Digiplay Initiative

New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:

The combination of psychophysiological and psychometric methods provides reliable measurements of affective user experience (UX). Understanding the nature of affective UX in interactive entertainment, especially with a focus on sonic stimuli, is an ongoing research challenge. In the empirical study reported here, participants played a fast-paced, immersive first-person shooter (FPS) game modification, in which sound (on/off) and music (on/off) were manipulated, while psychophysiological recordings of electrodermal activity (EDA) and facial muscle activity (EMG) were recorded in addition to a Game Experience Questionnaire (GEQ). Results indicate no main or interaction effects of sound or music on EMG and EDA. However, a significant main effect of sound on all GEQ dimensions (immersion, tension, competence, flow, negative affect, positive affect, and challenge) was found. In addition, an interaction effect of sound and music on GEQ dimension tension and flow indicates an important relationship of sound and music for gameplay experience. Additionally, we report the results of a correlation between GEQ dimensions and EMG/EDA activity. We conclude subjective measures could advance our understanding of sonic UX in digital games, while affective tonic (i.e., long-term psychophysiological) measures of sonic UX in digital games did not yield statistically significant results. One approach for future affective psychophysiological measures of sonic UX could be experiments investigating phasic (i.e., event-related) psychophysiological measures of sonic gameplay elements in digital games. This could improve our general understanding of sonic UX beyond affective gaming evaluation.

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.

New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:

An emergent, bottom-up construction of video game interaction is presented, drawing from influences in ethnomethodology (Garfinkel, 1967), grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967), and activity theory (Vygotsky, 1978; Cole & Engeström, 1993; Kaptelinin & Nardi, 2006). Following, a qualitative case study highlights the use of affordances, or potentials for action, during video game player interaction among peers and the game interface. Relationships among affordances and levels of activity are presented, which broaden the concept of affordances to include motivations. Additionally, activity theory will complement analysis by introducing the mediational triangle (Cole & Engeström, 1993), providing a guide with which to analyze game player interactions and motives. The mediational triangle sheds light on the motivated activity itself, the tools available to complete the activity, and peer relationships (such as role specialization and rules of interaction) to evaluate game designs and their ability to fulfill serious purposes with meaningful outcomes.

New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:

New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:

The elders feel better and healthier when participating in activities and recognizing their ability to move and creating something. Implementing technology can benefit their lives and improve social interaction. This study develops the embodied interactive video games (EIVG) relying on embodied interactions, which are free from the fine motor skills like pointing, grasping etc. Four research objectives include (1) To evaluate the usability of the EIVG; (2) To evaluate the dependability of the EIVG; (3) To understand the flow experiences of the elders during game play; (4) To explore the relations between the usability, dependability, and the elders' flow experiences. The results were discussed in three aspects. In terms of the usability and dependability of the game system, the elders were satisfied with the EIVG games due to the familiarity of the content and the ease of interaction. In terms of the flow experiences, the challenge of the games played an important role to the elders with high SES. In terms of the relations between usability, dependability, and flow experience, the usability and dependability were identified as critical factors for the elders to use computer technology due to the cognitive ageing.

New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:

As the game industry matures and games become more and more complex, there is an increasing need to develop scientific methodologies for analyzing and measuring player experience, in order to develop a better understanding of the relationship and interactions between players and games. This panel gathers distinguished European playability and user experience experts to discuss current findings and methodological advancements within player experience and playability research.

New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:

In recent years, an aging demographic majority in the Western world has come to the attention of the game industry. The recently released “brain-training” games target this population, and research investigating gameplay experience of the elderly using this game form is lacking. This study employs a 2×2 mixed factorial design (age group: young and old×game form: paper and Nintendo DS) to investigate effects of age and game form on usability, self-assessment, and gameplay experience in a supervised field study. Effectiveness was evaluated in task completion time, efficiency as error rate, together with self-assessment measures (arousal, pleasure, dominance) and game experience (challenge, flow, competence, tension, positive and negative affect). Results indicate players, regardless of age, are more effective and efficient using pen-and-paper than using a Nintendo DS console. However, the game is more arousing and induces a heightened sense of flow in digital form for gamers of all ages. Logic problem–solving challenges within digital games may be associated with positive feelings for the elderly but with negative feelings for the young. Thus, digital logic-training games may provide positive gameplay experience for an aging Western civilization.

New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:

This paper presents a brief review of current playability and game usability models. This leads to the conception of a high-level game usability framework model that integrates current usability approaches in game industry and game research.

New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:

In video game literature and video game reviews, video games are often divided into two distinct parts: interface and gameplay. Good video games, it is assumed, have easy to use interfaces, but they also provide difficult gameplay challenges to the player. But must a good game follow this pattern, and what is the difference between interface and gameplay? When does the easy-to-use interface stop, and when does the challenging gameplay begin? By analyzing a number of games, the paper argues that it is rare to find a clear-cut border between interface and gameplay and that the fluidity of this border characterizes games in general. While this border is unclear, we also analyze a number of games where the challenge is unambiguously located in the interface, thereby demonstrating that "easy interface and challenging gameplay" is neither universal nor a requirement for game quality. Finally, the paper argues, the lack of a clear distinction between easy interface and challenging gameplay is due to the fact that games are fundamentally designed not to accomplish something through an activity, but to provide an activity that is pleasurable in itself.

New entry in Digiplay games research bibliography:

Researching experiential phenomena is a challenging undertaking, given the sheer variety of experiences that are described by gamers and missing a formal taxonomy: flow, immersion, boredom, excitement, challenge, and fun. These informal terms require scientific explanation, which amounts to providing measurable criteria for different experiential states. This paper reports the results of an experimental psychophysiological study investigating different traits of gameplay experience using subjective and objective measures. Participants played three Half-Life 2 game modifications while being measured with electroencephalography, electrocardiography, electromyography, galvanic skin response and eye tracking equipment. In addition, questionnaire responses were collected after each play session. A level designed for combat-oriented flow experience demonstrated measurable high-arousal positive affect emotions. The positive correlation between subjective and objective indicators of gameplay experience shows the great potential of the method presented here for providing real-time emotional profiles of gameplay that may be correlated with self-reported subjective descriptions.