ADAPTING THE BEHAVIOR OF VIRTUAL CHARACTERS IN EDUCATIONAL VIDEO GAMES
ADAPTING THE BEHAVIOR OF VIRTUAL CHARACTERS IN EDUCATIONAL VIDEO GAMES

Summary/Abstract: Virtual players, also known as non-playable characters (NPCs), are utilized in educational video games to create an engaging gameplay experience that leads to improved learning outcomes and enhanced skills and competencies. To foster motivation and engagement among real game players, such NPCs often exhibit dynamically adapted behavior tailored to the player's specific attitudes, outcomes, and emotions. This literature review examines existing approaches and techniques for user-centered adaptation of NPC behavior in educational video games. To create more effective, plausible, and motivating NPCs, the authors seek to identify the dimensions of NPC behavior that convey emotional state, as well as the player characteristics modeled to support user-centric adaptation of NPC behavior. Next, the paper outlines the techniques implied for the implementation and validation of such adaptation, followed by modern trends and research challenges in NPC behavior adaptation, in the epoch of a massive invasion of AI. The findings promise to help specialists design, implement, and validate more plausible and intriguing NPCs, with enhanced abilities to motivate and engage real players of educational video games.

• Details
• Contents