Mapping Hearthstone Deck Spaces through MAP-Elites with Sliding Boundaries

04/24/2019
by   Matthew C. Fontaine, et al.
14

Quality diversity (QD) algorithms such as MAP-Elites have emerged as a powerful alternative to traditional single-objective optimization methods. They were initially applied to evolutionary robotics problems such as locomotion and maze navigation, but have yet to see widespread application. We argue that these algorithms are perfectly suited to the rich domain of video games, which contains many relevant problems with a multitude of successful strategies and often also multiple dimensions along which solutions can vary. This paper introduces a novel modification of the MAP-Elites algorithm called MAP-Elites with Sliding Boundaries (MESB) and applies it to the design and rebalancing of Hearthstone, a popular collectible card game chosen for its number of multidimensional behavior features relevant to particular styles of play. To avoid overpopulating cells with conflated behaviors, MESB slides the boundaries of cells based on the distribution of evolved individuals. Experiments in this paper demonstrate the performance of MESB in Hearthstone. Results suggest MESB finds diverse ways of playing the game well along the selected behavioral dimensions. Further analysis of the evolved strategies reveals common patterns that recur across behavioral dimensions and explores how MESB can help rebalance the game.

READ FULL TEXT
research
06/12/2019

Empowering Quality Diversity in Dungeon Design with Interactive Constrained MAP-Elites

We propose the use of quality-diversity algorithms for mixed-initiative ...
research
09/08/2015

A Behavior Analysis-Based Game Bot Detection Approach Considering Various Play Styles

An approach for game bot detection in MMORPGs is proposed based on the a...
research
04/11/2022

Persona-driven Dominant/Submissive Map (PDSM) Generation for Tutorials

In this paper, we present a method for automated persona-driven video ga...
research
03/06/2020

Interactive Constrained MAP-Elites Analysis and Evaluation of the Expressiveness of the Feature Dimensions

We propose the Interactive Constrained MAP-Elites, a quality-diversity s...
research
12/08/2020

MAP-Elites enables Powerful Stepping Stones and Diversity for Modular Robotics

In modular robotics, modules can be reconfigured to change the morpholog...
research
04/04/2023

Controllable Exploration of a Design Space via Interactive Quality Diversity

This paper introduces a user-driven evolutionary algorithm based on Qual...

Please sign up or login with your details

Forgot password? Click here to reset