Profiling Personality Traits with Games

Trying to understand a player's characteristics with regards to a computer game is a major line of research known as player modeling. The purpose of player modeling is typically the adaptation of the game itself. We present two studies that extend player modeling into player profiling by trying to identify abstract personality traits, such as the need for cognition and self-esteem, through a player's in-game behavior. We present evidence that game mechanics that can be broadly adopted by several game genres, such as hints and a player's self-evaluation at the end of a level, correlate with the aforementioned personality traits. We conclude by presenting future directions for research regarding this topic, discuss the direct applications for the games industry, and explore how games can be developed as profiling tools with applications to other contexts.