Affect and believability in game characters: a review of the use of affective computing in games

Salma ElSayed, David J. King

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

4 Citations (Scopus)
721 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Virtual agents are important in many digital environments. Designing a character that highly engages users in terms of interaction is an intricate task constrained by many requirements. One aspect that has gained more attention recently is the effective dimension of the agent. Several studies have addressed the possibility of developing an affect-aware system for a better user experience. Particularly in games, including emotional and social features in NPCs adds depth to the characters, enriches interaction possibilities, and combined with the basic level of competence, creates a more appealing game. Design requirements for emotionally intelligent NPCs differ from general autonomous agents with the main goal being a stronger player-agent relationship as opposed to problem solving and goal assessment. Nevertheless, deploying an affective module into NPCs adds to the complexity of the architecture and constraints. In addition, using such composite NPC in games seems beyond current technology, despite some brave attempts. However, a MARPO-type modular architecture would seem a useful starting point for adding emotions.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationGame-On’17
Subtitle of host publicationthe 18th International Conference on Intelligent Games and Simulation
EditorsJoseph Kehoe
Place of PublicationOstend
PublisherEUROSIS
Pages90-97
Number of pages8
ISBN (Print)9789077381991
Publication statusPublished - 24 Aug 2017
EventGAME-ON'2017, 18th annual Conference on Simulation and AI in Computer Games - Institute of Technology Carlow, Carlow, Ireland
Duration: 6 Sept 20178 Sept 2017
Conference number: 18
https://www.eurosis.org/cms/?q=node/3661

Conference

ConferenceGAME-ON'2017, 18th annual Conference on Simulation and AI in Computer Games
Abbreviated titleGAME-ON'2017
Country/TerritoryIreland
CityCarlow
Period6/09/178/09/17
Internet address

Keywords

  • Affective computing
  • Virtual agents
  • Believability
  • NPC

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