Experience
Wiimote vs. Controller: Electroencephalographic Measurement of Affective Gameplay Interaction
Tue, 10/08/2010 - 22:04 | 
acagamic
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
Psychophysiological methods provide covert and reliable measurements of affective user experience (UX). The nature of affective UX in interactive entertainment, such as digital games, is currently not well understood. With the dawn of new gaming consoles, scientific methodologies for studying user interaction in an immersive entertainment context are needed. This paper reports a study on the influence of interaction modes (Playstation 2 game controller vs. Wii remote and Nunchuk) on subjective experience assessment and brain activity measured with electroencephalography (EEG). Results indicate that EEG alpha and delta power correlate with negative affect and tension when using regular game controller input. EEG beta and gamma power seem to be related to the feeling of possible action in spatial presence with a PS2 game controller. Delta as well as theta power correlate with self-location using a Wii remote and Nunchuk.
79 reads | 
Tags: brain-computer interface, brainwave, controller, controller, eeg, Electroencephalography, Experience, Fun, gameplay, immersion, interface, Nintendo, Physiology, playstation 2, PlayStation 2, Presence, Technology, Technology, ui, Video games, wii, Wii, Wii Remote, wiimote
User-experience game research?
Mon, 14/06/2010 - 15:41 | sharritt
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
Situated Research offers in-depth video game analysis, accomplished by recording and analyzing player interaction within situated gaming environments. Techniques will be presented which uncover user practices and behaviors, aimed at uncovering a balance between aesthetics and functionality while maximizing interactive experiences. Research will be presented that outlines how to unpack gameplay experiences, so designers can design situations that yield intended, meaningful outcomes with lasting results. The cutting-edge research approach described draws from a multi-disciplinary background to construct a very detailed picture of actual use, which informs the design process. Existing literature supports the idea that games can communicate complex ideas through exploration and play-testing, using constant feedback and assessment, by observing players’ behavior through interaction with other related objects in an environment. The design of specific visualizations, rules, and behaviors will be discussed, with impacts on human interaction and game play. By studying relationships among game interfaces and player behavior, patterns can be found that help to maximize motivation and flow, a feeling where one loses track of time and their surroundings (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). In addition, research outlining the importance of role specialization and complimentary virtual identities in games like MMORPGs is presented, highlighting the importance of role-specialization, where group participation is required for success: such as guild formation, where characters of different ability work together towards mutual goals. Research methods addressing group activities and specialization (assuming roles) will be described, with effects on engagement: e.g., social ties to play games. A blended method drawing from ethnomethodology (Garfinkel, 1967; Clayman & Maynard, 1995) and grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Charmaz, 2005) will describe how to go about finding patterns in gameplay, helping to design situations that yield intended, meaningful outcomes with lasting results. This open-ended approach allows observation of game players while they act in their natural environment, “in-situ”, obtaining information that is highly relevant to the players themselves. Applying these results to game design can yield more effective, fun and playable games.
185 reads | Tags: Affordances, Analysis, Clan, Cognition, Education, Educational psychology, Ethnomethodology, Experience, Flow, flow, Game design, Gameplay, gameplay, Games, learning, Madison, method, Michel A.
Source, motivation, Play, player, player experience, Psychology, research, serious games, sharritt, situated, situated learning, situated research, Technology, Technology, United States, usability, User experience, user-experience, ux, Video game, Video Games
Researching Travel Behavior and Adaptability: Using a Virtual Reality Role-Playing Game
Tue, 27/04/2010 - 09:16 | Jason Rutter
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
This article describes a virtual reality role-playing game that was developed as a survey tool to collect travel behavior data and explore and monitor travel behavior adaptation. The Advanced Energy and Material Systems Laboratory has designed, developed a prototype, and tested such a game platform survey tool, called Travel Activity Constraint Adaptation Simulation (TACA SIM). A main objective is investigating adaptability under the simulated situation of rapid fuel price. The computer game survey approach has the potential to capture real behavior data through a well-controlled experiment, because the participant experiences the survey as a role-play exploration. Feedback from participants confirms that TACA SIM collects data efficiently in an acceptable time while the participants enjoyed the experience. The authors propose that this gamed-based survey approach provides the basis for collecting and evaluating travel behavior data and adaptation behavior.
210 reads | Tags: Academia, adaptability, Experience, gamed-based survey, high fuel price, Hospitality, Hospitality, Nature, role-playing game, Roleplaying, Science, Simulation, simulation, Survey, Transportation planning, travel, travel behavior, Travel behavior, travel behavior adaptation, virtual reality, Virtual reality, virtual reality
Theorizing Flow and Media Enjoyment as Cognitive Synchronization of Attentional and Reward Networks
Mon, 25/01/2010 - 08:50 | Jason Rutter
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
This article reconceptualizes the psychological concept of "flow" as it pertains to media entertainment. Our goal is to advance flow theory in ways that highlight the necessity of reliable and valid operationalization. We posit flow as a discrete, energetically optimized, and gratifying experience resulting from a cognitive synchronization of specific attentional and reward networks under condition of balance between challenge and skill. We identify video-game play as a context in which flow is likely to occur, and where we can observe our neurophysiological conceptualization of flow using measurement techniques (functional magnetic resonance imaging [fMRI]) without disrupting the experiential state. After presenting preliminary evidence consistent with our synchronization theory of flow, we suggest ways to advance this research.
Add new comment | 170 reads | Tags: Activation, binding, environments, Experience, human-computer interactions, Mechanisms, MODEL, oscillations, task, visual-cortex
Log who’s playing: psychophysiological game analysis made easy through event logging
Sun, 23/11/2008 - 12:46 | acagamic
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
Modern psychophysiological game research faces the problem that for understanding the computer game experience, it needs to analyze game events with high temporal resolution and within the game context. This is the only way to achieve greater understanding of gameplay and the player experience with the use of psychophysiological instrumentation. This paper presents a solution to recording in-game events with the frequency and accuracy of psychophysiological recording systems, by sending out event byte codes through a parallel port to the psychophysiological signal acquisition hardware. Thus, psychophysiological data can immediately be correlated with in-game data. By employing this system for psychophysiological game experiments, researchers will be able to analyze gameplay in greater detail in future studies.
Add new comment | 1179 reads | Tags: Analysis, biometrics, DESIGN, Events, Experience, gameplay, Half-Life 2, instrumentation, interactive, level design, logging, metrics, Neuropsychology, physiological, Play, psychophysiology, Psychophysiology, software, techniques, usability, ux
Boredom, Immersion, Flow - A pilot study investigating player experience
Sun, 23/11/2008 - 12:29 | acagamic
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
Designing and evaluating gameplay experience comes to life after measures for player experience have been found. This paper describes a pilot study measuring game experience with a set of game stimuli especially designed for different player experiences. Gameplay experience is measured using self-report questionnaires after each play session. Results of the questionnaires are then separately compared to design intentions and player evaluations. Our experiment shows that gameplay experience can be assessed with a high reliability for certain gameplay features.
Add new comment | 1104 reads | Tags: Affect, Aggression, bas, bis, boredom, Boredom, challenge, Cognition, Company Location, DESIGN, epq, Experience, Experience point, flow, Flow, fuga, game design, Game design, gameplay, Gameplay, Gaming, geq, Half-Life 2, Human behavior, immersion, Immersion, Level, level design, metrics, Personality, Play, player, quantitative study, reliability, self-report measures, tension, ux
Game Play Schemas: From Player Analysis to Adaptive Game Mechanics
Sun, 23/11/2008 - 12:13 | acagamic
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
Schema theory provides a foundation for the analysis of game play patterns created by players during their interaction with a game. Schema models derived from the analysis of play provide a rich explanatory framework for the cognitive processes underlying game play, as well as detailed hypotheses for the hierarchical structure of pleasures and rewards motivating players. Game engagement is accounted for as a process of schema selection or development, while immersion is explained in terms of levels of attentional demand in schema execution. However, schemas may not only be used to describe play, but might be used actively as cognitive models within a game engine. Predesigned schema models are knowledge representations constituting anticipated or desired learned cognitive outcomes of play. Automated analysis of player schemas and comparison with predesigned target schemas can provide a foundation for a game engine adapting or tuning game mechanics to achieve specific effects of engagement, immersion, and cognitive skill acquisition by players. Hence, schema models may enhance the play experience as well as provide a foundation for achieving explicitly represented pedagogical or therapeutic functions of games.
Add new comment | 1307 reads | Tags: Analysis, Attention, Cognition, cognitive model, engagement, Experience, Game, gameplay, interaction, Kantianism, PATTERNS, Philosophy, Play, player, Psychological theories, Psychology, schema, Schema, Science, script, Technology, Technology, Theory, understanding
How important is the digital divide? The relation of computer and videogame usage to gender differences in mental rotation ability
Mon, 09/04/2007 - 10:55 | Jason Rutter
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
Researchers interested in the associations of gender with spatial experience and spatial ability have not yet focused on several activities that have become common in the modern digital age. In this study, using a new questionnaire called the Survey of Spatial Representation and Activities (SSRA), we examined spatial experiences with computers and videogames in a sample of nearly 1,300 undergraduate students. Large gender differences, which favored men, were found in computer experience. Although men and women also differed on SAT scores, gender differences in computer experience were still apparent with SAT factored out. Furthermore, men and women with high and low levels of computer experience, who were selected for more intensive study, were found to differ significantly on the Mental Rotations Test (MRT). Path analyses showed that computer experience substantially mediates the gender difference in spatial ability observed on the MRT. These results collectively suggest that the "Digital Divide" is an important phenomenon and that encouraging women and girls to gain spatial experiences, such as computer usage, might help to bridge the gap in spatial ability between the sexes.
Add new comment | 829 reads | Tags: 3-Dimensional objects, Academia, Accuracy, Biology of gender, Computer, Digital divide, Education, Experience, EXPERTISE, Game, Gender, Gender Differences, mental rotation, meta-analysis, Nova Scotia, Performance, Science, Sex-Differences, spatial ability, Technology, Technology, Video game, Visualization
Sensorimotor training in a virtual reality environment: Does it improve functional recovery poststroke?
Wed, 21/03/2007 - 16:17 | Jason Rutter
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
Objective. To investigate the effectiveness of computerized virtual reality (VR) training of the hemiparetic hand of patients poststroke using a system that provides repetitive motor reeducation and skill reacquisition. Methods. Eight subjects in the chronic phase poststroke participated in a 3-week program using their hemiparetic hand in a series of interactive computer games for 13 days of training, weekend breaks, and pretests and posttests. Each subject trained for about 2 to 2.5 h per day. Outcome measures consisted of changes in the computerized measures of thumb and finger range of motion, thumb and finger velocity, fractionation (the ability to move fingers independently), thumb and finger strength, the Jebsen Test of Hand Function, and a Kinematic reach to grasp test. Results. Subjects as a group improved in fractionation of the fingers, thumb and finger range of motion, and thumb and finger speed, retaining those gains at the 1-week retention test. Transfer of these improvements was demonstrated through changes in the Jebsen Test of Hand Function and a decrease after the therapy in the overall time from hand peak velocity to the moment when an object was lifted from the table. Conclusions. It is difficult in current service delivery models to provide the intensity of practice that appears to be needed to effect neural reorganization and functional changes poststroke. Computerized exercise systems may be a way to maximize both the patients' and the clinicians' time. The data in this study add support to the proposal to explore novel technologies for incorporation into current practice.
Add new comment | 725 reads | Tags: AMP Energy, ARM, CORTICAL REORGANIZATION, Experience, feedback, Finger, HAND, haptics, Measurement, Merians A. S., motor learning, MOVEMENT, Physics, recovery, rehabilitation, stroke, STROKE REHABILITATION, SYSTEM, Therapy, UPPER-LIMB, virtual reality, Virtual reality, virtual reality
The emotional appeal of violent video games for adolescent males
Fri, 09/03/2007 - 21:11 | Jason Rutter
New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:
This article proposes a theoretical explanation for the popularity of violent video games among adolescent male gamers. The author uses theories about media and emotion as well as theories about emotion as a process to develop a model for the unfolding of emotion in violent video games. It is argued that violent video games provide a gratifying context for the experience of emotions. The fact that gamers are largely in control of the game implies that they can voluntarily select the emotional situations they confront. This freedom is attractive for adolescents who are in the midst of constructing an identity. For them, the violent game is a safe, private laboratory where they can experience different emotions, including those that arc controversial in ordinary life. Gamers may deliberately select emotions that sustain dominant masculine identity (e.g., anger), as well as emotions that are at odds with dominant masculinity (e.g., fear).
Add new comment | 1025 reads | Tags: Aggressive-Behavior, AMP Energy, author, Computer games, Emotion, Experience, Identity, Media, PERCEPTIONS, SELF, Sex-Differences, STEREOTYPE, Technology, Technology, Television
Digiplay Bibliography Updates
- 'It's in the Game' and Above the Game: An Analysis of the Users of Sports Videogames
- Theoretical Consoles: Concepts for Gadget Analysis
- Avatar motion control by natural body movement via camera
- Adoption of Mobile Games as Entertainment Technology : A Test of Extended Technology Acceptance Model
- Serious Video Games for Health: How Behavioral Science Guided the Development of a Serious Video Game
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