Target assistance for subtly balancing competitive play

Abstract

In games where skills such as targeting are critical to winning, it is difficult for players with different skill levels to have a competitive and engaging experience. Although several mechanisms for accommodating different skill levels have been proposed, traditional approaches can be too obvious and can change the nature of the game. For games involving aiming, we propose the use of target assistance techniques (such as area cursors, target gravity, and sticky targets) to accommodate skill imbalances. We compared three techniques in a study, and found that area cursors and target gravity significantly reduced score differential in a shooting-gallery game. Further, less skilled players reported having more fun when the techniques helped them be more competitive, and even after they learned assistance was given, felt that this form of balancing was good for group gameplay. Our results show that target assistance techniques can make target-based games more competitive for shared play.

Effects of balancing for physical abilities on player performance, experience and self-esteem in exergames

“…Strategies for multiplayer game balancing summarized by Bateman et al include asymmetric roles, matchmaking, and individual difficulty adjustment [2]. The authors examined aim assist techniques to balance shooting-gallery games played in a co-located setting using the Nintendo Wii Remote [2].…”

“…Multiplayer game balancing in exertion-based games is complicated by the need to consider both player skill and fitness. Although the game in [2] was played with a motionbased controller, the physical effort of pointing input does not compare to that required by many exergames. Different approaches for balancing exertion games have emerged in literature: The game Life is a Village [23] implements asymmetric player roles (cycling on a recumbent bike and using the Nintendo Wii Remote for gestural input), whereas Heart Burn [21] uses difference from target heart rates to balance for people with difference fitness levels.…”

“…In particular, Bateman et al [2] showed that the reduced score differential of balanced competitions increased the fun that assisted players experienced, while not changing the fun that non-assisted players had. However, these results derive from a genre (target shooting) where assistance was hidden from players.…”

“…Thus players are aware that assistance is provided to one player in terms of reduced difficulty. How players respond to explicit balancing is an open question; however, the work by Bateman et al [2] gives some insight. In their study, the majority of assisted players felt that assisting a player is unfair because the win does not reflect actual ability, the win does not count if it was actually due to computer assistance, and the scores would be meaningless.…”

Improving player balancing in racing games

“…Previous research has also examined player balancing, but only in a limited number of situations (e.g., [5,11,16,20]). For example, recent studies have shown that player balancing can be effectively applied in 2D and 3D shooting games [5,20].…”