Enhancing Player Satisfaction Through Personality-Based Narrative Adaptation in Digital Games

Celina Auer, Michael Lankes

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingsConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

We explore how tailoring game narratives to players’ real-life personality traits impacts player engagement and satisfaction in narrative-driven gaming environments. Using the Big Five Inventory (BFI-10), we adapted a text-based narrative game to reflect individual levels of Openness, Conscientiousness, and Extraversion. Through a mixed-methods study combining quantitative assessments and qualitative player feedback, we found that adaptations based on Openness and Extraversion led to increased player satisfaction. Unexpectedly, adaptations for Conscientiousness did not align with players’ expectations. Additionally, our results suggest that the freedom to make meaningful decisions and explore multiple narrative paths played a more significant role in player satisfaction than personality-driven adaptations alone. Our findings contribute to the understanding of personalized interactive storytelling and offer insights for designers aiming to create more engaging and satisfying player experiences through personality-based customization.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 20th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games, FDG 2025
EditorsJohanna Pirker, Fares Kayali, Katta Spiel, Sabine Harrer, Sabine Harrer, Ahmed Khalifa, Gabriella A.B. Barros
Place of PublicationNew York, NY, USA
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery
ISBN (Electronic)9798400718564
ISBN (Print)9798400718564
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 9 May 2025

Publication series

NameProceedings of the 20th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games, FDG 2025

Keywords

  • Personality-based adaptation
  • Player satisfaction
  • Narrative-driven games
  • Big Five Inventory (BFI-10)
  • Player engagement
  • Interactive storytelling
  • Game design
  • Personalization in games

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