With the expansion of video gaming industry reaching into newer territories, video games are no longer just an entertainment tool. They can become one’s career, competition, healthcare, or social interaction. Within the values that video game brings, something that is close to casual player is social interaction on physical world or cyberspace. However, sometimes interaction with an entity without embodiment can lose player’s engagement or satisfaction. For some of the more vulnerable people who relies on video game as a source of social interaction, the lack of embodiment can greatly reduce the enjoyment of playing games.
This research will discuss a possible solution to the lack of embodiment. Many Player vs. Player games have a game mode versus CP(Computer Player). However the experience in such modes can lack satisfaction on the player side due to the lack of engagement, challenge, and involvement. This paper proposes a human-agent interaction system in the context of video game. The virtual agent will act as if it is the CP, creating stronger ties and possible companionship. This research will design and evaluate an auxiliary system that enhances the experience of playing against CP by using an on-screen virtual agent. Emotion will be synthesized through an emotion engine using the game state as an input, and the agent will display facial expressions and appropriate utterances. The evaluation will be done through user-end perspective and developer perspective to grasp the whole model of our system, AfRAS, and possible implications to the gaming ecosystem.
AfRAS: Video Gaming with Emotion Expressive Virtual Rival Player：kiyomo
