From game trees to a narrative game: prototype

Abstract

The game theory started as a mathematical exploration of human behaviours. The term has expanded to cover this mathematical exploration of the decision-making not only of humans but also of animals and computers. Through this project, we will be able to study how can we integrate the mathematical aspect of a specific topic from game theory into a development of a game. Furthermore, what advantages or inconveniences can we find on our way to integrating this field into game development? First, we must focus on learning key concepts about game theory topics, specifically Game Trees and subgame perfect equilibrium. These concepts will help us create a game tree and calculate the decision-making values, so later, it becomes easier to mix with other concepts once we accomplish the research. When we look at a game tree, we can easily relate some similarities with another well-known video game system. These systems are narrative trees or decision trees. So the main focus of this project is to create a game prototype where a player has to make decisions like in a narrative game. However, instead of a standard decision tree, we will investigate making this tree with the concepts learned through game theory. The key to success will be learning how to create a game tree and combining this with some psychology so players can feel that their decisions have some value, as we would see in a game tree. All these challenges will illustrate through the development part of the project.