Information Architecture within Social Physics AI Simulations

Introduction

Slice of Life is an in-progress game created in Unity that utilizes the social physics AI engine Ensemble, which was co-created by my advisor, Dr. Ben Samuel. Social physics describes the chain reaction of information within a society, encapsulating both a person’s intention and the effects their action has on the world and others. The game is set in a pizza parlor where players’ actions have real effects on a built social world and can greatly influence the story. Its purpose is to research the possibilities of social physics AI within games.

My Role

I have worked on this project as an undergraduate researcher at the Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence, Games, and HCI Techniques (LIGHT) at the University of New Orleans. This research is taking place between January and December of 2024 with Dr. Ben Samuel as my advisor.

Problem

In Ensemble, characters have social states, such as traits and networks, and a cultural knowledge base which allows them to judge what is appropriate in a given situation. Each character interaction is recorded as well, and the player needs to know why social states changed the way they did after each round of gameplay. In essence, life is complicated, and displaying social consequences, both mental and external, can become overwhelming for a player if not organized proficiently. 

Goal

My goal is to analyze player experience and design a User Interface system that balances providing the information the player needs to make informed decisions without overwhelming. 

Early Ideation

Below are a selection of my initial sketches:

Using Figma, I then turned the sketches into a wireframe:

Final Design

The UI was then implemented in Unity and edited using Krita. The images below depict the initial UI versus my design.

User Study and Results

Users were presented with a conversation between two people, Zidane and Terra, where Zidane initiates the conversation and Terra responds harshly. Emotions and confidence level in Terra’s reaction were recorded for each interface. 

The following data shows an overall improvement in readability, structure, and a primary goal of helping players understand each character effectively to confidently continue the game.

40.3%

decrease in time spent understanding Old UI vs. New UI

Users were then presented with a variation of the New UI, which includes a highlight around Terra's "jerk" trait. The intended purpose of the highlight is to direct the player’s attention and therefore heighten understanding as to why the character reacted a certain way. In this scenario, Terra’s outburst was the cause of her “jerk” trait.

When presented with the new UI without the highlight, users pulled clues from various parts of Terra’s description to solve why Terra reacted so harshly, referencing her biography and the attraction bars along with the anticipated “jerk” trait. They denied believing her outburst was simply a result of being a jerk. It was suspected that her motives were a result of Zidane’s previous behavior, perhaps upsetting her due to his unrequited attraction towards her. 

Curiosity and excitement peaked when faced with the mystery of who Terra is as a complex character.

When the “jerk” trait is highlighted, insinuating that her response was the result of this trait alone, confidence in why Terra reacted this way increased by 40% in comparison to without the highlight:

However, by highlighting the trait, her personality was reduced to one aspect. Users refused to acknowledge her reaction was simply a result of a single trait, increasing confusion by 23%. Because the interface established Terra's reasoning, her character appears more flat. She is no longer a real person who thinks and feels but a single-minded being.

Conclusion

Even though the updated UI is more efficient in character-building because of the improved information architecture, the highlighted version has unintended negative consequences on player experience. In the attempt to provide clarity and confidence moving forward in the simulation, players were instead confused and disappointed that the mystery had already been solved for them. Now that the device to engage players has been stripped away, there is a loss of enjoyment and desire to continue. This new data is crucial for understanding player experience for Slice of Life and will be built upon for future research.