS · · Score: 2, Informative

    These new enemies are a bitch.

    A bullet bill with wings? Horizontally moving piranha plants you have to jump on to kill?

    1. Re:New enemies by El_Muerte_TDS · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Ok, the worst encounter so far was a flying spiny.

      The level generator also creates levels which cannot be completed. It generated a level for me where I started in front of an enemy.

  6. Feed to to Mario AI... by Yvanhoe · · Score: 4, Interesting

    ...and watch the difficulty exponentially rise to reach singularity :-)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlkMs4ZHHr8

    --
    The Wise adapts himself to the world. The Fool adapts the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the Fool.
    1. Re:Feed to to Mario AI... by FonzCam · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Looks like he's done it already. http://bweber.posterous.com/infinite-mario-ai-vs-my-level-generator

  7. What about learning? by Max+Romantschuk · · Score: 4, Interesting

    One of the joys (for me) of playing 2D Mario games is learning how a level progresses and eventually being able to beat it though enough practice. If the level keeps changing this is taken away. I think it would be frustrating...

    Then again, I did enjoy Diablo II.

    --
    .: Max Romantschuk :: http://max.romantschuk.fi/
  8. challenge by Tom · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Adaptive monster levels is one of the reasons games are becoming boring excercises in flat-out grinding.

    Where is the challenge? Challenges consist of you having to adapt - to learn a new skill, to become quicker, smarter, better. That is one part of the equation. The other is drama. Drama consists of changes in suspense. If everything is equally easy or equally hard, there is no drama in the story, it all becomes flat.

    So a game that is always "at your level" or even always "just ahead of you" is neither challenging, nor interesting. This is doubly true for free-exploration games like Oblivion (one of the earliest mods available was to remove the auto-levelling).

    In a railroaded game like most sidescrollers or FPS, a certain level of adaptation might save the player from the frustration of having to try the same sequence for the 100th time. But most current auto-adaptation fails in picking out when the player needs some help and would enjoy a reduced difficulty and when he is enjoying the challenge and doesn't want the game to be dumbed down.

    So, until the time we get true AI, an explicit difficulty setting (bonus points if it can be changed mid-game) is still much preferable.

    --
    Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org