From Frustration to Fun: An Adaptive Problem-Solving Puzzle Game Powered by Genetic Algorithm

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: McConnell, Matthew, Zhao, Richard
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author McConnell, Matthew
Zhao, Richard
author_facet McConnell, Matthew
Zhao, Richard
contents This paper explores adaptive problem solving with a game designed to support the development of problem-solving skills. Using an adaptive, AI-powered puzzle game, our adaptive problem-solving system dynamically generates pathfinding-based puzzles using a genetic algorithm, tailoring the difficulty of each puzzle to individual players in an online real-time approach. A player-modeling system records user interactions and informs the generation of puzzles to approximate a target difficulty level based on various metrics of the player. By combining procedural content generation with online adaptive difficulty adjustment, the system aims to maintain engagement, mitigate frustration, and maintain an optimal level of challenge. A pilot user study investigates the effectiveness of this approach, comparing different types of adaptive difficulty systems and interpreting players' responses. This work lays the foundation for further research into emotionally informed player models, advanced AI techniques for adaptivity, and broader applications beyond gaming in educational settings.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_23796
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle From Frustration to Fun: An Adaptive Problem-Solving Puzzle Game Powered by Genetic Algorithm
McConnell, Matthew
Zhao, Richard
Artificial Intelligence
Multimedia
Neural and Evolutionary Computing
This paper explores adaptive problem solving with a game designed to support the development of problem-solving skills. Using an adaptive, AI-powered puzzle game, our adaptive problem-solving system dynamically generates pathfinding-based puzzles using a genetic algorithm, tailoring the difficulty of each puzzle to individual players in an online real-time approach. A player-modeling system records user interactions and informs the generation of puzzles to approximate a target difficulty level based on various metrics of the player. By combining procedural content generation with online adaptive difficulty adjustment, the system aims to maintain engagement, mitigate frustration, and maintain an optimal level of challenge. A pilot user study investigates the effectiveness of this approach, comparing different types of adaptive difficulty systems and interpreting players' responses. This work lays the foundation for further research into emotionally informed player models, advanced AI techniques for adaptivity, and broader applications beyond gaming in educational settings.
title From Frustration to Fun: An Adaptive Problem-Solving Puzzle Game Powered by Genetic Algorithm
topic Artificial Intelligence
Multimedia
Neural and Evolutionary Computing
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.23796