Using Depth-First Search-Based Strongly Connected Component Analysis to Quantify Patrol Network Interconnectivity in Stealth Game Design
Faculty Mentor
Yao Xu
Location
Russell Union Ballroom
Type of Research
Proposed
Session Format
Poster Presentation
College
Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering & Computing
Department
Computer Science
Abstract
As stealth video games have become more popular and lucrative, they must cater to a wider variety of players. With such massive playerbases as many stealth games have now, it can be exhausting to try and figure out the exact what difficulty a stealth experience should have and how it should be scaled to each player's preference. One of the major components of a stealth or stealth-adjacent game is the patrol routes of guards protecting something or someone, whose goal is ultimately to catch and stop the player. Because of this, I am researching how to specifically analyze the various factors that impact difficulty utilizing the depth-first search algorithm to analyze the size of circulation zones, the number of overlaps, and interconnectivity between patrol loops, and how each of those factors can scale the difficulty of a stealth-based game. The ultimate goal would be to find a specific, universal, and measurable approach to steadily alter the difficulty of one major component of a stealth-based game through the depth-first search aglorithm
Program Description
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Start Date
4-23-2026 2:00 PM
End Date
4-23-2026 4:00 PM
Recommended Citation
Osterloh, Gavin A., "Using Depth-First Search-Based Strongly Connected Component Analysis to Quantify Patrol Network Interconnectivity in Stealth Game Design" (2026). GS4 Student Scholars Symposium. 204.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/research_symposium/2026/2026/204
Using Depth-First Search-Based Strongly Connected Component Analysis to Quantify Patrol Network Interconnectivity in Stealth Game Design
Russell Union Ballroom
As stealth video games have become more popular and lucrative, they must cater to a wider variety of players. With such massive playerbases as many stealth games have now, it can be exhausting to try and figure out the exact what difficulty a stealth experience should have and how it should be scaled to each player's preference. One of the major components of a stealth or stealth-adjacent game is the patrol routes of guards protecting something or someone, whose goal is ultimately to catch and stop the player. Because of this, I am researching how to specifically analyze the various factors that impact difficulty utilizing the depth-first search algorithm to analyze the size of circulation zones, the number of overlaps, and interconnectivity between patrol loops, and how each of those factors can scale the difficulty of a stealth-based game. The ultimate goal would be to find a specific, universal, and measurable approach to steadily alter the difficulty of one major component of a stealth-based game through the depth-first search aglorithm
