The Double-Edged Sword of Open-Ended Interaction: How LLM-Driven NPCs Affect Players' Cognitive Load and Gaming Experience

Ting-Chen Hsu; Wenran Chen; Jiangxu Lin; Fei Qin; Zheyuan Zhang

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arXiv · 2604.10107

The Double-Edged Sword of Open-Ended Interaction: How LLM-Driven NPCs Affect Players' Cognitive Load and Gaming Experience

Ting-Chen Hsu·Wenran Chen·Jiangxu Lin·Fei Qin·Zheyuan Zhang

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Abstract

This study examines how large language model-driven non-player characters (LLM-NPCs) affect players' cognitive load and gaming experience, with a particular focus on the underlying psychological mechanisms, differences across task scenarios, and the role of individual traits. Conducting a randomized between-subject experiment (N=130) in a self-developed game prototype "Campus Culture Week", we compared player interactions with LLM-NPCs and traditional pre-scripted NPCs across multiple interactive modules. The results showed that LLM-NPCs significantly increased players' cognitive load (p < .001), an effect mediated by factors such as expressive effort and response uncertainty. However, LLM-NPCs did not yield a statistically significant improvement in overall gaming experience (p = .195); while they positively influenced players' perceived autonomy, they exerted a negative influence on system usability and trust. The effects of LLM-NPCs also significantly varied across task scenarios (p < .001), with stronger increases in cognitive load in more open-ended modules such as content creation and relationship building. The influence of individual differences was generally limited, although the personality traits of extraversion (p = .031) and neuroticism (p = .047) demonstrated some predictive power regarding cognitive load. This study provides empirical evidence for understanding the "double-edged sword" effect of LLM-NPCs on player experience, and highlight the importance of scenario-sensitive and user-sensitive design in intelligent NPC systems.

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Ting-Chen Hsu, Wenran Chen, Jiangxu Lin, Fei Qin, Zheyuan Zhang. 2026-08-29. The Double-Edged Sword of Open-Ended Interaction: How LLM-Driven NPCs Affect Players' Cognitive Load and Gaming Experience. https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.10107

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