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Creators/Authors contains: "Nealen, Andy"

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  1. ; ; ; (, 2018 Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference (GECCO))
    We describe a search-based approach to generating new levels for bullet hell games, which are action games characterized by and requiring avoidance of a very large amount of projectiles. Levels are represented using a domain-specific description language, and search in the space defined by this language is performed by a novel variant of the Map-Elites algorithm which incorporates a feasible-infeasible approach to constraint satisfaction. Simulation-based evaluation is used to gauge the fitness of levels, using an agent based on best-first search. The performance of the agent can be tuned according to the two dimensions of strategy and dexterity, making it possible to search for level configurations that require a specific combination of both. As far as we know, this paper describes the first generator for this game genre, and includes several algorithmic innovations. 
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    Accepted Manuscript Full Text Available
  2. ; ; ; ; ; (, FDG '18: Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Game)
    In this paper, we explore the possibility of search-based agents in games with resource-intensive forward models. We implemented a player agent in the Pommerman framework and put it against the baseline agent to measure its performance. We implemented a heuristic agent and improved it by enabling depth-limited tree search in specific gameplay moments. We also compared different node selection methods during depth-limited tree search. Our result shows that depth-limited tree search is still viable when presented with inefficient forward models and exploitation-driven selection method is the most efficient in this specific domain. 
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    Full Text Available 
  3. ; ; ; ; (, FDG Workshop on Procedural Content Generation)
    The automatic generation of game tutorials is a challenging AI problem. While it is possible to generate annotations and instructions that explain to the player how the game is played, this paper focuses on generating a gameplay experience that introduces the player to a game mechanic. It evolves small levels for the Mario AI Framework that can only be beaten by an agent that knows how to perform specific actions in the game. It uses variations of a perfect A* agent that are limited in various ways, such as not being able to jump high or see enemies, to test how failing to do certain actions can stop the player from beating the level. 
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    Accepted Manuscript Full Text Available