Abstract
Video games are typically designed to challenge the player, aiming to increase their engagement and enjoyment. However, this sense of challenge must be carefully balanced to provide a successful experience. For instance, if the player is unable to progress due to a high difficulty, they will probably feel frustrated and will possibly leave the game session; conversely, if the perceived difficulty is low, the player will feel bored and will also likely leave the session. In this paper we report the design of an algorithm, based in biofeedback, that dynamically adjusts the difficulty of a video game: if the heart rate of the player decreases, then the difficulty of the game increases; if the heart rate of the player increases, then the difficulty of the game decreases. Through a controlled user study, we evaluated the effectiveness of the algorithm and its implementation in a prototype video game, in terms of performance, perceived gaming experience, and player satisfaction. The obtained results show that users who were affected by the algorithm effectively reported an improved player experience, completed the game levels in a lower time with a fewer number of tries, and displayed a better subjective impression. The proposed algorithm highlights the feasibility of dynamically adjusting the difficulty of a video game using biofeedback, hence providing an improved and personalized player experience. These results can be useful to designers and researchers in the video game industry, as a way to conceive novel—and more engaging—experiences.
Keywords
- Heart rate
- Difficulty adjustment
- Personalization
- Player experience
- Video game design
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Azarbarzin, A., Ostrowski, M., Hanly, P., Younes, M.: Relationship between arousal intensity and heart rate response to arousal. Sleep 37(4), 645–653 (2014). https://doi.org/10.5665/sleep.3560
Csikszentmihalyi, M.: Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper Perennial Modern Classics, New York (2008)
Dormehl, L.: New VR horror game gets scarier if your heart rate isn’t fast enough (2018). https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/bring-to-light-heart-rate-vr/. Accessed 24 July 2022
Drachen, A., Nacke, L.E., Yannakakis, G., Pedersen, A.L.: Correlation between heart rate, electrodermal activity and player experience in first-person shooter games. In: Proceedings of the 5th ACM SIGGRAPH Symposium on Video Games, Sandbox 2010, pp. 49–54. ACM, New York (2010). https://doi.org/10.1145/1836135.1836143
Gilleade, K.: Ubisoft’s O.zen is now available in France (2015). http://justkiel.com/2015/10/14/ubisofts-o-zen-released/. Accessed 24 July 2022
Huang, Y.-C., Luk, C.-H.: Heartbeat Jenga: a biofeedback board game to improve coordination and emotional control. In: Marcus, A. (ed.) DUXU 2015. LNCS, vol. 9188, pp. 263–270. Springer, Cham (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20889-3_25
Hunicke, R.: The case for dynamic difficulty adjustment in games. In: Proceedings of the 2005 ACM SIGCHI International Conference on Advances in Computer Entertainment Technology, ACE 2005, pp. 429–433. ACM, New York (2005). https://doi.org/10.1145/1178477.1178573
IJsselsteijn, W.A., de Kort, Y.A.W., Poels, K.: The Game Experience Questionnaire. Technische Universiteit Eindhoven (2013)
Koster, R.: A Theory of Fun for Game Design. O’Reilly Media, Sebastopol (2013)
Law, E.L.C., Brühlmann, F., Mekler, E.D.: Systematic review and validation of the game experience questionnaire (GEQ) - implications for citation and reporting practice. In: Proceedings of the 2018 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play, CHI PLAY 2018, pp. 257–270. ACM, New York (2018). https://doi.org/10.1145/3242671.3242683
Liu, C., Agrawal, P., Sarkar, N., Chen, S.: Dynamic difficulty adjustment in computer games through real-time anxiety-based affective feedback. Int. J. Hum.-Comput. Interact. 25(6), 506–529 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1080/10447310902963944
Nenonen, V., Lindblad, A., Häkkinen, V., Laitinen, T., Jouhtio, M., Hämäläinen, P.: Using heart rate to control an interactive game. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2007, pp. 853–856. ACM, New York (2007). https://doi.org/10.1145/1240624.1240752
Schell, J.: The Art of Game Design. CRC Press, Boca Raton (2015)
Store, A.: O.zen (2018). https://itunes.apple.com/fr/app/o-zen/id481680612. Accessed 25 July 2022
Sweetser, P., Wyeth, P.: Gameflow: a model for evaluating player enjoyment in games. Comput. Entertain. 3(3), 3 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1145/1077246.1077253
Tan, C.H., Tan, K.C., Tay, A.: Dynamic game difficulty scaling using adaptive behavior-based AI. IEEE Trans. Comput. Intell. AI Games 3(4), 289–301 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1109/TCIAIG.2011.2158434
Yu, B.: Adaptive biofeedback for mind-body practices. In: Extended Abstracts of the ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2016, pp. 260–264. ACM, New York (2016). https://doi.org/10.1145/2851581.2859027
Zohaib, M.: Dynamic difficulty adjustment in computer games: a review. Adv. Hum.-Comput. Interact. 2018, 5681652:1–5681652:12 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/5681652
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this paper
Cite this paper
Zelada, E., Gutierrez, F.J. (2023). Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment of Video Games Using Biofeedback. In: Bravo, J., Ochoa, S., Favela, J. (eds) Proceedings of the International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing & Ambient Intelligence (UCAmI 2022). UCAmI 2022. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 594. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21333-5_91
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21333-5_91
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-21332-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-21333-5
eBook Packages: Intelligent Technologies and RoboticsIntelligent Technologies and Robotics (R0)