[Chinese DiGRA 2015] Gao Jihe on Implementing Agent-based Approachs to Prototyping Online Games’ Social Interaction Mechanism

Gao Jihe (高济禾), Jiejiao Tech Co.Ltd (街角科技)

Game prototyping has become a common practice in game design. Existing prototyping studies focused on the core mechanics, the level design, interface and so on. The rise of online multiplayer gaming has make in-game social engagement and interaction becoming an increasingly important component of game mechanism. However, a systematic research methods focusing on the influences of in-game social rules and mechanisms to a player group have not yet formed. We propose an approach of ABM (multi-agent simulation) method to study in-game social interaction, by establishing a simulation environment including the player’s agent and the rules of in-game interaction. By implementing ABM approach, the social interaction outcomes could be tested independent from other aspects of game design.

利用ABM方法对网络游戏的社交互动机制进行原型研究

利用原型对游戏设计进行验证已经成为游戏项目开发的通行做法,现有的原型研究主要针对游戏的核心游戏机制、关卡设计、交互界面等方面。多人在线游戏的兴起和发展,使社交逐渐成为游戏机制中越来越重要的构成。而针对于某个玩家群体,游戏社交机制会产生什么样的宏观和微观结果,还没有形成系统的研究方法。我们提出一种利用ABM(多代理人仿真)方法建立对游戏群体互动机制进行验证的方案,通过建立一个包括玩家agent和社交互动规则的仿真环境,能够独立于游戏其他设计环节,对玩家的群体互动效果进行独立仿真验证。

Author info

GAO Jihe is founder of Jiejiao Technology, a startup company focus on automatic data collecting and processing using agent-based modeling methods. Former business consultant specialized in market research, marketing strategy, marketing data analyzing.
Email: jihe.gao@jiejiaotech.com