Path Planning for Non-Playable Characters in Arcade Video Games using the Wavefront Algorithm

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alvaro Jose Ortega Vargas ◽  
Jairo E. Serrano C. ◽  
Leonardo Castellanos Acuna ◽  
Juan Carlos Martinez-Santos
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Path Planning

scholarly journals Crowd Simulation with Arrival Time Constraints

Symmetry ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 1804
Author(s):  
Mankyu Sung ◽  
SeongKi Kim
Keyword(s):  
User Interface ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Path Planning ◽  
Computer Animation ◽  
City Planning ◽  
Crowd Simulation ◽  
Time Constraint ◽  
Order Constraints ◽  
Planning Algorithm ◽  
Path Planning Algorithm

Finding collision-free paths for crowd simulation has been a core technique in video games and the film industry; it has drawn a great deal of attention from computer animation researchers for several decades. Additionally, theoretical modeling of pedestrian has been a hot topic in physics as well because it allows us to predict any architectural failure of buildings and many city planning problems. However, the existing studies for path planning cannot guarantee the arrival order, which is critical in many cases, such as arrival symmetry of the characters within video games or films. To resolve this issue, a path planning algorithm has been developed with a novel method for satisfying the arrival-order constraints. The time constraint we suggest is the temporal duration for each character, specifying the order in which they arrive at their target positions. In addition to the algorithm that guarantees the arrival order of objects, a new user interface is suggested for setting up the arrival order. Through several experiments, the proposed algorithm was verified, and can successfully find collision-free paths, while satisfying the time constraint set by the new user interface. Given the available literature, the suggested algorithm and the interface are the first that support arrival order, and their usability is proven by user studies.

scholarly journals Any-Angle Path Planning

AI Magazine ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 85-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Nash ◽  
Sven Koenig
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Path Planning ◽  
Shortest Path ◽  
Grid Cells ◽  
Grid Graph ◽  
Planning Algorithm ◽  
Planning Algorithms ◽  
Planning Methodology ◽  
Path Planning Algorithm

In robotics and video games, one often discretizes continuous terrain into a grid with blocked and unblocked grid cells and then uses path-planning algorithms to find a shortest path on the resulting grid graph. This path, however, is typically not a shortest path in the continuous terrain. In this overview article, we discuss a path-planning methodology for quickly finding paths in continuous terrain that are typically shorter than shortest grid paths. Any-angle path-planning algorithms are variants of the heuristic path-planning algorithm A* that find short paths by propagating information along grid edges (like A*, to be fast) without constraining the resulting paths to grid edges (unlike A*, to find short paths).

scholarly journals Theta*: Any-Angle Path Planning on Grids

2010 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 533-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Daniel ◽  
A. Nash ◽  
S. Koenig ◽  
A. Felner
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Path Planning ◽  
Path Length ◽  
Shortest Paths ◽  
Worst Case ◽  
Case Complexity ◽  
Worst Case Complexity ◽  
Planning Algorithms

Grids with blocked and unblocked cells are often used to represent terrain in robotics and video games. However, paths formed by grid edges can be longer than true shortest paths in the terrain since their headings are artificially constrained. We present two new correct and complete any-angle path-planning algorithms that avoid this shortcoming. Basic Theta* and Angle-Propagation Theta* are both variants of A* that propagate information along grid edges without constraining paths to grid edges. Basic Theta* is simple to understand and implement, fast and finds short paths. However, it is not guaranteed to find true shortest paths. Angle-Propagation Theta* achieves a better worst-case complexity per vertex expansion than Basic Theta* by propagating angle ranges when it expands vertices, but is more complex, not as fast and finds slightly longer paths. We refer to Basic Theta* and Angle-Propagation Theta* collectively as Theta*. Theta* has unique properties, which we analyze in detail. We show experimentally that it finds shorter paths than both A* with post-smoothed paths and Field D* (the only other version of A* we know of that propagates information along grid edges without constraining paths to grid edges) with a runtime comparable to that of A* on grids. Finally, we extend Theta* to grids that contain unblocked cells with non-uniform traversal costs and introduce variants of Theta* which provide different tradeoffs between path length and runtime.

Video Games: Rules Required

2009 ◽  
Vol 42 (19) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
LISA J. MERLO
Keyword(s):  
Video Games

Frustration and Violence in Mobile Video Games

2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-70
Author(s):  
Petr Květon ◽  
Martin Jelínek
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Implicit Association Test ◽  
Self Determination Theory ◽  
Psychological Needs ◽  
Basic Psychological Needs ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Mobile Video ◽  
Violent Content ◽  
Before And After

Abstract. This study tests two competing hypotheses, one based on the general aggression model (GAM), the other on the self-determination theory (SDT). GAM suggests that the crucial factor in video games leading to increased aggressiveness is their violent content; SDT contends that gaming is associated with aggression because of the frustration of basic psychological needs. We used a 2×2 between-subject experimental design with a sample of 128 undergraduates. We assigned each participant randomly to one experimental condition defined by a particular video game, using four mobile video games differing in the degree of violence and in the level of their frustration-invoking gameplay. Aggressiveness was measured using the implicit association test (IAT), administered before and after the playing of a video game. We found no evidence of an association between implicit aggressiveness and violent content or frustrating gameplay.

Hostile and Hardened? An Experimental Study on (De-)Sensitization to Violence and Suffering Through Playing Video Games

2008 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frithjof Staude-Müller ◽  
Thomas Bliesener ◽  
Stefanie Luthman
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Physiological Measurement ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Downward Spiral ◽  
Spiral Model ◽  
Post Hoc ◽  
Game Violence ◽  
First Person Shooter ◽  
Physiological Reactions

This study tests whether playing violent video games leads to desensitization and increased cardiovascular responding. In a laboratory experiment, 42 men spent 20 min playing either a high- or low-violence version of a “first-person shooter” game. Arousal (heart rate, respiration rate) was measured continuously. After playing the game, emotional responses to aversive and aggressive stimuli - pictures from Lang, Bradley, and Cuthbert’s (1999) International Affective Picture System - were assessed with self-ratings and physiological measurement (skin conductance). Results showed no differences in the judgments of emotional responses to the stimuli. However, different effects of game violence emerged in the physiological reactions to the different types of stimulus material. Participants in the high-violence condition showed significantly weaker reactions (desensitization) to aversive stimuli and reacted significantly more strongly (sensitization) to aggressive cues. No support was found for the arousal hypothesis. Post-hoc analyses are used to discuss possible moderating influences of gaming experience and player’s trait aggressiveness in terms of the General Aggression Model ( Anderson & Bushman, 2001 ) and the Downward Spiral Model ( Slater, Henry, Swaim, & Anderson, 2003 ).

Video Games and Emotion Regulation

GeroPsych ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 205-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn L. Ossenfort ◽  
Derek M. Isaacowitz
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Interactive Media ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Media Preferences

Abstract. Research on age differences in media usage has shown that older adults are more likely than younger adults to select positive emotional content. Research on emotional aging has examined whether older adults also seek out positivity in the everyday situations they choose, resulting so far in mixed results. We investigated the emotional choices of different age groups using video games as a more interactive type of affect-laden stimuli. Participants made multiple selections from a group of positive and negative games. Results showed that older adults selected the more positive games, but also reported feeling worse after playing them. Results supplement the literature on positivity in situation selection as well as on older adults’ interactive media preferences.

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