Blog #18: Biofeedback game design: using direct and indirect physiological control to enhance game interaction

Paper Title: Biofeedback game design: using direct and indirect physiological control to enhance game interaction


Authors: Lennart E. Nacke, Michael Kalyn, Calvin Lough, Regan Mandryk


Authors Bios:
Lennart E. Nacke PhD in Digital Game Development, was a postdoctoral research associate in the  interaction lab from 2010-2011. Since August 2011, he is an assistant professor in the game development and entrepreneurship program at UOIT. His research focuses on the creation and analysis of digital gaming environments and mechanics. He is interested in physiological plater-game interaction and in developing methodologies and tools for evaluating player emotion and attention.


Michael Kalyn is a summer student working for Dr. Mandryk. He is a graduate in Computer Engineering and in his 4th year of Computer Science. His tasks this summer will be related to interfacing sensors and affective feedback.

Calvin Lough is a student in the University of Saskatchewan.


Regan Mandryk is an Assistant Professor in the Interaction Lab in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Saskatchewan. Her main research areas are affective computing, ubiquitous and mobile gaming, and interaction techniques.


Presentation Venue: CHI '11 Proceedings of the 2011 annual conference on Human factors in computing systems that took place at New York (ACM)


Summary:
Hypothesis: The goal of the authors in this paper is to provide natural and realistic interaction and experiences to gamers. The authors propose a system of direct and indirect physiological sensor input to augment game control. Regan Mandrykhey discuss the concept of affective gaming which is an activity where the player's current emotional state is used to manipulate gameplay. Hence, this system sense's a player's emotion and arousal, and loop this information back into the system. 
How the hypothesis was tested: To investigate direct and indirect physiological control, the authors developed a single-player 2D side-scrolling shooter game that used standard controller mappings in Xbox360 shooter games. To evaluate the relative appeal of direct and indirect physiological control, participants played three versions of a game, two augmented with physiological input and one control condition. The sensor mappings and their respective thresholds for each game mechanic were developed using iterative prototype testing for five months, gathering feedback from more than 50 individuals before this study.
The study used a three-condition (2 physiological variations, 1 control with gamepad only) within-subjects design. The game was played on a Dell computer running Windows XP. 10 participants completed the study.
Results: Ratings data were analyzed with non-parametric techniques, while open-ended survey responses were clustered into overarching themes. 9 of the 10 players preffered to use physiological  control when asked whether or not they preferred to play with sensors. The players who enjoyed physiological control commented that having to use more than one input device would be nice to have in an immense game.


Discussion:
Effectiveness: The authors had the following main results:
1) The physiological augmentation of game controls provided a more fun experience than using only a traditional control scheme for game interaction.
2) Physiological control was a fun game mechanic in itself because it provided enjoyment by adding an additional challenging dimension to gameplay
3) Participants preferred physiological sensors that were directly controlled because of the visible responsiveness
4) Physiological controls worked most effectively and were most enjoyable when they were appropriately mapped to game mechanics
5) Indirect control was perceived as slow and inaccurate, and was not preferred; however, users recognized its potential to show passive reactions of the game world or as a dramatic device.
Reasons for being Interesting: This technology in game playing would lead to a complete different user experience and would thereby have a great impact on advantages of gaming. I really like how one would be able to control their progress in a game based on their ability to control their physiological reactions.
Faults: The authors have provided practical and logical solutions for the limitations of their prototype. There are no faults in their system.