Computer Science Thesis Proposal
— 2:30pm
Location:
Virtual Presentation - ET
-
Remote Access - Zoom
Speaker:
STEVEN OSMAN
,
Ph.D. Student, Computer Science Department, Carnegie Mellon University
An Exploration of Techniques for Predicting, Assessing, and Replicating the Performance of People with Color Vision Deficiency in Video Games
Color plays a key role in video games. Not only does color add to the visual aesthetic of the scene, it can also convey emotion and play a critical role in the successful completion of a game. For example, color can be used to distinguish friend from foe, to indicate the correct action to take in a puzzle, and to differentiate the relative worth of objects being offered to the player. Players with color vision deficiency (CVD, colloquially referred to as color blindness) may not be able to distinguish certain colors easily making games less enjoyable or completely unplayable for them.
The challenges faced by players with CVD motivate the need to thoroughly test a game from their perspective which is an expensive and difficult task. In this work, we propose to take a step towards helping create more accessible video games by predicting, assessing and replicating the performance of people with CVD. We begin by creating a tool which can analyze gameplay sessions and identify objects which are critical to the game that may be less clearly visible to players with CVD. We will then conduct a user study to garner a better understanding of how players with CVD play a simple puzzle game compared to how players without CVD play it.
Finally, we will use the knowledge from the user study to create an AI agent that can play through the puzzle game as though it were a player with or without CVD. This agent could be used, for example, to predict whether players with CVD would have the same chance of completing new levels and scenarios in the game as players without CVD.
Thesis Committee:
Jessica Hodgins (Chair)
Scott Hudson
Nancy Pollard
Eakta Jain (University of Florida)
Zoom Participation. See announcement.