Adaptive Systems –
Fun For Everyone!
Dr. Nick Degens
Associate Professor User-Centered Design Hanze University of Applied Sciences
Goals
Goals
Rules
Rules
Actions
Actions
Methodology
Goals
Goals
Rules
Rules
Actions
Actions
Methodology
Tool
Methodology
There are some important factors to consider with this dimension:
What kind of feedback does the user receive (right type, place, time)?
Does the educational content align with the knowledge/skills of the user?
How does the educational content relate to real world activities?
There are some important factors to consider with this dimension: What (kind of games) is the user interested in?
Is interaction a core aspect of the gameplay (vs. instrumental)? How is the player motivated to continue playing the game?
Challenge? Story?
AS - Educational Tools
There are some important factors to consider with this dimension:
How are the game mechanics and the learning objectives aligned (are they even aligned)?
What is the balance between the entertainment and educational aspects of the game?
Professorship User-Centered Design
• Adaptive Systems – Educational Tools – Persuasive Tools – Affective Tools • New Technologies– Affordances & Interaction – Hardware Capabilities
Train of Thought: switching trains to the right tracks.
•
Change the number of different colours used in a level.
•
Change the number of switches to operate.
•
Change the interval between two trains.
•
…
The level of difficulty is constant throughout a level, but varies
between levels.
AS – How to vary difficulty?
The level of difficulty is varied online; i.e. it can change while you are
playing the level.
AS – Some results (and what do they mean?)
Total amount of trains
per version
Total amount of trains that
went into the right station
Percentage
wrong
Wrong station Right station
Up to you!
•
What kind of applications can you think that could use cognitive
adaptation (and why)?
•
What shape would that take?
AS - What are the problems?
• Physical rehabilitation often entails…
– … having to practice a set of physical behaviours… – … which have to be practised for a long time… – … and is not very challenging or interesting.
AS - Exergames
•
Exergames are a combination of exertion (physical movements) and
games and stimulate players to perform certain behaviours through
engaging game mechanics.
Definition
AS - Games of Balance
Example
AS - One-Off Development
•
In many exergame development projects, a specific
game is created to work with specific hardware.
•
This is ineffective in terms of development cost and
limits the range of exercises and users.
•
The game may become boring after repeated use,
undermining long-term use scenarios.
Issues
AS - Games of Balance
Example
•
Evaluation with users and
physiotherapists show promising
results
•
Generate levels that match the
players’ skills and style
preferences
•
Generate levels that set the
required exercise numbers per
session
AS - Creatures of the Forest
AS - Creatures of the Forest
• User behaviour:
– practice particular hand and wrist movements • Game mechanics:
– navigate through a set of rooms to find the exit (maze) – solve puzzles to access other rooms
• Mapping:
– magic spells control navigation and puzzle interaction Example
Creatures of the Forest
Every individual is different – different experience in
computer games, different learning or therapy
requirements, different preferences…
•
Can you adapt the difficulty of the game to adapt to
how the player is performing?
•
Can you adapt other aspects – for example, generate
a level for a particular training need?
AS - Creatures of the Forest
• Spells can be custom-mapped onto existing or recorded gestures to practice.
• The game demo is controlled using a Leap Motion device, but the setup allows Kinect or Wii-Mote as well.
• The game design can generate new levels of interconnected rooms and puzzles using procedural content generation.
