mlsanityData to 14 Oct 2026

Towards Informed Design and Validation Assistance in Computer Games Using Imitation Learning

arXiv 2208.07811 ↗First posted 15 Aug 2022cs.SE cs.AI cs.LGcited by 13

On the map: Offline RL and imitation learning from data → Imitation learning methods

Abstract (arXiv)

In games, as in and many other domains, design validation and testing is a huge challenge as systems are growing in size and manual testing is becoming infeasible. This paper proposes a new approach to automated game validation and testing. Our method leverages a data-driven imitation learning technique, which requires little effort and time and no knowledge of machine learning or programming, that designers can use to efficiently train game testing agents. We investigate the validity of our approach through a user study with industry experts. The survey results show that our method is indeed a valid approach to game validation and that data-driven programming would be a useful aid to reducing effort and increasing quality of modern playtesting. The survey also highlights several open challenges. With the help of the most recent literature, we analyze the identified challenges and propose future research directions suitable for supporting and maximizing the utility of our approach.

Key facts. Cited by 13 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026). Placed in Imitation learning methods, one of 13 directions in Offline RL and imitation learning from data. Builds on 30 of its 56 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 15 Aug 2022.

Builds on

30 of 56 references.

Closest ancestors · 2

Same direction, newest first

  1. 2018Behavioral Cloning from Observation4 May
  2. 2018Imitation Learning with Concurrent Actions in 3D Games14 Mar

Other references · 28

  1. 2017Proximal Policy Optimization Algorithmscited by 15,215
  2. 2017Model-Agnostic Meta-Learning for Fast Adaptation of Deep Networkscited by 4,897
  3. 2020Conservative Q-Learning for Offline Reinforcement Learningcited by 1,809
  4. 2016Generative Adversarial Imitation Learningcited by 1,597
  5. 2021Decision Transformer: Reinforcement Learning via Sequence Modelingcited by 1,546
  6. 2018Exploration by Random Network Distillationcited by 993
  7. 2021A Minimalist Approach to Offline Reinforcement Learningcited by 899
  8. 2017Adversarial Attacks on Neural Network Policiescited by 320
  9. 2017One-Shot Imitation Learningcited by 233
  10. 2016A Connection between Generative Adversarial Networks, Inverse Reinforcement Learning, and Energy-Based Modelscited by 168
  11. 2021S4RL: Surprisingly Simple Self-Supervision for Offline Reinforcement Learningcited by 85
  12. 2017Coordinated Multi-Agent Imitation Learningcited by 72
16 more
  1. 2021Augmenting Automated Game Testing with Deep Reinforcement Learningcited by 38
  2. 2021Hierarchical Few-Shot Imitation with Skill Transition Modelscited by 37
  3. 2021Adversarial Reinforcement Learning for Procedural Content Generationcited by 36
  4. 2021Direct Behavior Specification via Constrained Reinforcement Learningcited by 31
  5. 2018Automated Playtesting with Procedural Personas through MCTS with Evolved Heuristicscited by 28
  6. 2021Improving Playtesting Coverage via Curiosity Driven Reinforcement Learning Agentscited by 28
  7. 2020Deep Reinforcement Learning for Navigation in AAA Video Gamescited by 27
  8. 2018Inverse reinforcement learning for video gamescited by 26
  9. 2020"It's Unwieldy and It Takes a Lot of Time." Challenges and Opportunities for Creating Agents in Commercial Gamescited by 17
  10. 2019Winning Isn't Everything: Enhancing Game Development with Intelligent Agentscited by 15
  11. 2019Automated Playtesting of Matching Tile Gamescited by 10
  12. 2021Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) for Increasing User Trust in Deep Reinforcement Learning Driven Autonomous Systemscited by 7
  13. 2022CCPT: Automatic Gameplay Testing and Validation with Curiosity-Conditioned Proximal Trajectoriescited by 6
  14. 2020Augmented Behavioral Cloning from Observationcited by 5
  15. 2022Towards Automated Video Game Testing: Still a Long Way to Gocited by 5
  16. 2021Policy Fusion for Adaptive and Customizable Reinforcement Learning Agentscited by 4

Built on by

Cited by year (2026 to 14 Oct)

Citing papers per year: 2023: 4; 2024: 2; 2025: 5; 2026: 2.

13 papers.

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By area:

  1. 2023Visual Encoders for Data-Efficient Imitation Learning in Modern Video Gamescited by 6
  2. 2023Improving Generalization in Game Agents with Data Augmentation in Imitation Learningcited by 4
  3. 2023Generating Personas for Games with Multimodal Adversarial Imitation Learningcited by 3
  4. 2024Reinforcement Learning for High-Level Strategic Control in Tower Defense Gamescited by 3
  5. 2025Real-Time Diffusion Policies for Games: Enhancing Consistency Policies with Q-Ensemblescited by 3
  6. 2025Bayesian Optimization-based Search for Agent Control in Automated Game Testingcited by 3
  7. 2023Minimax Exploiter: A Data Efficient Approach for Competitive Self-Playcited by 2
  8. 2024A Benchmark Environment for Offline Reinforcement Learning in Racing Gamescited by 1
  9. 2025Self-correcting Reward Shaping via Language Models for Reinforcement Learning Agents in Gamescited by 1
  10. 2025TROFI: Trajectory-Ranked Offline Inverse Reinforcement Learningcited by 0
  11. 2025VRScout: Towards Real-Time, Autonomous Testing of Virtual Reality Gamescited by 0
  12. 2026ARC-RL: A Reinforcement Learning Playground Inspired by ARC Raiderscited by 0
1 more
  1. 2026Augmenting Game AI with Deep Reinforcement Learningcited by 0

Similar, not cited

Close in wording, no citation either way

  1. 2024Robust Imitation Learning for Automated Game Testing
  2. 2019Automated Video Game Testing Using Synthetic and Human-Like Agents
  3. 2026CA2: Code-Aware Agent for Automated Game Testing
  4. 2023Preference-conditioned Pixel-based AI Agent For Game Testing
  5. 2022Inspector: Pixel-Based Automated Game Testing via Exploration, Detection, and Investigation
  6. 2020Benchmarking End-to-End Behavioural Cloning on Video Games
  7. 2026MIMIC-Py: An Extensible Tool for Personality-Driven Automated Game Testing with Large Language Models
  8. 2024Personalized Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment -- Imitation Learning Meets Reinforcement Learning