Adaptive Companion-Mediated Behavior Changes on Arithmatopia Games User: Case Study of NPC Design

Arithmatopia is a math educational game for elementary school children, especially first-grade. Arithmatopia can be played up to six players, and divided into two groups. The action real-time strategy (ARTS) genre provides dynamic play with different opponent characteristics. To be able to maintain the children's best performance in a dynamic match, an adaptive companion applied that will act as a partner non-player character (NPC). It helps children by guiding to the exact location as a form of intervention, consequently motivating children to interact more. Before acting, an adaptive companion evaluates children's performance within a certain period, and then compares them during the game. Heuristic modeling implemented to see the difference in conditions between players in real terms based on on interaction data, time, and position obtained by sensors, moreover the system will be able to give commands to the companion to act actively or passively. Based on the results of data collected through experiments on 18 first-grade children, It succeeded in increasing the children's performance they accompanied, compared to their opponents who played without accompaniment. The intervention carried out by the adaptive companion successfully motivates children to interact more when the performance decreases, so that it has a higher win-rate.