Jungle Maze: explore risks and merits behind the adaptive procedural-content-generation game mechanic

Abstract

Procedural content generation (PCG) has been a beloved game design element since Rogue (1980). Recent titles like Minecraft (2011) and Terraria (2011) also presented the charm behind this game mechanic. Yet, most PCG games implement content generation independently from players' in-game behaviors. On the contrary, adaptive PCG, which generates content on-the-fly that actively evolves the random generator according to players' real-time actions, has high potential yet rare presence. This study explores this issue by developing and investigating an adaptive PCG digital game - Jungle Maze. By analyzing participants' feedback through the perspectives of Nicole Lazzaro's Four Fun Keys (2015) and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's Flow Theory (1990), this paper aims to explore the merits and risks behind this game mechanic. At last, this study answered the question of when and how designers should use the adaptive PCG mechanic. The analysis proposes insights for future adaptive PCG research and game designs--Author's abstract