Abstract Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment (DDA) has garnered significant interest in game
research fields for many years. Despite high expectations, the effectiveness of DDA in …

This paper introduces Sentient Sketchbook, a tool which supports a designer in the creation
of game levels. Us-ing map sketches to alleviate designer effort, the tool auto-mates …

Personalisation is the automatic customisation of content and services based on a prediction
of what the user wants. Common examples of personalisation can be found in websites that …

This paper presents the use of design grammars to evolve playable 2D platform levels
through grammatical evolution (GE). Representing levels using design grammars allows …

The design process is often characterized by and realized through the iterative steps of
evaluation and refinement. When the process is based on a single creative domain such as …

This chapter addresses a specific type of game content, the dungeon, and a number of
commonly used methods for generating such content. These methods are all “constructive” …

Novelty search is a recent algorithm geared toward exploring search spaces without regard
to objectives. When the presence of constraints divides a search space into feasible space …

Flow and self-determination theory predict that game difficulty in balance with player skill
maximises enjoyment and engagement, mediated by attentive absorption or competence …

Many computer games of all genres pit the player against a succession of increasingly
difficult challenges such as combat with computer-controlled enemies and puzzles. Part of …

Player-centered approaches that aim to maximize player enjoyment have been steady, but
with poor heuristics that do not rely on any particular theory of entertainment. Certainly, the …