AI-Adaptive Difficulty in Games: An Empirical Study
Abstract
This project presents an empirical study examining whether AI-adaptive difficulty improves player engagement compared to static difficulty in a 2D platformer game. A lightweight, reinforcement-inspired adaptation mechanism dynamically adjusts game parameters based on player performance. Results indicate increased average playtime and reduced retries under adaptive difficulty, suggesting the effectiveness of computationally efficient adaptive game AI systems.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Artificial Intelligence in Games
Reinforcement Learning in Robotics
Educational Games and Gamification
Publication details
- Journal / source
- OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints)
- Publication date
- 1 January 2026
- Document type
- Preprint