Like a DNA string: Sequence-based player profiling in Tom Clancy’s the Division

Abstract

In this paper we present an approach to using sequence analysis to model player behavior. This approach is designed to work in game development contexts, integrating production teams and delivering profiles that inform game design. We demonstrate the method via a case study of the game Tom Clancy’s The Division, which with its 20 million players represents a major current commercial title. The approach presented provides a mixed-methods framework, combining qualitative knowledge elicitation and workshops with large-scale telemetry analysis, using sequence mining and clustering to develop detailed player profiles showing the core gameplay loops of The Division’s players.