Project Details

Games User Research

People

Lead

Lennart Nacke
Director of the HCI Games Group

Participants

Gustavo Fortes Tondello
Ph.D. Researcher, Personalization of Gameful Interactive Systems

Marim Ganaba
Master's Student and UX Researcher

Pejman Mirza-Babaei
Affiliated Faculty

Naeem Moosajee
Master's Student in Games User Research, Digital Wizard

James Robb
Master’s Student, Player Experience

Jose Rodriguez
Master's Student

Mike Schäkermann
Master's Student

Melissa Stocco
Undergraduate Researcher

Rina Wehbe
Ph.D. Student, Errors, Perception of AI, Health Games

Giovanni Ribeiro
Master's Student, Games User Research

Publications

Year 2019

Biologically-Inspired Gameplay: Movement Algorithms for Artificially Intelligent (AI) Non-Player Characters (NPC)

@inproceedings{Wehbe:2019:10.20380/GI2019.28,
 author = {Wehbe, Rina and Riberio, Giovanni and Fung, Kin and Nacke, Lennart and Lank, Edward},
 title = {Biologically-Inspired Gameplay: Movement Algorithms for Artificially Intelligent (AI) Non-Player Characters (NPC)},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of Graphics Interface 2019},
 series = {GI 2019},
 year = {2019},
 issn = {0713-5424},
 isbn = {978-0-9947868-4-5},
 location = {Kingston, Ontario},
 numpages = {9},
 doi = {10.20380/GI2019.28},
 publisher = {Canadian Information Processing Society},
 keywords = {Games User Research (GUR), Biological Algorithms, Non-player Characters (NPCs), Artifical Intelligence (AI), Movement in Games},
}

In computer games, designers frequently leverage biologicallyinspired movement algorithms such as flocking, particle swarm optimization, and firefly algorithms to give players the perception of intelligent behaviour of groups of enemy non-player characters (NPCs). While extensive effort has been expended designing these algorithms, a comparison between biologically inspired algorithms and naive directional algorithms (travel towards the opponent) has yet to be completed. In this paper, we compare the biological algorithms listed above against a naive control algorithm to assess the effect that these algorithms have on various measures of player experience. The results reveal that the Swarming algorithm, followed closely by Flocking, provide the best gaming experience. However, players noted that the firefly algorithm was most salient. An understanding of the strengths of different behavioural algorithms for NPCs will contribute to the design of algorithms that depict more intelligent crowd behaviour in gaming and computer simulations.

Crushed it!: Interactive Floor Demonstration

@inproceedings{Wehbe:2019:CIF:3290607.3313279,
 author = {Wehbe, Rina R. and Bornemann, Kai and Hatscher, Benjamin and Tu, Joseph and Cormier, Lisa F. and Hansen, Christian and Lank, Edward and Nacke, Lennart E.},
 title = {Crushed It!: Interactive Floor Demonstration},
 booktitle = {Extended Abstracts of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems},
 series = {CHI EA '19},
 year = {2019},
 isbn = {978-1-4503-5971-9},
 location = {Glasgow, Scotland Uk},
 pages = {INT014:1--INT014:4},
 articleno = {INT014},
 numpages = {4},
 url = {http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/3290607.3313279},
 doi = {10.1145/3290607.3313279},
 acmid = {3313279},
 publisher = {ACM},
 address = {New York, NY, USA},
 keywords = {collaboration, exergames, gaming, human-centered computing, interaction techniques, interactive floor},
} 

We introduce Crushed It!, an interactive game on a sensor floor. This floor is combined with a multiple projector system to reduce occlusions from players' interactions with the floor. Individual displays, an HTC Vive to track player position, and smart watches were added to provide an extra layer of interactivity. We created this interactive experience to explore collaboration between people when interacting with large displays. We contribute a novel combination of different technologies for this game system and our studies showed this game is both entertaining and provides players with motivation to stay physically active. We believe presenting at interactivity would be a benefit to both our research and to the attendees of CHI 2019.

Defining Gameful Experience as a Psychological State Caused by Gameplay: Replacing the Term ‘Gamefulness’ with Three Distinct Constructs

@article{Landers2018,
title = {Defining Gameful Experience as a Psychological State Caused by Gameplay: Replacing the Term ‘Gamefulness’ with Three Distinct Constructs},
author = {Richard N. Landers and Gustavo F. Tondello and Dennis L. Kappen and Andrew B. Collmus and Elisa D. Mekler and Lennart E. Nacke},
doi = {10.1016/j.ijhcs.2018.08.003},
year = {2019},
volume = {127},
pages = {81--94},
date = {2018-08-28},
journal = {International Journal of Human-Computer Studies},
abstract = {Background and Aim: Gamefulness is commonly cited as the primary goal of gamification, a family of approaches employed in education, business, healthcare, government, and elsewhere. However, gamefulness is defined imprecisely across the literature. To address this, we present a theory of gamefulness that splits gamefulness into more specific constructs and outlines their effects in a process model.
Method: We integrate extant literature from psychology, human-computer interaction, and other fields to define gameful design, systems, and experiences. Most critically, we argue that gameful experience is the core focal construct of this theory and define it as an interactive state occurring when a person perceives non-trivial achievable goals created externally, is motivated to pursue them under an arbitrary set of behavioral rules, and evaluates that motivation as voluntary.
Results: We present six resulting propositions: (1) gameful systems lead to gameful experiences, (2) gameful systems impact psychological characteristics, (3) effective gameful design leads to a gameful system, (4) gameful systems lead to behavioral change, (5) behavioral change causes the distal outcomes gamification designers target, and (6) individual differences moderate the effectiveness of gameful systems.
Conclusion: Gameful experience theory provides researchers with a unified foundation to study gamification from any social scientific lens.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}

Background and Aim: Gamefulness is commonly cited as the primary goal of gamification, a family of approaches employed in education, business, healthcare, government, and elsewhere. However, gamefulness is defined imprecisely across the literature. To address this, we present a theory of gamefulness that splits gamefulness into more specific constructs and outlines their effects in a process model. Method: We integrate extant literature from psychology, human-computer interaction, and other fields to define gameful design, systems, and experiences. Most critically, we argue that gameful experience is the core focal construct of this theory and define it as an interactive state occurring when a person perceives non-trivial achievable goals created externally, is motivated to pursue them under an arbitrary set of behavioral rules, and evaluates that motivation as voluntary. Results: We present six resulting propositions: (1) gameful systems lead to gameful experiences, (2) gameful systems impact psychological characteristics, (3) effective gameful design leads to a gameful system, (4) gameful systems lead to behavioral change, (5) behavioral change causes the distal outcomes gamification designers target, and (6) individual differences moderate the effectiveness of gameful systems. Conclusion: Gameful experience theory provides researchers with a unified foundation to study gamification from any social scientific lens.

Dynamic Personalization of Gameful Interactive Systems

@phdthesis{Tondello2019Thesis,
title = {Dynamic Personalization of Gameful Interactive Systems},
author = {Gustavo Fortes Tondello},
url = {http://hdl.handle.net/10012/14807},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-07-17},
address = {Waterloo, ON, Canada},
school = {University of Waterloo},type = {PhD Thesis},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}

Gameful design, the process of creating a system with affordances for gameful experiences, can be used to increase user engagement and enjoyment of digital interactive systems. It can also be used to create applications for behaviour change in areas such as health, wellness, education, customer loyalty, and employee management. However, existing research suggests that the qualities of users, such as their personality traits, preferences, or identification with a task, can influence gamification outcomes. It is important to understand how to personalize gameful systems, given how user qualities shape the gameful experience. Current evidence suggests that personalized gameful systems can lead to increased user engagement and be more effective in helping users achieve their goals than generic ones. However, to create these kinds of systems, designers need a specific method to guide them in personalizing the gameful experience to their target audience. To address this need, this thesis proposes a novel method for personalized gameful design divided into three steps: (1) classification of user preferences, (2) classification and selection of gameful design elements, and (3) heuristic evaluation of the design. Regarding the classification of user preferences, this thesis evaluates and validates the Hexad Gamification User Types Scale, which scores a person in six user types: philanthropist, socialiser, free spirit, achiever, player, and disruptor. Results show that the scale’s structural validity is acceptable for gamification studies through reliability analysis and factor analysis. For classification and selection of gameful design elements, this thesis presents a conceptual framework based on participants’ self-reported preferences, which classifies elements in eight groups organized into three categories: individual motivations (immersion and progression), external motivations (risk/reward, customization, and incentives), and social motivations (socialization, altruism, and assistance). And to evaluate the design of gameful applications, this thesis introduces a set of 28 gameful design heuristics, which are based on motivational theories and gameful design methods and enable user experience professionals to conduct a heuristic evaluation of a gameful application. Furthermore, this thesis describes the design, implementation, and pilot evaluation of a software platform for the study of personalized gameful design. It integrates nine gameful design elements built around a main instrumental task, enabling researchers to observe and study the gameful experience of participants. The platform is flexible so the instrumental task can be changed, game elements can be added or removed, and the level and type of personalization or customization can be controlled. This allows researchers to generate different experimental conditions to study a broad range of research questions. Our personalized gameful design method provides practical tools and clear guidelines to help designers effectively build personalized gameful systems.

Empirical Validation of the Gamification User Types Hexad Scale in English and Spanish

@article{Tondello2018e,
abstract = {Gamification, the use of game elements in non-game systems, is now established as a relevant research field in human-computer interaction (HCI). Several empirical studies have shown that gameful interventions can increase engagement and generate desired behavioural outcomes in HCI applications. However, some inconclusive results indicate that we need a fuller understanding of the mechanisms and effects of gamification. The Gamification User Types Hexad scale allows us to parse different user motivations in participants‘ interactions with gameful applications, which are measured using a self-report questionnaire. Each user type represents a style of interaction with gameful applications, for example, if the interactions are more focused on achievements, socialization, or rewards. Thus, by scoring an individual in each one of the user types of the Hexad model, we can establish a profile of user preferences for gameful interactions. However, we still lack a substantial empirical validation of this scale. Therefore, we set out to validate the factor structure of the scale, in both English and Spanish, by conducting three studies, which also investigated the distribution of the Hexad‘s user types in the sample. Our findings support the structural validity of the scale, as well as suggesting opportunities for improvement. Furthermore, we demonstrate that some user types are more common than others and that gender and age correlate with a person‘s user types. Our work contributes to HCI research by further validating the utility of the Gamification User Types Hexad scale, potentially affording researchers a deeper understanding of the mechanisms and effects of gameful interventions.},
author = {Tondello, Gustavo F. and Mora, Alberto and Marczewski, Andrzej and Nacke, Lennart E.},
doi = {10.1016/j.ijhcs.2018.10.002},
issn = {10715819},
journal = {International Journal of Human-Computer Studies},
keywords = {Gameful Design,Gamification,Hexad,User Types},
publisher = {Elsevier},
title = {{Empirical Validation of the Gamification User Types Hexad Scale in English and Spanish}},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2018.10.002},
year = {2019},
volume = {127},
pages = {95--111},
}

Gamification, the use of game elements in non-game systems, is now established as a relevant research field in human-computer interaction (HCI). Several empirical studies have shown that gameful interventions can increase engagement and generate desired behavioural outcomes in HCI applications. However, some inconclusive results indicate that we need a fuller understanding of the mechanisms and effects of gamification. The Gamification User Types Hexad scale allows us to parse different user motivations in participants’ interactions with gameful applications, which are measured using a self-report questionnaire. Each user type represents a style of interaction with gameful applications, for example, if the interactions are more focused on achievements, socialization, or rewards. Thus, by scoring an individual in each one of the user types of the Hexad model, we can establish a profile of user preferences for gameful interactions. However, we still lack a substantial empirical validation of this scale. Therefore, we set out to validate the factor structure of the scale, in both English and Spanish, by conducting three studies, which also investigated the distribution of the Hexad's user types in the sample. Our findings support the structural validity of the scale, as well as suggesting opportunities for improvement. Furthermore, we demonstrate that some user types are more common than others and that gender and age correlate with a person's user types. Our work contributes to HCI research by further validating the utility of the Gamification User Types Hexad scale, potentially affording researchers a deeper understanding of the mechanisms and effects of gameful interventions.

Gameful Design Heuristics: A Gamification Inspection Tool

@inproceedings{Tondello2019a,
author = {Tondello, Gustavo F. and Kappen, Dennis L. and Ganaba, Marim and Nacke, Lennart E.},
booktitle = {{Human-Computer Interaction. Perspectives on Design. Proceedings of HCI International 2019. LNCS 11566}},
publisher = {Springer},
title = {{Gameful Design Heuristics: A Gamification Inspection Tool}},
year = {2019},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-030-22646-6_16}
}

Despite the emergence of many gameful design methodologies in the literature, there is a lack of methods to evaluate the resulting designs. Gameful design techniques aim to increase the user’s motivation to interact with a software, but there are presently no accepted guidelines on how to find out if this goal was achieved during the design phase of a project. This paper presents the Gameful Design Heuristics, a novel set of guidelines that facilitate a heuristic evaluation of gameful software, with a focus on the software’s potential to afford intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for the user. First, we reviewed several gameful design methods to identify the most frequently employed dimensions of motivational affordances. Then, we devised a set of 28 gamification heuristics that can be used to rapidly evaluate a gameful system. Finally, we conducted a summative empirical evaluation study with five user experience professionals, which demonstrated that our heuristics can help the evaluators find more motivational issues in interactive systems than they would without the heuristics. The suggested method fulfills the need for evaluation tools specific to gameful design, which could help evaluators assess the potential user experience of a gameful application in the early phases of a project.

Older Adults’ Physical Activity and Exergames: A Systematic Review

@article{Kappen2019a,
abstract = {Exertion games, also referred to as exergames, have become popular because they combine physical activity (PA) with game mechanics, such as actions, challenges, and achievements. Exergames have been also used to encourage PA among older adults, as technological interventions to help achieve the latters' health and wellness goals and as aids to rehabilitation. To the best of our knowledge, no systematic review of empirical studies on exergaming and older adults' PA has been reported in the literature. Our review indicates that exergames make a measurable contribution to the improvement of health and wellness goals of older adults. Our systematic review identifies 9 categories and 19 themes of exergame applications in the domain of older adults' PA. We aggregate these categories and themes into three broader exergaming clusters, of “training,” “rehabilitation,” and “wellness.” Additionally, we outline pathways for future empirical research into applying exergames as health and wellness interventions...},
author = {Kappen, Dennis L. and Mirza-Babaei, Pejman and Nacke, Lennart E.},
doi = {10.1080/10447318.2018.1441253},
issn = {15327590},
journal = {International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction},
publisher = {Taylor {\&} Francis},
title = {{Older Adults' Physical Activity and Exergames: A Systematic Review}},
volume = {35},
number = {2},
pages = {140--167},
year = {2019}
}

Exertion games, also referred to as exergames, have become popular because they combine physical activity (PA) with game mechanics, such as actions, challenges, and achievements. Exergames have been also used to encourage PA among older adults, as technological interventions to help achieve the latters’ health and wellness goals and as aids to rehabilitation. To the best of our knowledge, no systematic review of empirical studies on exergaming and older adults’ PA has been reported in the literature. Our review indicates that exergames make a measurable contribution to the improvement of health and wellness goals of older adults. Our systematic review identifies 9 categories and 19 themes of exergame applications in the domain of older adults’ PA. We aggregate these categories and themes into three broader exergaming clusters, of “training,” “rehabilitation,” and “wellness.” Additionally, we outline pathways for future empirical research into applying exergames as health and wellness interventions for older adults through physical activities.

Player Characteristics and Video Game Preferences

@inproceedings{Tondello2019c,
abstract = {The Games User Research literature has advanced considerably on understanding why people play games and what different types of games or mechanics they prefer. However, what has been less studied is how models of player preferences explain their game choices. In this study, we address this question by combining and analyzing two datasets (N = 188 and N = 332) containing data about the games that participants enjoy, their player trait scores, and their preferred game elements and playing styles. The results provide evidence that these scores can significantly explain participants' preferences for different games. Additionally, we provide information about the characteristics of players who enjoy each game.},
address = {Barcelona, Spain},
author = {Tondello, Gustavo F. and Nacke, Lennart E.},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2019 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play - CHI PLAY '19},
doi = {10.1145/3311350.3347185},
isbn = {9781450366885},
keywords = {game elements,games user research,personalization,player preferences,player traits,video games},
publisher = {ACM},
title = {{Player Characteristics and Video Game Preferences}},
year = {2019}
}

The Games User Research literature has advanced considerably on understanding why people play games and what different types of games or mechanics they prefer. However, what has been less studied is how models of player preferences explain their game choices. In this study, we address this question by combining and analyzing two datasets (N = 188 and N = 332) containing data about the games that participants enjoy, their player trait scores, and their preferred game elements and playing styles. The results provide evidence that these scores can significantly explain participants’ preferences for different games. Additionally, we provide information about the characteristics of players who enjoy each game.

User Experience (UX) Research in Games

@inproceedings{Nacke:2019:UER:3290607.3298826,
 author = {Nacke, Lennart E. and Mirza-Babaei, Pejman and Drachen, Anders},
 title = {User Experience (UX) Research in Games},
 booktitle = {Extended Abstracts of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems},
 series = {CHI EA '19},
 year = {2019},
 isbn = {978-1-4503-5971-9},
 location = {Glasgow, Scotland Uk},
 pages = {C25:1--C25:4},
 articleno = {C25},
 numpages = {4},
 url = {http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/3290607.3298826},
 doi = {10.1145/3290607.3298826},
 acmid = {3298826},
 publisher = {ACM},
 address = {New York, NY, USA},
 keywords = {evaluation, game analytics, game usability, games user research, playtesting, user experience, user testing},
} 

This course will allow participants to understand the complexities of games user research methods for user experience research in games. For this, we have put together three-course sessions at CHI (80 minutes each) on applications of different user research methods in games evaluation and playtesting exercises to help participants turn player feedback into actionable design recommendations. This course consists of three interactive face-to-face units during CHI 2019.

“I don't fit into a single type”: A Trait Model and Scale of Game Playing Preferences

@inproceedings{Tondello2019b,
author = {Tondello, Gustavo F. and Arrambide, Karina and Ribeiro, Giovanni and Cen, Andrew and Nacke, Lennart E.},
booktitle = {Proceedings of INTERACT 2019, LNCS 11747},
publisher = {Springer},
title = {{“I don't fit into a single type”: A Trait Model and Scale of Game Playing Preferences}},
year = {2019},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-030-29384-0_23}
}

Player typology models classify different player motivations and behaviours. These models are necessary to design personalized games or to target specific audiences. However, many models lack validation and standard measurement instruments. Additionally, they rely on type theories, which split players into separate categories. Yet, personality research has lately favoured trait theories, which recognize that people's preferences are composed of a sum of different characteristics. Given these shortcomings of existing models, we developed a player traits model built on a detailed review and synthesis of the extant literature, which introduces five player traits: aesthetic orientation, narrative orientation, goal orientation, social orientation, and challenge orientation. Furthermore, we created and validated a 25-item measurement scale for the five player traits. This scale outputs a player profile, which describes participants' preferences for different game elements and game playing styles. Finally, we demonstrate that this is the first validated player preferences model and how it serves as an actionable tool for personalized game design.

Year 2018

Exploring the Role of Non-Player Characters and Gender in Player Identification

@inproceedings{Rogers2018c,
abstract = {Non-player characters (NPCs) are important for immersion, but how their character design affects player experience has received little attention in previous games research. Related work suggests that NPCs support player identification, which in turn impacts player enjoyment and immersion, but this has not been explored empirically. In a betweensubjects study, we explored effects of NPC design on player experience. In particular, we investigated how biological sex of NPCs and player gender affect identification and NPC interaction. Our results provide first empirical support for NPC design supporting player identification, reveal gender differences in the identification process, and uncover new research questions regarding mediators of the identification process.},
author = {Rogers, Katja and Aufheimer, Maria and Weber, Michael and Nacke, Lennart E.},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2018 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play - CHI PLAY '18 Extended Abstracts},
doi = {10.1145/3270316.3273041},
isbn = {9781450359689},
keywords = {Non-player characters,gender,player identification},
pages = {271--283},
publisher = {ACM},
title = {{Exploring the Role of Non-Player Characters and Gender in Player Identification}},
year = {2018}
}

Non-player characters (NPCs) are important for immersion, but how their character design affects player experience has received little attention in previous games research. Related work suggests that NPCs support player identification, which in turn impacts player enjoyment and immersion, but this has not been explored empirically. In a betweensubjects study, we explored effects of NPC design on player experience. In particular, we investigated how biological sex of NPCs and player gender affect identification and NPC interaction. Our results provide first empirical support for NPC design supporting player identification, reveal gender differences in the identification process, and uncover new research questions regarding mediators of the identification process.

Games User Research

@book{GUR2018,
address = {New York, NY},
editor = {Drachen, Anders and Mirza-Babaei, Pejman and Nacke, Lennart},
isbn = {978-0198794844},
pages = {560},
publisher = {Oxford University Press},
title = {{Games User Research}},
year = {2018}
}

Today, Games User Research forms an integral component of the development of any kind of interactive entertainment. User research stands as the primary source of business intelligence in the incredibly competitive game industry. This book aims to provide the foundational, accessible, go-to resource for people interested in GUR. It is a community-driven effort—it is written by passionate professionals and researchers in the GUR community as a handbook and guide for everyone interested in user research and games. The book bridges the current gaps of knowledge in Game User Research, building the go-to volume for everyone working with games, with an emphasis on those new to the field.

Games User Research Methods

@inproceedings{Mirza-Babaei:2018:GUR:3270316.3271548,
 author = {Mirza-Babaei, Pejman and Nacke, Lennart and Drachen, Anders},
 title = {Games User Research Methods},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2018 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play Companion Extended Abstracts},
 series = {CHI PLAY '18 Extended Abstracts},
 year = {2018},
 isbn = {978-1-4503-5968-9},
 location = {Melbourne, VIC, Australia},
 pages = {1--4},
 numpages = {4},
 url = {http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/3270316.3271548},
 doi = {10.1145/3270316.3271548},
 acmid = {3271548},
 publisher = {ACM},
 address = {New York, NY, USA},
 keywords = {evaluation, game analytics, game usability, games user research, playtesting, user experience, user testing},
}

This hybrid course will allow participants to understand the complexities of games user research methods. For this we have put together 4 sessions (2 hours each, 8 hours total) of content on applications on different user research methods in games evaluation to help participants turn player feedback into actionable design recommendations. The course is designed as a hybrid course with 2 sessions to be delivered online before CHI PLAY 2018, one interactive face-to-face session will be delivered during CHI PLAY 2018 and one final session to be delivered online shortly after CHI PLAY 2018. The course is designed from an applied user experience (UX) research perspective and should allow for participants unfamiliar with user testing and basic user research skills. The course material is based on the Games User Research book [1] and will be delivered by the book's editors.

Gamification: Tools and Techniques for Motivating Users

@inproceedings{Tondello2018b,
abstract = {This course introduces participants to concepts of gamification and practices some gamification evaluation with a set of heuristics used to evaluated gameful applications and gameful design. We will introduce participants to some of the common gameful intervention strategies to add game design elements that can be used to motivate users and then train participants with our set of 28 gamification heuristics for rapid evaluation of gameful systems. The course is structured into three 80-minute units, which will give the participants enough time to learn how to gamify activities, apply new heuristics and improve their gameful designs. The course instructors, Gustavo Tondello and Lennart Nacke, have both developed the gameful design heuristics and taught a successful gamification course at CHI 2017 before.},
address = {Montr{\'{e}}al, QC, Canada},
author = {Tondello, Gustavo F and Nacke, Lennart E},
booktitle = {Extended Abstracts of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - CHI EA 2018},
doi = {10.1145/3170427.3170662},
isbn = {9781450356213},
pages = {C25},
publisher = {ACM},
title = {{Gamification : Tools and Techniques for Motivating Users}},
year = {2018}
}

This course introduces participants to concepts of gamification and practices some gamification evaluation with a set of heuristics used to evaluated gameful applications and gameful design. We will introduce participants to some of the common gameful intervention strategies to add game design elements that can be used to motivate users and then train participants with our set of 28 gamification heuristics for rapid evaluation of gameful systems. The course is structured into three 80-minute units, which will give the participants enough time to learn how to gamify activities, apply new heuristics and improve their gameful designs. The course instructors, Gustavo Tondello and Lennart Nacke, have both developed the gameful design heuristics and taught a successful gamification course at CHI 2017 before.

Introduction to biometric measures for Games User Research

@incollection{Nacke2018Bio,
address = {New York, NY},
author = {Nacke, Lennart},
editor = {Drachen, Anders and Mirza-Babaei, Pejman and Nacke, Lennart},
isbn = {978-0198794844},
pages = {281-299},
publisher = {Oxford University Press},
booktitle = {{Games User Research}},
title = {{Introduction to biometric measures for Games User Research}},
year = {2018}
}"

Biometrics provide real-time measures of human responses essential to player experience in Games User Research (GUR) projects. This chapter presents the physiological metrics used in GUR. Aimed at GUR professionals in the games industry, it explains what methods are available to researchers to measure biometric data while subjects are engaged in play. It sets out when it is appropriate to use biometric measures in GUR projects, the kind of data generated, and the differing ways it can be analysed. The chapter also discusses the trade-offs required when interpreting physiological data, and will help games user researchers to make informed decisions about which research questions can benefit from biometric methodologies.

Investigating the Impact of Annotation Interfaces on Player Performance in Distributed Multiplayer Games

@inproceedings{Alharthi2018a,
author = {Alharthi, Sultan A. and Torres, Ruth C. and Khalaf, Ahmed S. and Toups, Zachary O. and Dolgov, Igor and Nacke, Lennart E.},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - CHI '18},
doi = {10.1145/3173574.3173888},
publisher = {ACM},
title = {{Investigating the Impact of Annotation Interfaces on Player Performance and Collaborative Planning in Games}},
year = {2018}
}

In distributed multiplayer games, it can be difficult to communicate strategic information for planning game moves and player interactions. Often, players spend extra time communicating, reducing their engagement in the game. Visual annotations in game maps and in the gameworld can address this problem and result in more efficient player communication. We studied the impact of real-time feedback on planning annotations, specifically two different annotation types, in a custom-built, third-person, multiplayer game and analyzed their effects on player performance, experience, workload, and annotation use. We found that annotations helped engage players in collaborative planning, which reduced frustration, and shortened goal completion times. Based on these findings, we discuss how annotating in virtual game spaces enables collaborative planning and improves team performance.

KickAR: Exploring Game Balancing Through Boosts and Handicaps in Augmented Reality Table Football

@inproceedings{Rogers2018b,
author = {Rogers, Katja and Colley, Mark and Lehr, David and Frommel, Julian and Walch, Marcel and Nacke, Lennart E and Weber, Michael},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - CHI '18},
doi = {10.1145/3173574.3173740},
publisher = {ACM},
title = {{KickAR : Exploring Game Balancing Through Boosts and Handicaps in Augmented Reality Table Football}},
year = {2018}
}

When player skill levels are not matched, games provide an unsatisfying player experience. Player balancing is used across many digital game genres to address this, but has not been studied for co-located augmented reality (AR) tabletop games, where using boosts and handicaps can adjust for different player skill levels. In the setting of an AR table football game, we studied the importance of game balancing being triggered by the game system or the players, and whether player skill should be required to trigger game balancing. We implemented projected icons to prominently display game balancing mechanics in the AR table football game. In a within-subjects study (N=24), we found players prefer skill-based control over game balancing and that different triggers are perceived as having different fairness. Further, the study showed that even game balancing that is perceived as unfair can provide enjoyable game experiences. Based on our findings, we provide suggestions for player balancing in AR tabletop games.

Toward Understanding the Effects of Cognitive Styles on Collaboration in Multiplayer Games

@inproceedings{Alharthi:2018:TUE:3272973.3274047,
 author = {Alharthi, Sultan A. and Raptis, George E. and Katsini, Christina and Dolgov, Igor and Nacke, Lennart E. and Toups, Zachary O.},
 title = {Toward Understanding the Effects of Cognitive Styles on Collaboration in Multiplayer Games},
 booktitle = {Companion of the 2018 ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing},
 series = {CSCW '18},
 year = {2018},
 isbn = {978-1-4503-6018-0},
 location = {Jersey City, NJ, USA},
 pages = {169--172},
 numpages = {4},
 url = {http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/3272973.3274047},
 doi = {10.1145/3272973.3274047},
 acmid = {3274047},
 publisher = {ACM},
 address = {New York, NY, USA},
 keywords = {cognitive styles, collaboration, multiplayer games, planning, team formation, teams, user study},
} 

In multiplayer games, players need to coordinate action to succeed. This paper investigates the effect of cognitive styles on performance of dyads engaged in collaborative gaming activities. 24 individuals took part in a mixed methods user-study; they were classified as field dependent (FD) or independent (FI) based on a cognitive style elicitation instrument. Three groups of teams were formed, based on the cognitive style of each team member: FD-FD, FD-FI, FI-FI. We examined performance in terms of game completion time, cognitive load, and player experience. The analysis revealed that FD-FI cognitive style had an effect on the performance and the mental load. We expect the findings to provide useful insight for practitioners and researchers on improving team collaboration in different contexts, such as learning, eSports, and disaster response.

Towards Customizing Gameful Systems by Gameful Design Elements

@inproceedings{Tondello2018c,
abstract = {Recently, several researchers have suggested that personalized game-ful systems can be more effective than generic approaches. However, there is still scarce empirical evidence that the suggested factors for personalization, such as gender, age, user types, and personality traits, will be effective in im-proving user engagement and performance for personalized gameful systems. In this work-in-progress, we present a research plan for empirical evaluation of a customizable gameful system. Upon completion of this study, we expect to pro-vide empirical evidence that the participants' selection of gameful design ele-ments in a practical application will correspond to the theorized relationships suggested by prior survey-based research, and that the system can suggest the gameful design elements that users are more likely to enjoy. The results of this research will provide an actionable path for gamification designers to imple-ment personalized gameful systems and for researchers to develop recommen-dation algorithms for gamification.},
address = {Waterloo, ON, Canada},
author = {Tondello, Gustavo F and Nacke, Lennart E},
booktitle = {International Workshop on Personalizing in Persuasive Technologies (PPT'18)},
keywords = {customization,gameful design,gamification,personalization},
publisher = {CEUR-WS.org},
title = {{Towards Customizing Gameful Systems by Gameful Design Elements}},
url = {http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2089/11{\_}Tondello.pdf},
year = {2018}
}

Recently, several researchers have suggested that personalized game-ful systems can be more effective than generic approaches. However, there is still scarce empirical evidence that the suggested factors for personalization, such as gender, age, user types, and personality traits, will be effective in im-proving user engagement and performance for personalized gameful systems. In this work-in-progress, we present a research plan for empirical evaluation of a customizable gameful system. Upon completion of this study, we expect to pro-vide empirical evidence that the participants’ selection of gameful design ele-ments in a practical application will correspond to the theorized relationships suggested by prior survey-based research, and that the system can suggest the gameful design elements that users are more likely to enjoy. The results of this research will provide an actionable path for gamification designers to imple-ment personalized gameful systems and for researchers to develop recommen-dation algorithms for gamification.

Towards a Trait Model of Video Game Preferences

@article{Tondello2018d,
abstract = {Typologies for understanding players' preferences towards different gameplay styles have gained popularity in research. However, attempts to model players' preferences are based on type models instead of trait models, contrary to the latest personality research. One such model, BrainHex, was designed as an interim model to enable investigations towards a definitive player trait model. However, it lacks empirical validation in support of its psychometric properties. The present work analysed a dataset with over 50,000 respondents to devise a player traits model based off the BrainHex scale. Results indicate three player traits: action, aesthetic, and goal orientation. Furthermore, we analysed the games listed by participants as examples of what they enjoy, to understand which factors influence player preferences. Results illustrate that the emergent player traits and participants' genders and attitudes towards story can partially explain player preferences towards certain games. Finally, we present the implications towards a definitive player traits model.},
author = {Tondello, Gustavo F. and Valtchanov, Deltcho and Reetz, Adrian and Wehbe, Rina R. and Orji, Rita and Nacke, Lennart E.},
doi = {10.1080/10447318.2018.1461765},
journal = {International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction},
keywords = {BrainHex,Games,Games User Research,Motivation,Player Traits,Player Typology,Scale Design},
title = {{Towards a Trait Model of Video Game Preferences}},
volume = {34},
number = {8},
pages = {732--748},
year = {2018}
}

Typologies for understanding players’ preferences toward different gameplay styles have gained popularity in research. However, attempts to model players’ preferences are based on type models instead of trait models, contrary to the latest personality research. One such model, BrainHex, was designed as an interim model to enable investigations toward a definitive player trait model. However, it lacks empirical validation in support of its psychometric properties. The present work analyzed a dataset with over 50,000 respondents to devise a player traits model based off the BrainHex scale. Results indicate three player traits: action, esthetic, and goal orientation. Furthermore, we analyzed the games listed by participants as examples of what they enjoy, to understand which factors influence player preferences. Results illustrate that the emergent player traits and participants’ genders and attitudes toward story can partially explain player preferences toward certain games. Finally, we present the implications toward a definitive player traits model.

Towards the Visual Design of Non-Player Characters for Narrative Roles

@inproceedings{Rogers2018d,
abstract = {Non-player characters (NPCs) serve important functions for game narratives and influence player immersion. However, the visual design of NPCs for specific narrative roles is often approached by relying on designers' previous experience or guesswork. We contribute to the understanding of player perception of narrative NPC roles in games, by proposing a methodological approach towards the visual design of NPCs to fit specific narrative roles. We demonstrate this approach through the visual design of characters for the three narrative roles of mentor, companion, and enemy. The results of an online survey (n=45) indicate trait expectations towards these narrative roles, and differences therein based on participant gender. Further, the characters were generally perceived as the targeted role based on visual design alone. This method of designing characters for narrative roles is beneficial to both game designers and researchers for further exploring effects of NPCs on player experience.},
address = {Toronto, ON, Canada},
author = {Rogers, Katja and Aufheimer, Maria and Weber, Michael and Nacke, Lennart E.},
booktitle = {Proceedings of Graphics Interfaces 2018},
doi = {10.20380/GI2018.21},
isbn = {9780994786821},
issn = {07135424},
keywords = {Gender,Narrative roles,Non-player characters,Player experience,Trait expectations,Visual design},
pages = {154--161},
title = {{Towards the visual design of non-player characters for narrative roles}},
year = {2018}
}

Non-player characters (NPCs) serve important functions for game narratives and influence player immersion. However, the visual design of NPCs for specific narrative roles is often approached by relying on designers’ previous experience or guesswork. We contribute to the understanding of player perception of narrative NPC roles in games, by proposing a methodological approach towards the visual design of NPCs to fit specific narrative roles. We demonstrate this approach through the visual design of characters for the three narrative roles of mentor, companion, and enemy. The results of an online survey (n=45) indicate trait expectations towards these narrative roles, and differences therein based on participant gender. Further, the characters were generally perceived as the targeted role based on visual design alone. This method of designing characters for narrative roles is beneficial to both game designers and researchers for further exploring effects of NPCs on player experience.

Vanishing Importance: Studying Immersive Effects of Game Audio Perception on Player Experiences in Virtual Reality

@inproceedings{Rogers2018a,
author = {Rogers, Katja and Ribeiro, Giovanni and Wehbe, Rina and Weber, Michael and Nacke, Lennart E},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - CHI '18},
doi = {10.1145/3173574.3173902},
publisher = {ACM},
title = {{Vanishing Importance : Studying Immersive Effects of Game Audio Perception on Player Experiences in Virtual Reality}},
year = {2018}
}

Sound and virtual reality (VR) are two important output modalities for creating an immersive player experience (PX). While prior research suggests that sounds might contribute to a more immersive experience in games played on screens and mobile displays, there is not yet evidence of these effects of sound on PX in VR. To address this, we conducted a within-subjects experiment using a commercial horror-adventure game to study the effects of a VR and monitor-display version of the same game on PX. Subsequently, we explored, in a between-subjects study, the effects of audio dimensionality on PX in VR. Results indicate that audio has a more implicit influence on PX in VR because of the impact of the overall sensory experience and that audio dimensionality in VR may not be a significant factor contributing to PX. Based on our findings and observations, we provide five design guidelines for VR games.

Year 2017

A Framework and Taxonomy of Videogame Playing Preferences

@inproceedings{Tondello2017d,
abstract = {Player preferences for different gaming styles or game elements has been a topic of interest in human-computer interaction for over a decade. However, current models suggested by the extant literature are generally based on classifying abstract gaming motivations or player archetypes. These concepts do not directly map onto the building blocks of games, taking away from the utility of the findings. To address this issue, we propose a conceptual framework of player preferences based on two dimensions: game elements and game playing styles. To investigate these two concepts, we conducted an exploratory empirical investigation of player preferences, which allowed us to create a taxonomy of nine groups of game elements and five groups of game playing styles. These two concepts are foundational to games, which means that our model can be used by designers to create games that are tailored to their target audience. In addition, we demonstrate that there are significant effects of gender and age on participants' preferences and discuss the implications of these findings.},
address = {Amsterdam, Netherlands},
author = {Tondello, Gustavo F. and Wehbe, Rina R. and Orji, Rita and Ribeiro, Giovanni and Nacke, Lennart E.},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2017 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play - CHI PLAY '17},
doi = {10.1145/3116595.3116629},
isbn = {9781450348980},
keywords = {Game Elements,Games User Research,Player Types},
publisher = {ACM},
title = {{A Framework and Taxonomy of Videogame Playing Preferences}},
year = {2017}
}

Player preferences for different gaming styles or game elements has been a topic of interest in human-computer interaction for over a decade. However, current models suggested by the extant literature are generally based on classifying abstract gaming motivations or player archetypes. These concepts do not directly map onto the building blocks of games, taking away from the utility of the findings. To address this issue, we propose a conceptual framework of player preferences based on two dimensions: game elements and game playing styles. To investigate these two concepts, we conducted an exploratory empirical investigation of player preferences, which allowed us to create a taxonomy of nine groups of game elements and five groups of game playing styles. These two concepts are foundational to games, which means that our model can be used by designers to create games that are tailored to their target audience. In addition, we demonstrate that there are significant effects of gender and age on participants’ preferences and discuss the implications of these findings.

Adaptive engagement of older adults’ fitness through gamification

@phdthesis{Kappen2017,
author = {Kappen, Dennis L.},
school = {University of Ontario Institute of Technology},
title = {{Adaptive Engagement of Older Adults' Fitness through Gamification}},
type = {PhD thesis},
url = {http://hdl.handle.net/10155/881},
year = {2017}
}

Older adults are often not physically active because they lack motivation, time, and/or physical ability. Not only does this impact the life of older adults, but it also affects society as a whole, because the cost of healthcare attached to maintaining the health of older adults is continually rising. This thesis addresses the problem by investigating the disenchantment of older adults with physical activity (PA), reasons for their lack of participation in PA, and contributes motivational affordances for PA. This thesis makes three important contributions to human-computer interaction: a) the development of adaptive engagement guidelines for PA technology for older adults. b) the Exercise Motivation Technology Framework (EMFT) - a framework to aid in the design and development of PA technology for older adults, and c) the Kaleidoscope of Effective Gamification (KEG) - a design and analysis tool for helping designers design and develop gamified apps. These contributions were achieved through a phased investigative approach. The analysis of preliminary studies (Phase 1) resulted in the development of the EMTF for older adults PA technology. A survey study (Phase 2) on the preferences of motivational affordances for PA across different age groups suggested that ‘health pressures’ and ‘ill-health avoidance’ were significant exercise motives for PA in different age groups. Age-differentiated guidelines from Phase 2 were used to develop and evaluate Spirit50 (Phase 3), a gamified technology artifact, specifically developed under my supervision for adults over 50 years of age. Phase 4 was a synchronous, three-condition (gamified, non-gamified, and control groups) experimental study over an eight-week period with a total of 30 participants. Expert evaluation (Phase 5) to review technology facilitation of PA using the Spirit50 app also pointed to the usefulness and the applicability of gamification as a behaviour change technology for delivering PA solutions for older adults. The findings of this thesis contribute to understanding PA motivation among older adults on a granular level from a technology facilitation standpoint using gamification strategies. The EMTF model helped to design PA technology by combining desirability, customization, and motivational affordances for older adults. Finally, this thesis contributes to tailoring and personalizing of adaptive engagement strategies using specific gamification elements like goals supported by challenges, selection of quests based on ability, progressive feedback, and rewards validating performance and efforts as potential ways to deliver age-centric PA technology for older adults.

Applying Gameful Design Heuristics

@inproceedings{Tondello2017,
abstract = {To evaluate gameful apps and games, we have recently developed a new set of guidelines for heuristic evaluation of gameful design in interactive systems, supporting the quickly growing gamification research area. Our set of 28 gamification heuristics allows rapid evaluation of a gameful system. This course will supply attendees with our gameful design heuristics and train them in using the heuristics on an example application (Duolingo). The course is structured into two 80-minute units, which will give the participants enough time to learn the new heuristics and apply them to the gamified application. Finally, at the end of the second unit, we will be discussing how to generate design ideas with the heuristics. The course instructors, Gustavo Tondello and Lennart Nacke, have both developed the gameful design heuristics and have experience in designing and evaluating gamified applications and teaching courses.},
address = {Denver, CO, USA},
author = {Tondello, Gustavo F and Nacke, Lennart E},
booktitle = {Proceeding of the 2017 ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems},
doi = {10.1145/3027063.3027116},
isbn = {9781450346566},
keywords = {Gameful Design,Gamification,Heuristics},
publisher = {ACM},
title = {{Applying Gameful Design Heuristics}},
year = {2017}
}

To evaluate gameful apps and games, we have recently developed a new set of guidelines for heuristic evaluation of gameful design in interactive systems, supporting the quickly growing gamification research area. Our set of 28 gamification heuristics allows rapid evaluation of a gameful system. This course will supply attendees with our gameful design heuristics and train them in using the heuristics on an example application (Duolingo). The course is structured into two 80-minute units, which will give the participants enough time to learn the new heuristics and apply them to the gamified application. Finally, at the end of the second unit, we will be discussing how to generate design ideas with the heuristics. The course instructors, Gustavo Tondello and Lennart Nacke, have both developed the gameful design heuristics and have experience in designing and evaluating gamified applications and teaching courses.

Curiously Motivated: Profiling Curiosity with Self-Reports and Behaviour Metrics in the Game “Destiny”

@inproceedings{Schaekermann2017,
abstract = {Identifying player motivations such as curiosity could help game designers analyze player profiles and substantially improve game design. However, research on player profiling focuses on generalized personality traits, not specific aspects of motivation. This study examines how player behaviour indicates constructs of curiosity-related motivation. It contributes a more discriminating operationalization of game-related curiosity. We derive a curiosity measure from established self-report survey methodologies relating to social capital, behavioural activation, obsessive/harmonious passion, and BrainHex player types. We present the results of a cross-sectional study with data from 1,745 players of Destiny—a popular shared-world first-person shooter (FPS) game. Behaviour metrics were paired with four curiosity factors: ‘social' curiosity, ‘sensory/cognitive' curiosity, ‘novelty-seeking' curiosity, and ‘explorative' curiosity. Our findings provide key insights into the relationships between players curiosity and their in-game behaviour. We infer curiosity-related motivational profiles from behaviour metrics, and discuss how this may impact game design and player-computer interaction.},
author = {Schaekermann, Mike and Ribeiro, Giovanni and Wallner, Guenter and Kriglstein, Simone and Johnson, Daniel and Drachen, Anders and Sifa, Rafet and Nacke, Lennart E},
booktitle = {The ACM SIGCHI Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play (CHI PLAY 2017)},
doi = {10.1145/3116595.3116603},
isbn = {9781450348980},
mendeley-groups = {HCI Games Group Publications},
publisher = {ACM},
title = {{Curiously Motivated: Profiling Curiosity with Self-Reports and Behaviour Metrics in the Game "Destiny"}},
year = {2017}
}

Identifying player motivations such as curiosity could help game designers analyze player profiles and substantially improve game design. However, research on player profiling focuses on generalized personality traits, not specific aspects of motivation. This study examines how player behaviour indicates constructs of curiosity-related motivation. It contributes a more discriminating operationalization of game-related curiosity. We derive a curiosity measure from established self-report survey methodologies relating to social capital, behavioural activation, obsessive/harmonious passion, and BrainHex player types. We present the results of a cross-sectional study with data from 1,745 players of Destiny—a popular shared-world first-person shooter (FPS) game. Behaviour metrics were paired with four curiosity factors: ‘social’ curiosity, ‘sensory/cognitive’ curiosity, ‘novelty-seeking’ curiosity, and ‘explorative’ curiosity. Our findings provide key insights into the relationships between players curiosity and their in-game behaviour. We infer curiosity-related motivational profiles from behaviour metrics, and discuss how this may impact game design and player-computer interaction.

Elements of Gameful Design Emerging from User Preferences

@inproceedings{Tondello2017c,
abstract = {Several studies have developed models to explain player preferences. These models have been developed for digital games; however, they have been frequently applied in gameful design (i.e., designing non-game applications with game elements) without empirical validation of their fit to this different context. It is not clear if users experience game elements embedded in applications similarly to how players experience them in games. Consequently, we still lack a conceptual framework of design elements built specifically for a gamification context. To fill this gap, we propose a classification of eight groups of gameful design elements produced from an exploratory factor analysis based on participants' self-reported preferences. We describe the characteristics of the users who are more likely to enjoy each group of design elements in terms of their gender, age, gamification user type, and personality traits. Our main contribution is providing an overview of which design elements work best for what demographic clusters and how we can apply this knowledge to design effective gameful systems.},
address = {Amsterdam, Netherlands},
author = {Tondello, Gustavo F. and Mora, Alberto and Nacke, Lennart E.},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2017 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play - CHI PLAY '17},
doi = {10.1145/3116595.3116627},
isbn = {9781450348980},
keywords = {Game Design Elements,Gameful Design,Games User Research,Gamification,Types,User},
publisher = {ACM},
title = {{Elements of Gameful Design Emerging from User Preferences}},
year = {2017}
}

Several studies have developed models to explain player preferences. These models have been developed for digital games; however, they have been frequently applied in gameful design (i.e., designing non-game applications with game elements) without empirical validation of their fit to this different context. It is not clear if users experience game elements embedded in applications similarly to how players experience them in games. Consequently, we still lack a conceptual framework of design elements built specifically for a gamification context. To fill this gap, we propose a classification of eight groups of gameful design elements produced from an exploratory factor analysis based on participants’ self-reported preferences. We describe the characteristics of the users who are more likely to enjoy each group of design elements in terms of their gender, age, gamification user type, and personality traits. Our main contribution is providing an overview of which design elements work best for what demographic clusters and how we can apply this knowledge to design effective gameful systems.

Exploring the Potential of Game Audio for Wellbeing

@inproceedings{Rogers2017,
abstract = {Music listening has long-standing ties to mental health, positive affective states, and wellbeing. Even outside of clinical contexts, music is increasingly being explored as a costeffective, ubiquitous way to support emotion regulation and stress reduction in people's everyday lives. Games have also been shown to have the capability to improve player well-being in certain contexts. However, the role of players' exposure to background music in games toward leveraging this effect has not been explored specifically. We explore the potential of games to act as a tool for relaxation and stress reduction for the general public and discuss future research directions.},
address = {Amsterdam, Netherlands},
author = {Rogers, Katja and Nacke, Lennart E.},
booktitle = {Positive Gaming: Workshop on Gamification and Games for Wellbeing},
title = {{Exploring the Potential of Game Audio for Wellbeing}},
year = {2017}
}

Music listening has long-standing ties to mental health, positive affective states, and wellbeing. Even outside of clinical contexts, music is increasingly being explored as a costeffective, ubiquitous way to support emotion regulation and stress reduction in people’s everyday lives. Games have also been shown to have the capability to improve player well-being in certain contexts. However, the role of players’ exposure to background music in games toward leveraging this effect has not been explored specifically. We explore the potential of games to act as a tool for relaxation and stress reduction for the general public and discuss future research directions.

From Joysticks to Pokémon Go: Games and Play Research in SIGCHI

@inproceedings{Nacke2017c,
address = {Denver, CO, USA},
author = {Nacke, Lennart E and Toups, Zachary O and Johnson, Daniel},
booktitle = {Proceeding of the 2017 ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - CHI 2017},
doi = {10.1145/3027063.3049284},
isbn = {9781450346566},
pages = {1330--1333},
publisher = {ACM},
title = {{From Joysticks to Pok{\'{e}}mon Go : Games and Play Research in SIGCHI}},
year = {2017}
}

At CHI 2016, a record number of games-related papers were accepted into the conference proceedings and the SIG meeting for games attracted almost 100 people. The games and play subcommittee remained strong at CHI 2017 and showed a variety of submissions. In addition, we see games practitioners within the SIGCHI community running workshops and taking part in the CHI conference. This SIG will continue to be an important forum for everyone doing games research at CHI. We want to engage the community in a discussion about the directions that games research at CHI should take and gather feedback about current HCI research trends for games. To expand this community, we plan to discuss current HCI and games trends, academic dissemination, community outreach, and collaborations with practitioners.

Left Them 4 Dead: Perception of Humans versus Non-Player Character Teammates in Cooperative Gameplay

@inproceedings{Wehbe2017a,
address = {Edinburgh, UK},
author = {Wehbe, Rina R and Lank, Edward and Nacke, Lennart E},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2017 Conference on Designing Interactive Systems},
doi = {10.1145/3064663.3064712},
isbn = {9781450349222},
keywords = {Cooperative Games,Games User Research (GUR),Sociality,User Experience},
pages = {403--415},
publisher = {ACM},
title = {{Left Them 4 Dead : Perception of Humans versus Non-Player Character Teammates in Cooperative Gameplay}},
year = {2017}
}

Why do we care if our teammates are not human? This study seeks to uncover whether or not the perception of other players as human or artificial entities can influence player experience. We use both deception and a between-participants blind study design to reduce bias in our experiment. Our qualitative results show that people do care about the perceived nature of other players, even though they are not always able to correctly identify them as human or as non-player character teammates. Interview data suggest believing that one is playing with other humans can positively affect a player’s subjective experience. Furthermore, our qualitative results indicate that players view their non-player character teammates as humanized entities, but adopt a neo-feudalistic (i.e., an unequal rights) view of them. Based on our results, we establish game design guidelines for non-player character teammates leading to stronger, emotional human-computer relationships in video games.

Positive Gaming: Workshop on Gamification and Games for Wellbeing

@inproceedings{Tondello2017b,
abstract = {Gamification and games have been used and studied in a variety of applications related with health and wellbeing. Nevertheless, there are very few studies aimed at designing games (whether serious games or recreational games) or gameful applications for improving wellbeing or flourishing – the pursuit of a happy and meaningful life, rather than the avoidance of illness. Therefore, this full-day Workshop aims to form a community, discuss theoretical and practical considerations, and promote the development of research projects focused on “Positive Gaming” – the use of gamification and games as tools for realizing Positive Computing objectives. This will create the opportunities for interested researchers to form a common understanding, develop methods and procedures, and establish a roadmap for future research in Positive Gaming.},
address = {Amsterdam, Netherlands},
author = {Tondello, Gustavo F. and Orji, Rita and Vella, Kellie and Johnson, Daniel and van Dooren, Marierose M.M. and Nacke, Lennart E.},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2017 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play - CHI PLAY '17 Extended Abstracts},
doi = {10.1145/3130859.3131442},
isbn = {9781450351119},
keywords = {Gameful Design,Games,Gamification,Health,Positive Computing,Positive Gaming,Wellbeing},
publisher = {ACM},
title = {{Positive Gaming : Workshop on Gamification and Games for Wellbeing}},
year = {2017}
}

Gamification and games have been used and studied in a variety of applications related with health and wellbeing. Nevertheless, there are very few studies aimed at designing games (whether serious games or recreational games) or gameful applications for improving wellbeing or flourishing – the pursuit of a happy and meaningful life, rather than the avoidance of illness. Therefore, this full-day Workshop aims to form a community, discuss theoretical and practical considerations, and promote the development of research projects focused on “Positive Gaming” – the use of gamification and games as tools for realizing Positive Computing objectives. This will create the opportunities for interested researchers to form a common understanding, develop methods and procedures, and establish a roadmap for future research in Positive Gaming.

Testing Incremental Difficulty Design in Platformer Games

@inproceedings{Wehbe2017,
abstract = {Designing difficulty levels in platformer games is a challenge for game designers. It is important because design decisions that affect difficulty also directly affect player experience. Consequently, design strategies for balancing game difficulty are discussed by both academics and game designers. In this paper, we study how manipulating the following design decisions, commonly found in platformers, moderates difficulty: Scroll Speed, Target Size, Jump Task Complexity, and Perspective. Results for Scroll Speed and Target Size indicate that errors increase as speed increases and platform size decreases. However, results for jump task complexity demonstrate a separation of errors from task complexity. Specifically, while double-jump tasks are harder than single-jump tasks, triple-jump tasks appear to be as difficult as double-jump tasks. Additionally, the study demonstrates how changes in perspective affect the errors made by players in gameplay. The study results are applicable both to automatic level generation and dynamic difficulty adjustment in platformer games.},
address = {Denver, CO, USA},
author = {Wehbe, Rina R and Mekler, Elisa D and Schaekermann, Mike and Lank, Edward and Nacke, Lennart E},
booktitle = {Proceeding of the 2017 ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems},
doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3025453.3025697},
pages = {5109--5113},
publisher = {ACM},
title = {{Testing Incremental Difficulty Design in Platformer Games}},
year = {2017}
}

Designing difficulty levels in platformer games is a challenge for game designers. It is important because design decisions that affect difficulty also directly affect player experience. Consequently, design strategies for balancing game difficulty are discussed by both academics and game designers. In this paper, we study how manipulating the following design decisions, commonly found in platformers, moderates difficulty: Scroll Speed, Target Size, Jump Task Complexity, and Perspective. Results for Scroll Speed and Target Size indicate that errors increase as speed increases and platform size decreases. However, results for jump task complexity demonstrate a separation of errors from task complexity. Specifically, while double-jump tasks are harder than single-jump tasks, triple-jump tasks appear to be as difficult as double-jump tasks. Additionally, the study demonstrates how changes in perspective affect the errors made by players in gameplay. The study results are applicable both to automatic level generation and dynamic difficulty adjustment in platformer games.

The Impact of Health-Related User Interface Sounds on Player Experience

@article{Robb2017,
abstract = {Background. Understanding how sound functions on informational and emotional levels within video games is critical to understanding player experience of games. User interface sounds, such as player-character health, are a pivotal component of gameplay across many video game genres, yet have not been studied in detail. Method. To address this research gap in user interface sounds, we present two studies: The first study examines the impact of the presence or absence of player-health sounds on player experience. The second study explores the impact of the types of sound used to indicate player health. We use mixed methods with qualitative and physiological measures. Results. Our results reveal that despite the presence of visual cues, sound is still important to game design for conveying health-related information and that the type of sound affects player experience.},
author = {Robb, James and Garner, Tom and Collins, Karen and Nacke, Lennart E.},
doi = {10.1177/1046878116688236},
journal = {Simulation {\&} Gaming},
month = {jun},
number = {3},
pages = {402--427},
publisher = {SAGE Publications},
title = {{The Impact of Health-Related User Interface Sounds on Player Experience}},
url = {http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1046878116688236},
volume = {48},
year = {2017}
}

Background. Understanding how sound functions on informational and emotional levels within video games is critical to understanding player experience of games. User interface sounds, such as player-character health, are a pivotal component of gameplay across many video game genres, yet have not been studied in detail. Method. To address this research gap in user interface sounds, we present two studies: The first study examines the impact of the presence or absence of player-health sounds on player experience. The second study explores the impact of the types of sound used to indicate player health. We use mixed methods with qualitative and physiological measures. Results. Our results reveal that despite the presence of visual cues, sound is still important to game design for conveying health-related information and that the type of sound affects player experience.

Towards Personality-driven Persuasive Health Games and Gamified Systems

@inproceedings{Orji2017,
abstract = {Persuasive games and gamified systems are effective tools for motivating behavior change using various persuasive strategies. Research has shown that tailoring these systems can increase their efficacy. However, there is little knowledge on how game-based persuasive systems can be tailored to individuals of various personality traits. To advance research in this area, we conducted a large-scale study of 660 participants to investigate how different personalities respond to various persuasive strategies that are used in persuasive health games and gamified systems. Our results reveal that people's personality traits play a significant role in the perceived persuasiveness of different strategies. Conscientious people tend to be motivated by goal setting, simulation, self-monitoring and feedback; people who are more open to experience are more likely to be demotivated by rewards, competition, comparison, and cooperation. We contribute to the CHI community by offering design guidelines for tailoring persuasive games and gamified designs to a particular group of personalities.},
author = {Orji, Rita and Nacke, Lennart E. and DiMarco, Chrysanne},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems},
doi = {10.1145/3025453.3025577},
isbn = {9781450346559},
publisher = {ACM},
title = {{Towards Personality-driven Persuasive Health Games and Gamified Systems}},
year = {2017}
}

Persuasive games and gamified systems are effective tools for motivating behavior change using various persuasive strategies. Research has shown that tailoring these systems can increase their efficacy. However, there is little knowledge on how game-based persuasive systems can be tailored to individuals of various personality traits. To advance research in this area, we conducted a large-scale study of 660 participants to investigate how different personalities respond to various persuasive strategies that are used in persuasive health games and gamified systems. Our results reveal that people’s personality traits play a significant role in the perceived persuasiveness of different strategies. Conscientious people tend to be motivated by goal setting, simulation, self-monitoring and feedback; people who are more open to experience are more likely to be demotivated by rewards, competition, comparison, and cooperation. We contribute to the CHI community by offering design guidelines for tailoring persuasive games and gamified designs to a particular group of personalities.

UMAP 2017 Fifty Shades of Personalization - Workshop on Personalization in Serious and Persuasive Games and Gameful Interactions: Organizers’ Welcome

@inproceedings{Mattheiss2017,
abstract = {It is our great pleasure to welcome you to the UMAP 2017 Fifty Shades of Personalization - Workshop on Personalization in Serious and Persuasive Games and Gameful Interactions. Serious games (games for purposes other than entertainment) as well as persuasive games (games for promoting desirable behavior without coercion) are increasingly adopted by scholars and have also found their way into industry. Elements of games are also increasingly used to design gameful interactions (this is also referred to as gamification). Serious and persuasive approaches focus on imparting knowledge and raising awareness about topics or issues, and also fostering attitude or behavior change in a desirable direction, for example towards a healthier lifestyle.},
address = {Bratislava, Slovakia},
author = {Mattheiss, Elke and Busch, Marc and Orji, Rita and Tondello, Gustavo F. and Marczewski, Andrzej and Hochleitner, Wolfgang and Lankes, Michael and Tscheligi, Manfred},
booktitle = {Proceedings of UMAP'17 Adjunct},
pages = {395--397},
publisher = {ACM},
title = {{UMAP 2017 Fifty Shades of Personalization - Workshop on Personalization in Serious and Persuasive Games and Gameful Interactions : Organizers ' Welcome}},
year = {2017}
}

It is our great pleasure to welcome you to the UMAP 2017 Fifty Shades of Personalization - Workshop on Personalization in Serious and Persuasive Games and Gameful Interactions. Serious games (games for purposes other than entertainment) as well as persuasive games (games for promoting desirable behavior without coercion) are increasingly adopted by scholars and have also found their way into industry. Elements of games are also increasingly used to design gameful interactions (this is also referred to as gamification). Serious and persuasive approaches focus on imparting knowledge and raising awareness about topics or issues, and also fostering attitude or behavior change in a desirable direction, for example towards a healthier lifestyle.

Year 2016

Games User Research (GUR) for Indie Studios

@inproceedings{Moosajee2016,
Abstract = {Playtesting sessions are becoming more integrated in game development cycles. However, playtests are not always feasible or a
ordable for smaller independent game studios, as they require specialized equipment and expertise. Given the recent growth and prevalence of independent developers, there is a need to adapt playtesting processes for indie studios to assist in creating an optimal player experience. Therefore, our research focuses on challenges and opportunities of integrating games user research in the development cycles of independent studios. We worked with three studios conducting playtests on their upcoming titles. In line with the CHI2016 #chi4good spirit this paper contributes to the important topic of adopting user research methods for indie and small game studios. We believe that the games user research (GUR) field must advance towards demographics that will benefit from GUR but are under-represented in the community and this paper is one of the first that will contribute to this.},
Address = {San Jose, CA},
Author = {N. Moosajee and P. Mirza-Babaei},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of chi 2016 extended abstracts},
Doi = {10.1145/2851581.2892408},
File = {::},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/gur_indies.jpg},
Keywords = {Games User Research,Playtest,Indie Development,Persona,Rapid Prototyping,Telemetry},
Title = {Games User Research (GUR) for Indie Studios},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/games-user-research-for-indie-studios},
Year = {2016},

Playtesting sessions are becoming more integrated in game development cycles. However, playtests are not always feasible or a ordable for smaller independent game studios, as they require specialized equipment and expertise. Given the recent growth and prevalence of independent developers, there is a need to adapt playtesting processes for indie studios to assist in creating an optimal player experience. Therefore, our research focuses on challenges and opportunities of integrating games user research in the development cycles of independent studios. We worked with three studios conducting playtests on their upcoming titles. In line with the CHI2016 #chi4good spirit this paper contributes to the important topic of adopting user research methods for indie and small game studios. We believe that the games user research (GUR) field must advance towards demographics that will benefit from GUR but are under-represented in the community and this paper is one of the first that will contribute to this.

Investigating the Impact of Cooperative Communication Mechanics on Player Performance in Portal 2

@inproceedings{Vaddi2016,
Abstract = {Cooperative communication mechanics, such as avatar gestures or in-game visual pointers, enable player collaboration directly through gameplay. We currently lack a deeper understanding of how players use cooperative communication mechanics, and whether they can effectively supplement or even supplant traditional voice and chat communication. The present research investigated player communication in Portal 2 by testing the game’s native cooperative communication mechanics for dyads of players in custom test chambers. Following our initial hypothesis, players functioned best when they had access to both cooperative communication mechanics and voice. We found that players preferred voice communication, but perceived cooperative communication mechanics as necessary to coordinate interdependent actions.},
Address = {Victoria, BC, Canada},
Author = {D. Vaddi, Z. O. Toups, I. Dolgov, R. R. Wehbe, and L. E. Nacke},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of graphics interfaces 2016},
File = {::},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Validating-Test-Chambers-to-Study-Cooperative-Communication-Mechanics-in-Portal-2e.jpg},
Keywords = {Game analysis,communication,cooperation,experimentation},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Investigating the Impact of Cooperative Communication Mechanics on Player Performance in Portal 2},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/investigating-impact-cooperative-communication-mechanics-player-performance-portal-2},
Year = {2016},

Cooperative communication mechanics, such as avatar gestures or in-game visual pointers, enable player collaboration directly through gameplay. We currently lack a deeper understanding of how players use cooperative communication mechanics, and whether they can effectively supplement or even supplant traditional voice and chat communication. The present research investigated player communication in Portal 2 by testing the game’s native cooperative communication mechanics for dyads of players in custom test chambers. Following our initial hypothesis, players functioned best when they had access to both cooperative communication mechanics and voice. We found that players preferred voice communication, but perceived cooperative communication mechanics as necessary to coordinate interdependent actions.

Lightweight Games User Research for Indies and Non-Profit Organizations

@inproceedings{Nacke2016,
Abstract = {The Games User Research (GUR) community has thrived at CHI with four workshops and a course since CHI 2012; all of these were well attended. In line with the #chi4good spirit this year, the GUR field must advance towards demographics that will benefit from GUR but are currently underrepresented in the community: Small, independent developers, non-profit organizations, and academics that create mobile games, games for health or change, or educational games. This workshop will be a think tank for participants to construct collective knowledge, share and discuss. We plan to discuss topics online beyond the workshop via the International Game Developer Associations Special Interest Group on GUR, which serves as a basis for disseminating workshop outcomes and further discussion.},
Address = {San Jose, CA, USA},
Author = {L. E. Nacke, C. Moser, A. Drachen, P. Mirza-Babaei, A. Abney, and Z. (. Zhenyu},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of the 34th annual acm conference on human factors in computing systems, extended abstracts},
Doi = {10.1145/2851581.2856504},
File = {::},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Introducing-the-Biometric-Storyboards-Tool-for-Games-User-Research.png},
Isbn = {9781450340823},
Keywords = {Games User Research, Games 4 Health, Games for Change, User Experience, Usability, Playability, Games Research},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Lightweight Games User Research for Indies and Non-Profit Organizations},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/lightweight-games-user-research-for-indies-and-non-profit-organizations},
Year = {2016},

The Games User Research (GUR) community has thrived at CHI with four workshops and a course since CHI 2012; all of these were well attended. In line with the #chi4good spirit this year, the GUR field must advance towards demographics that will benefit from GUR but are currently underrepresented in the community: Small, independent developers, non-profit organizations, and academics that create mobile games, games for health or change, or educational games. This workshop will be a think tank for participants to construct collective knowledge, share and discuss. We plan to discuss topics online beyond the workshop via the International Game Developer Associations Special Interest Group on GUR, which serves as a basis for disseminating workshop outcomes and further discussion.

The Gamification User Types Hexad Scale

@inproceedings{Tondello2016,
abstract = {Several studies have indicated the need for personalizing gamified systems to users' personalities. However, mapping user personality onto design elements is difficult. Hexad is a gamification user types model that attempts this mapping but lacks a standard procedure to assess user preferences. Therefore, we created a 24-items survey response scale to score users' preferences towards the six different motivations in the Hexad framework. We used internal and test-retest reliability analysis, as well as factor analysis, to validate this new scale. Further analysis revealed significant associations of the Hexad user types with the Big Five personality traits. In addition, a correlation analysis confirmed the framework's validity as a measure of user preference towards different game design elements. This scale instrument contributes to games user research because it enables accurate measures of user preference in gamification.},
address = {Austin, TX, USA},
author = {Tondello, Gustavo F. and Wehbe, Rina R. and Diamond, Lisa and Busch, Marc and Marczewski, Andrzej and Nacke, Lennart E.},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2016 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play - CHI PLAY '16},
doi = {10.1145/2967934.2968082},
file = {:C$\backslash$:/Users/Gustavo/Google Drive/HCI Games Group Documents/Projects and Papers/Gamification player types/Hexad Validation Paper/The Gamification User Types Hexad Scale-Camera Ready.pdf:pdf},
keywords = {Gameful Design,Gamification,Hexad,User Types},
mendeley-groups = {HCI Games Group Publications},
publisher = {ACM},
title = {{The Gamification User Types Hexad Scale}},
year = {2016}
}

Several studies have indicated the need for personalizing gamified systems to users' personalities. However, mapping user personality onto design elements is difficult. Hexad is a gamification user types model that attempts this mapping but lacks a standard procedure to assess user preferences. Therefore, we created a 24-items survey response scale to score users' preferences towards the six different motivations in the Hexad framework. We used internal and test-retest reliability analysis, as well as factor analysis, to validate this new scale. Further analysis revealed significant associations of the Hexad user types with the Big Five personality traits. In addition, a correlation analysis confirmed the framework's validity as a measure of user preference towards different game design elements. This scale instrument contributes to games user research because it enables accurate measures of user preference in gamification.

“The Collecting Itself Feels Good”: Towards Collection Interfaces for Digital Game Objects

@inproceedings{Toups2016,
Abstract = {Digital games offer a variety of collectible objects. We investigate players' collecting behaviors in digital games to determine what digital game objects players enjoyed collecting and why they valued these objects. Using this information, we seek to inform the design of future digital game object collection interfaces. We discuss the types of objects that players prefer, the reasons that players value digital game objects, and how collection behaviors may guide play. Through our findings, we identify design implications for digital game object collection interfaces: enable object curation, preserve rules and mechanics, preserve context of play, and allow players to share their collections with others. Digital game object collection interfaces are applicable to the design of digital games, gamified applications, and educational software.},
Address = {Austin, TX, USA},
Author = {Z. O. Toups, N. K. Crenshaw, R. R. Wehbe, G. F. Tondello, and L. E. Nacke},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2016 annual symposium on computer-human interaction in play - chi play '16},
Doi = {10.1145/2967934.2968088},
File = {::},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/dgo.jpg},
Keywords = {Digital game objects,collecting behaviors},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {“The Collecting Itself Feels Good”: Towards Collection Interfaces for Digital Game Objects},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/the-collecting-itself-feels-good},
Year = {2016},

Digital games offer a variety of collectible objects. We investigate players' collecting behaviors in digital games to determine what digital game objects players enjoyed collecting and why they valued these objects. Using this information, we seek to inform the design of future digital game object collection interfaces. We discuss the types of objects that players prefer, the reasons that players value digital game objects, and how collection behaviors may guide play. Through our findings, we identify design implications for digital game object collection interfaces: enable object curation, preserve rules and mechanics, preserve context of play, and allow players to share their collections with others. Digital game object collection interfaces are applicable to the design of digital games, gamified applications, and educational software.

Year 2015

All about that Base: Differing Player Experiences in Video Game Genres and the Unique Case of MOBA Games

@inproceedings{Johnson2015,
Abstract = {Video games provide unique interactive player experiences (PX) often categorised into different genres. Prior research has looked at different game genres, but rarely through a PX lens. Especially, PX in the emerging area of massive online battle arena (MOBA) games is not well understood by researchers in the field. We address this knowledge gap by presenting a PX study of different game genres, which we followed up with a second semi-structured interview study about PX in MOBA games. Among the results of our analyses are that games that are likely played with other players, such as MOBA games, stimulate less immersion and presence for players. Additionally, while challenge and frustration are significantly higher in this genre, players get a sense of satisfaction from teamwork, competition and mastery of complex gameplay interactions. Our study is the first to contribute a comprehensive insight into key motivators of MOBA players and how PX in this genre is different from other genres.},
Address = {Seoul, South Korea},
Author = {D. Johnson, L. E. Nacke, and P. Wyeth},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of chi 2015},
DateModified = {2015-03-27 20:11:29 +0000},
Doi = {10.1145/2702123.2702447},
File = {::},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/All-about-that-Base–Differing-Player-Experiences-in-Video-Game-Genres-and-the-Unique-Case-of-MOBA-Games.png},
Isbn = {9781450331456},
Keywords = {moba, games, player experience},
Organization = {ACM},
Pages = {2265-2274},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {All about that Base: Differing Player Experiences in Video Game Genres and the Unique Case of MOBA Games},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/all-about-that-base-differing-player-experiences-in-video-game-genres-and-the-unique-case-of-moba-games},
Year = {2015},

Video games provide unique interactive player experiences (PX) often categorised into different genres. Prior research has looked at different game genres, but rarely through a PX lens. Especially, PX in the emerging area of massive online battle arena (MOBA) games is not well understood by researchers in the field. We address this knowledge gap by presenting a PX study of different game genres, which we followed up with a second semi-structured interview study about PX in MOBA games. Among the results of our analyses are that games that are likely played with other players, such as MOBA games, stimulate less immersion and presence for players. Additionally, while challenge and frustration are significantly higher in this genre, players get a sense of satisfaction from teamwork, competition and mastery of complex gameplay interactions. Our study is the first to contribute a comprehensive insight into key motivators of MOBA players and how PX in this genre is different from other genres.

Data Synchronization in Games User Research

@inproceedings{Wehbe2015a,
Abstract = {By overlapping information from a variety of techniques, researchers are able to gain a better overall picture of the user experience. In Games User Research (GUR) a variety of methodologies are in use ranging from qualitative approaches (e.g. interviews), quantitative approach (e.g. metrics), as well as, physiological approaches (e.g. electroencephalography (EEG)). With the combination of different techniques, synchrony of data collection becomes essential. In the presented paper, details such as sampling rate, marker placement, and time stamps are discussed.},
Address = {London, UK},
Author = {R. R. Wehbe and L. E. Nacke},
Booktitle = {Gur tool design jam},
File = {::},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Introducing-the-Biometric-Storyboards-Tool-for-Games-User-Research.png},
Keywords = {Data,Games User Research (GUR),Mixed Measures,Physiological Measures,Sampling Rates,Synchronization,Time Stamps},
Title = {Data Synchronization in Games User Research},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/data-synchronization-in-games-user-research},
Year = {2015},

By overlapping information from a variety of techniques, researchers are able to gain a better overall picture of the user experience. In Games User Research (GUR) a variety of methodologies are in use ranging from qualitative approaches (e.g. interviews), quantitative approach (e.g. metrics), as well as, physiological approaches (e.g. electroencephalography (EEG)). With the combination of different techniques, synchrony of data collection becomes essential. In the presented paper, details such as sampling rate, marker placement, and time stamps are discussed.

Games User Research and Physiological Game Evaluation

@incollection{Nacke2015,
abstract = {This chapter introduces physiological measures for game evaluation in the context of games user research (GUR). GUR consists of more than playtesting game; it comprises a collection of methods that allow designers to bring their creations closer to the initial vision of the player experience. With the prices of physiological sensors falling, and the advancement of research in this area, physiological evaluation will soon become a standard tool in GUR and game evaluation. Since mixed-method approaches are of increasingly prominent value, this chapter describes core GUR methods with a special focus on physiological evaluation, keeping in mind both benefits and limitations of the approach in academic and industrial applications.},
author = {Nacke, Lennart E},
booktitle = {Game User Experience Evaluation},
chapter = {4},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-15985-0_4},
editor = {Bernhaupt, Regina},
isbn = {978-3-319-15985-0},
mendeley-groups = {HCI Games Group Publications},
pages = {63--86},
publisher = {Springer International Publishing},
title = {{Games User Research and Physiological Game Evaluation}},
url = {https://hcigames.com/download/games-user-research-and-physiological-game-evaluation},
year = {2015}
}

This chapter introduces physiological measures for game evaluation in the context of games user research (GUR). GUR consists of more than playtesting game; it comprises a collection of methods that allow designers to bring their creations closer to the initial vision of the player experience. With the prices of physiological sensors falling, and the advancement of research in this area, physiological evaluation will soon become a standard tool in GUR and game evaluation. Since mixed-method approaches are of increasingly prominent value, this chapter describes core GUR methods with a special focus on physiological evaluation, keeping in mind both benefits and limitations of the approach in academic and industrial applications.

Personalization in Serious and Persuasive Games and Gamified Interactions

@inproceedings{Busch2015,
Abstract = {Serious and persuasive games and gamified interactions have become popular in the last years, especially in the realm of behavior change support systems. They have been used as tools to support and influence human behavior in a variety of fields, such as health, sustainability, education, and security. It has been shown that personalized serious and persuasive games and gamified interactions can increase effectivity of supporting behavior change compared to " one-size-fits all " -systems. However, how serious games and gamified interactions can be personalized, which factors can be used to personalize (e.g. personality, gender, persuadability, player types, gamification user types, states, contextual/situational variables), what effect personalization has (e.g. on player/user experience) and whether there is any return on investment is still largely unexplored. This full-day workshop aims at bringing together the academic and industrial community as well as the gaming and gamification community to jointly explore these topics and define a future roadmap.},
Address = {London, UK},
Author = {M. Busch, E. Mattheiss, R. Orji, A. Marczewski, W. Hochleitner, M. Lankes, L. E. Nacke, and M. Tscheligi},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2015 annual symposium on computer-human interaction in play - chi play '15},
Doi = {10.1145/2793107.2810260},
File = {::},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/BrainHex.png},
Isbn = {9781450334662},
Pages = {811-816},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Personalization in Serious and Persuasive Games and Gamified Interactions},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/personalization-in-serious-and-persuasive-games-and-gamified-interactions},
Year = {2015},

Serious and persuasive games and gamified interactions have become popular in the last years, especially in the realm of behavior change support systems. They have been used as tools to support and influence human behavior in a variety of fields, such as health, sustainability, education, and security. It has been shown that personalized serious and persuasive games and gamified interactions can increase effectivity of supporting behavior change compared to " one-size-fits all " -systems. However, how serious games and gamified interactions can be personalized, which factors can be used to personalize (e.g. personality, gender, persuadability, player types, gamification user types, states, contextual/situational variables), what effect personalization has (e.g. on player/user experience) and whether there is any return on investment is still largely unexplored. This full-day workshop aims at bringing together the academic and industrial community as well as the gaming and gamification community to jointly explore these topics and define a future roadmap.

Toward Understanding Why Players Value In-Game Collections

@inproceedings{Toups2015,
Abstract = {The purpose of this paper is to investigate why players value in-game objects by collecting data through online survey and, in the near future, through follow-up interviews. Initial analyses of our online survey data reveal how game genre interacts with the the perceived value of the player’s collections. We expect to discover new connections between play style and/or personality type and why players enjoy collecting digital objects. Implications from this work explain what drives player enjoyment, which will inform not only general game design, but specifically enhance retention and interest in serious games, gamified applications, and educational systems.},
Address = {London, UK},
Author = {Z. O. Toups, G. F. Tondello, R. R. Wehbe, L. E. Nacke, and N. K. Crenshaw},
Booktitle = {Workshop on personalization in serious and persuasive games and gamified interactions},
File = {::},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/troll-priest-25.jpg},
Keywords = {Collections,Game Object Value,Player Attitudes},
Title = {Toward Understanding Why Players Value In-Game Collections},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/toward-understanding-why-players-value-in-game-collections},
Year = {2015},

The purpose of this paper is to investigate why players value in-game objects by collecting data through online survey and, in the near future, through follow-up interviews. Initial analyses of our online survey data reveal how game genre interacts with the the perceived value of the player’s collections. We expect to discover new connections between play style and/or personality type and why players enjoy collecting digital objects. Implications from this work explain what drives player enjoyment, which will inform not only general game design, but specifically enhance retention and interest in serious games, gamified applications, and educational systems.

Towards Understanding the Importance of Co-Located Gameplay

@inproceedings{Wehbe2015,
Abstract = {Analyzing the social context present in a gameplay environment and its effect on player experience can provide insights informing the design and social value of games. We investigate the influence of social condition (cooperative or competitive play with a human player versus computer-controlled character) on player experience. The study controlled for co-presence by ensuring that another individual attending to the same stimulus was present in all conditions. Although physiological measures were not significant, subjective measures of arousal and pleasure were significantly different under varying conditions.},
Address = {London, United Kingdom},
Author = {R. R. Wehbe and L. E. Nacke},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of chi play 2015},
Doi = {2793107.2810312},
File = {::},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Towards-Understanding-the-Importance-of-Co-Located-Gameplay.jpg},
Isbn = {9781450334662},
Keywords = {Co-located Play,EEG,HR,Multiplayer,Physiological Methods,SC,Single Player,Video Games},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Towards Understanding the Importance of Co-Located Gameplay},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/towards-understanding-the-importance-of-co-located-gameplay},
Year = {2015},

Analyzing the social context present in a gameplay environment and its effect on player experience can provide insights informing the design and social value of games. We investigate the influence of social condition (cooperative or competitive play with a human player versus computer-controlled character) on player experience. The study controlled for co-presence by ensuring that another individual attending to the same stimulus was present in all conditions. Although physiological measures were not significant, subjective measures of arousal and pleasure were significantly different under varying conditions.

Understanding Player Attitudes Towards Digital Game Objects

@inproceedings{Tondello2015,
Abstract = {Humans collect; we examine this behavior in digital game contexts to understand how players’ penchant for collecting items can inform game design. As part of an ongoing research agenda to understand player atti- tudes towards digital game objects, we conducted an online survey about player habits with interviews as future work. We present an initial analysis of our data. Our findings suggest that players value game objects most in Role-Playing Games (RPGs). Utility and Enjoy- ment were cited as the main reasons for a digital game objects’ value, followed by Investment, Self-Expression and Memory. Dyes or color-changing features; physical placement adjustments; and naming or name-changing features were the most frequent personalization fea- tures desired for game object customization. We aim to improve game design through a deep understanding of player motivations regarding their game objects.},
Address = {London, United Kingdom},
Author = {G. F. Tondello, R. R. Wehbe, Z. O. Toups, L. E. Nacke, and N. K. Crenshaw},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of chi play 2015},
Doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2793107.2810292},
File = {::},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/troll-priest-25.jpg},
Isbn = {9781450334662},
Keywords = {Game Object Value,Player Attitudes},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Understanding Player Attitudes Towards Digital Game Objects},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/understanding-player-attitudes-towards-digital-game-objects},
Year = {2015},

Humans collect; we examine this behavior in digital game contexts to understand how players’ penchant for collecting items can inform game design. As part of an ongoing research agenda to understand player atti- tudes towards digital game objects, we conducted an online survey about player habits with interviews as future work. We present an initial analysis of our data. Our findings suggest that players value game objects most in Role-Playing Games (RPGs). Utility and Enjoy- ment were cited as the main reasons for a digital game objects’ value, followed by Investment, Self-Expression and Memory. Dyes or color-changing features; physical placement adjustments; and naming or name-changing features were the most frequent personalization fea- tures desired for game object customization. We aim to improve game design through a deep understanding of player motivations regarding their game objects.

Validating Test Chambers to Study Cooperative Communication Mechanics in Portal 2

@inproceedings{Vaddi2015,
Abstract = {Cooperative communication mechanics, such as avatar gestures or in-game visual pointers, enable player collaboration directly through gameplay. There are open questions about how players use cooperative communication mechanics, and whether they can effectively supplement or even supplant traditional voice and chat communication. This paper describes a future study to investigate player communication in Portal 2, and chronicles the design and validation of test chambers for the study.},
Address = {London, United Kingdom},
Author = {D. Vaddi, R. R. Wehbe, Z. O. Toups, S. N. Stahlke, R. Koroluk, and L. E. Nacke},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of chi play 2015},
File = {::},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Validating-Test-Chambers-to-Study-Cooperative-Communication-Mechanics-in-Portal-2e.jpg},
Keywords = {Game analysis,communication,cooperation,experimentation},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Validating Test Chambers to Study Cooperative Communication Mechanics in Portal 2},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/validating-test-chambers-to-study-cooperative-communication-mechanics-in-portal-2},
Year = {2015},

Cooperative communication mechanics, such as avatar gestures or in-game visual pointers, enable player collaboration directly through gameplay. There are open questions about how players use cooperative communication mechanics, and whether they can effectively supplement or even supplant traditional voice and chat communication. This paper describes a future study to investigate player communication in Portal 2, and chronicles the design and validation of test chambers for the study.

Year 2014

BrainHex: A Neurobiological Gamer Typology Survey

@article{nacke2014brainhex,
abstract = {This paper briefly presents a player satisfaction model called BrainHex, which was based on insights from neurobiological findings as well as the results from earlier demographic game design models (DGD1 and DGD2). The model presents seven different archetypes of players: Seeker, Survivor, Daredevil, Mastermind, Conqueror, Socialiser, and Achiever. We explain how each of these player archetypes relates to older player typologies (such as Myers-Briggs), and how each archetype characterizes a specific playing style. We conducted a survey among more than 50,000 players using the BrainHex model as a personality type motivator to gather and compare demographic data to the different BrainHex archetypes. We discuss some results from this survey with a focus on psychometric orientation of respondents, to establish relationships between personality types and BrainHex archetypes.},
author = {Nacke, Lennart E and Bateman, Chris and Mandryk, Regan L},
doi = {10.1016/j.entcom.2013.06.002},
journal = {Entertainment Computing},
mendeley-groups = {HCI Games Group Publications},
number = {1},
pages = {55--62},
publisher = {Elsevier},
title = {{BrainHex: A Neurobiological Gamer Typology Survey}},
url = {https://hcigames.com/download/brainhex-a-neurobiological-gamer-typology-survey},
volume = {5},
year = {2014}
}

This paper briefly presents a player satisfaction model called BrainHex, which was based on insights from neurobiological findings as well as the results from earlier demographic game design models (DGD1 and DGD2). The model presents seven different archetypes of players: Seeker, Survivor, Daredevil, Mastermind, Conqueror, Socialiser, and Achiever. We explain how each of these player archetypes relates to older player typologies (such as Myers-Briggs), and how each archetype characterizes a specific playing style. We conducted a survey among more than 50,000 players using the BrainHex model as a personality type motivator to gather and compare demographic data to the different BrainHex archetypes. We discuss some results from this survey with a focus on psychometric orientation of respondents, to establish relationships between personality types and BrainHex archetypes.

Developing Iconic and Semi-Iconic Game Controllers

@inproceedings{nacke2014developing,
Abstract = {We propose the notion of semi-iconic game input (i.e., sharing some properties of game objects instead of being a complete iconic representation of them) and investigate influence of controller representation on player experience. In particular, we developed game controllers at different degrees of realism (symbolic, semi-iconic, and iconic). We present the developed controllers and initial usability findings.},
Address = {Toronto, ON, Canada},
Author = {L. E. Nacke, J. P. Costa, D. L. Kappen, J. Robb, and D. Buckstein},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of chi play 2014},
Doi = {10.1145/2658537.2661327},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Developing-Iconic-and-Semi-Iconic-Game-Controllers.png},
Organization = {ACM},
Pages = {435-436},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Developing Iconic and Semi-Iconic Game Controllers},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/developing-iconic-and-semi-iconic-game-controllers},
Year = {2014},

We propose the notion of semi-iconic game input (i.e., sharing some properties of game objects instead of being a complete iconic representation of them) and investigate influence of controller representation on player experience. In particular, we developed game controllers at different degrees of realism (symbolic, semi-iconic, and iconic). We present the developed controllers and initial usability findings.

Engaged by Boos and Cheers: The Effect of Co-Located Game Audiences on Social Player Experience

@inproceedings{kappen2014engaged,
Abstract = {Little is currently known about the influence of co-located player audiences on gameplay experience. Social player experiences are important to understand in co-located gaming scenarios, because these experiences relate to player performance. Player-audience relationships have been studied before, but prior research focused on player attributes and typology. In our study, we investigated the effect of different co-located audience types (silent, positive, negative) and no audience on player experience. For the study, we contribute a video game specifically developed for two-player, co-located gameplay and findings from questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Our findings show that both -- negative and positive audience activity -- drove players to become more engaged in the video game. In contrast, silent audiences made players feel unnerved and less engaged in gameplay. Our paper is the first to study of the relevance of co-located audience influence on player experience, which is important for understanding the design of co-located games.},
Address = {Toronto, ON, Canada},
Author = {D. L. Kappen, P. Mirza-Babaei, J. Johannsmeier, D. Buckstein, J. Robb, and L. E. Nacke},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of chi play 2014},
Doi = {10.1145/2658537.2658687},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Engaged-by-Boos-and-Cheers-The-Effect-of-Co-Located-Game-Audiences-on-Social-Player-Experience.png},
Organization = {ACM},
Pages = {151-160},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Engaged by Boos and Cheers: The Effect of Co-Located Game Audiences on Social Player Experience},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/engaged-by-boos-and-cheers-the-effect-of-co-located-game-audiences-on-social-player-experience},
Year = {2014},

Little is currently known about the influence of co-located player audiences on gameplay experience. Social player experiences are important to understand in co-located gaming scenarios, because these experiences relate to player performance. Player-audience relationships have been studied before, but prior research focused on player attributes and typology. In our study, we investigated the effect of different co-located audience types (silent, positive, negative) and no audience on player experience. For the study, we contribute a video game specifically developed for two-player, co-located gameplay and findings from questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Our findings show that both -- negative and positive audience activity -- drove players to become more engaged in the video game. In contrast, silent audiences made players feel unnerved and less engaged in gameplay. Our paper is the first to study of the relevance of co-located audience influence on player experience, which is important for understanding the design of co-located games.

Fuzzy Affective Player Models: A Physiology-Based Hierarchical Clustering Method

@inproceedings{nogueira2014fuzzy,
Abstract = {Current approaches to game design improvements rely on time-consuming gameplay testing processes, which rely on highly subjective feedback from a target audience. In this paper, we propose a generalizable approach for building predictive models of players' emotional reactions across different games and game genres, as well as other forms of digital stimuli. Our input agnostic approach relies on the following steps: (a) collecting players' physiologically-inferred emotional states during actual gameplay sessions, (b) extrapolating the causal relations between changes in players' emotional states and recorded game events, and (c) building hierarchical cluster models of players' emotional reactions that can later be used to infer individual player models via fuzzy cluster membership vectors. We expect this work to benefit game designers by accelerating the affective play-testing process through the offline simulation of players' reactions to game design adaptations, as well as to contribute towards individually-tailored affective gaming.},
Address = {Raleigh, NC, United States},
Author = {P. A. Nogueira, R. Aguiar, R. A. Rodrigues, E. C. Oliveira, and L. E. Nacke},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of AIIDE 2014},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Fuzzy-Affective-Player-Models-A-Physiology-Based-Hierarchical-Clustering-Method.png},
Pages = {132-138},
Publisher = {AAAI},
Title = {Fuzzy Affective Player Models: A Physiology-Based Hierarchical Clustering Method},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/fuzzy-affective-player-models-a-physiology-based-hierarchical-clustering-method},
Year = {2014},

Current approaches to game design improvements rely on time-consuming gameplay testing processes, which rely on highly subjective feedback from a target audience. In this paper, we propose a generalizable approach for building predictive models of players' emotional reactions across different games and game genres, as well as other forms of digital stimuli. Our input agnostic approach relies on the following steps: (a) collecting players' physiologically-inferred emotional states during actual gameplay sessions, (b) extrapolating the causal relations between changes in players' emotional states and recorded game events, and (c) building hierarchical cluster models of players' emotional reactions that can later be used to infer individual player models via fuzzy cluster membership vectors. We expect this work to benefit game designers by accelerating the affective play-testing process through the offline simulation of players' reactions to game design adaptations, as well as to contribute towards individually-tailored affective gaming.

Games and Entertainment Community SIG: Reaching Beyond CHI

@inproceedings{nacke2014games,
Abstract = {Games and Entertainment have become important areas of research within the field of Human-Computer Interaction. The community has grown dramatically in the past years. During the previous CHI conference, there were a growing number of game-oriented submissions demonstrating the increased importance of the field. In 2014, the successful Student Games Competition and the Games User Research workshop (in its third iteration) continue to tie together students, researchers and practitioners. Games and Entertainment is one of the five research areas that have been selected as Spotlights in CHI 2014. Given the increase in quantity and variety of submissions, and the involvement and engagement of practitioners within the community, it is important for the community to have this SIG as a forum.},
Address = {Toronto, ON, Canada},
Author = {L. E. Nacke, P. Mirza-Babaei, M. Seif El-Nasr, H. W. Desurvire, and R. Bernhaupt},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of CHI EA 2014},
Doi = {10.1145/2559206.2559216},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Games-and-Entertainment-Community-SIG-Reaching-Beyond-CHI.png},
Organization = {ACM},
Pages = {1123-1126},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Games and Entertainment Community SIG: Reaching Beyond CHI},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/games-and-entertainment-community-sig-reaching-beyond-chi},
Year = {2014},

Games and Entertainment have become important areas of research within the field of Human-Computer Interaction. The community has grown dramatically in the past years. During the previous CHI conference, there were a growing number of game-oriented submissions demonstrating the increased importance of the field. In 2014, the successful Student Games Competition and the Games User Research workshop (in its third iteration) continue to tie together students, researchers and practitioners. Games and Entertainment is one of the five research areas that have been selected as Spotlights in CHI 2014. Given the increase in quantity and variety of submissions, and the involvement and engagement of practitioners within the community, it is important for the community to have this SIG as a forum.

Introducing the Biometric Storyboards Tool for Games User Research

@inproceedings{mirza2014introducing,
Abstract = {Evaluating and communicating affective user experience in games is an important component of the growing field of games user research (GUR). An important goal for the game industry and researchers alike is the successful unification of physiological measurements and player experience reports to generate meaningful insights, which is challenging due to the varying natures of the data. In this paper, we present a tool that facilitates GUR with a method called Biometric Storyboards (BioSt). The tool allows GUR professionals to visualize relationships between changes in a player's physiological state, a player's self-reported experience, and in-game events. This paper focuses on the BioSt development stages and the final BioSt tool that we present to facilitate the creation implementation of BioSt and its analysis procedure.},
Address = {Toronto, ON, Canada},
Author = {P. Mirza-Babaei and L. Nacke},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of ieee gem 2014},
Doi = {10.1109/GEM.2014.7048098},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Introducing-the-Biometric-Storyboards-Tool-for-Games-User-Research.png},
Keywords = {Current measurement,Data visualization,Electromyography,Games,Muscles,Physiology,Prototypes,affective evaluation,games design,games user research,physiological evaluation,user experience,video games},
MendeleyTags = {Current measurement,Data visualization,Electromyography,Games,Muscles,Physiology,Prototypes},
Pages = {1-7},
Publisher = {IEEE},
Title = {Introducing the Biometric Storyboards Tool for Games User Research},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/introducing-the-biometric-storyboards-tool-for-games-user-research},
Year = {2014},

Evaluating and communicating affective user experience in games is an important component of the growing field of games user research (GUR). An important goal for the game industry and researchers alike is the successful unification of physiological measurements and player experience reports to generate meaningful insights, which is challenging due to the varying natures of the data. In this paper, we present a tool that facilitates GUR with a method called Biometric Storyboards (BioSt). The tool allows GUR professionals to visualize relationships between changes in a player's physiological state, a player's self-reported experience, and in-game events. This paper focuses on the BioSt development stages and the final BioSt tool that we present to facilitate the creation implementation of BioSt and its analysis procedure.

Player Experience: Mixed Methods and Reporting Results

@inproceedings{zammitto2014player,
Abstract = {The community of video game researchers has been rapidly evolving for the past few years, extending and modifying existing methodologies used by the HCI community to the environment of digital games. This one-day workshop investigates two areas that must be addressed to continue advancing the field: mixed method frameworks which integrate two or more techniques within a single study; and reporting as an integral part of the research process. The outcome of the workshop will be an archive of both the workshop submissions and the materials (posters and group productions). This will extend the discussion of topics beyond the workshop, and serve as a platform for future use and work. This one day workshop will bring together contributions from practitioners and academics in a yet untapped area of games user research.},
Address = {Toronto, ON, Canada},
Author = {V. Zammitto, P. Mirza-Babaei, I. J. Livingston, M. Kobayashi, and L. E. Nacke},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of CHI EA 2014},
Doi = {10.1145/2559206.2559239},
Organization = {ACM},
Pages = {147-150},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Player Experience: Mixed Methods and Reporting Results},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/player-experience-mixed-methods-and-reporting-results},
Year = {2014},

The community of video game researchers has been rapidly evolving for the past few years, extending and modifying existing methodologies used by the HCI community to the environment of digital games. This one-day workshop investigates two areas that must be addressed to continue advancing the field: mixed method frameworks which integrate two or more techniques within a single study; and reporting as an integral part of the research process. The outcome of the workshop will be an archive of both the workshop submissions and the materials (posters and group productions). This will extend the discussion of topics beyond the workshop, and serve as a platform for future use and work. This one day workshop will bring together contributions from practitioners and academics in a yet untapped area of games user research.

Social Player Analytics in a Facebook Health Game

@inproceedings{Nacke:2014:SPA:2729485.2729512,
Abstract = {Social health games can drive healthy behaviour. To track social behaviour change in social network games (SNGs), gameplay metrics should quantify socially-engaging gameplay behaviour based on player interactions. We developed social player metrics in a quantitative study of player behaviour in a social health game called Healthseeker (developed by Ayogo Health Inc.). This Facebook game targets people with diabetes to help them manage health goals in real life. Our metrics identify which game mechanics led to more gameplay success, connectedness and virality. We also identified how the behaviour of successful players differs from unsuccessful players in the game. Our results support that game mechanics aiming at social interactions can motivate players to solve more missions, to fulfill more healthy goals and to play the game longer. We conclude that having a well-connected social network can improve player success in solving game missions.},
Address = {Seoul, Republic of Korea},
Author = {L. E. Nacke, M. Klauser, and P. Prescod},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of HCI Korea},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/HealthSeeker.png},
Isbn = {978-89-6848-752-1},
Numpages = {8},
Pages = {180-187},
Publisher = {Hanbit Media, Inc.},
Series = {HCIK '15},
Title = {Social Player Analytics in a Facebook Health Game},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/social-player-analytics-in-a-facebook-health-game},
Year = {2014},

Social health games can drive healthy behaviour. To track social behaviour change in social network games (SNGs), gameplay metrics should quantify socially-engaging gameplay behaviour based on player interactions. We developed social player metrics in a quantitative study of player behaviour in a social health game called Healthseeker (developed by Ayogo Health Inc.). This Facebook game targets people with diabetes to help them manage health goals in real life. Our metrics identify which game mechanics led to more gameplay success, connectedness and virality. We also identified how the behaviour of successful players differs from unsuccessful players in the game. Our results support that game mechanics aiming at social interactions can motivate players to solve more missions, to fulfill more healthy goals and to play the game longer. We conclude that having a well-connected social network can improve player success in solving game missions.

The Edge of Glory: The Relationship Between Metacritic Scores and Player Experience

@inproceedings{johnson2014edge,
Abstract = {This study sought to examine how measures of player experience used in videogame research relate to Metacritic Professional and User scores. In total, 573 participants completed an online survey, where they responded the Player Experience of Need Satisfaction (PENS) and the Game Experience Questionnaire (GEQ) in relation to their current favourite videogame. Correlations among the data indicate an overlap between the player experience constructs and the factors informing Metacritic scores. Additionally, differences emerged in the ways professionals and users appear to allocate game ratings. However, the data also provide clear evidence that Metacritic scores do not reflect the full complexity of player experience and may be misleading in some cases.},
Address = {Toronto, ON, Canada},
Author = {D. Johnson, C. Watling, J. Gardner, and L. E. Nacke},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of CHI PLAY 2014},
Doi = {10.1145/2658537.2658694},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/the_edge_of_glory__the_relationship_between_m_scores_and_player_experience.png},
Organization = {ACM},
Pages = {141-150},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {The Edge of Glory: The Relationship Between Metacritic Scores and Player Experience},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/the-edge-of-glory-the-relationship-between-metacritic-scores-and-player-experience},
Year = {2014},

This study sought to examine how measures of player experience used in videogame research relate to Metacritic Professional and User scores. In total, 573 participants completed an online survey, where they responded the Player Experience of Need Satisfaction (PENS) and the Game Experience Questionnaire (GEQ) in relation to their current favourite videogame. Correlations among the data indicate an overlap between the player experience constructs and the factors informing Metacritic scores. Additionally, differences emerged in the ways professionals and users appear to allocate game ratings. However, the data also provide clear evidence that Metacritic scores do not reflect the full complexity of player experience and may be misleading in some cases.

Understanding Expectations with Multiple Controllers in an Augmented Reality Videogame

@inproceedings{mirza2014understanding,
Abstract = {Player experiences and expectations are connected. The presumptions players have about how they control their gameplay interactions may shape the way they play and perceive videogames. A successfully engaging player experience might rest on the way controllers meet players' expectations. We studied player interaction with novel controllers on the Sony PlayStation Wonderbook, an augmented reality (AR) gaming system. Our goal was to understand player expectations regarding game controllers in AR game design. Based on this preliminary study, we propose several interaction guidelines for hybrid input from both augmented reality and physical game controllers},
Address = {Toronto, ON, Canada},
Author = {P. Mirza-Babaei, N. Gale, J. P. Costa, L. E. Nacke, and D. Johnson},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of CHI PLAY 2014},
Doi = {10.1145/2658537.2658705},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Understanding-Expectations-with-Multiple-Controllers-in-an-Augemented-Reality-Videogame.png},
Organization = {ACM},
Pages = {201-206},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Understanding Expectations with Multiple Controllers in an Augmented Reality Videogame},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/understanding-expectations-with-multiple-controllers-in-an-augmented-reality-videogame},
Year = {2014},

Player experiences and expectations are connected. The presumptions players have about how they control their gameplay interactions may shape the way they play and perceive videogames. A successfully engaging player experience might rest on the way controllers meet players' expectations. We studied player interaction with novel controllers on the Sony PlayStation Wonderbook, an augmented reality (AR) gaming system. Our goal was to understand player expectations regarding game controllers in AR game design. Based on this preliminary study, we propose several interaction guidelines for hybrid input from both augmented reality and physical game controllers

Unified Visualization of Quantitative and Qualitative Playtesting Data

@inproceedings{mirza2014unified,
Abstract = {A major challenge in studying player experience is tying together the results of quantitative and qualitative games user research (GUR) data. For example, combining data from players' physiological measures with questionnaire or interview results and in-game movement data into a single report is not straightforward because the underlying data is often in different formats. Visualization techniques can facilitate the understanding of relationships among these data sets. Although various visualization techniques have already been introduced in GUR, most of these techniques only focus on displaying large amounts of data captured directly via telemetry without integrating qualitative or contextual data on players' emotional experience. Hence, here we propose a novel visualization approach to triangulate the above mentioned mixed data sources.},
Address = {Toronto, ON, Canada},
Author = {P. Mirza-Babaei, G. Wallner, G. McAllister, and L. E. Nacke},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of chi ea 2014},
Doi = {10.1145/2559206.2581224},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Unified-Visualization-of-Quantitative-and-Qualitative-Playtesting-Data.png},
Organization = {ACM},
Pages = {1363-1368},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Unified Visualization of Quantitative and Qualitative Playtesting Data},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/unified-visualization-of-quantitative-and-qualitative-playtesting-data},
Year = {2014},

A major challenge in studying player experience is tying together the results of quantitative and qualitative games user research (GUR) data. For example, combining data from players' physiological measures with questionnaire or interview results and in-game movement data into a single report is not straightforward because the underlying data is often in different formats. Visualization techniques can facilitate the understanding of relationships among these data sets. Although various visualization techniques have already been introduced in GUR, most of these techniques only focus on displaying large amounts of data captured directly via telemetry without integrating qualitative or contextual data on players' emotional experience. Hence, here we propose a novel visualization approach to triangulate the above mentioned mixed data sources.

Year 2013

A Hybrid Approach at Emotional State Detection: Merging Theoretical Models of Emotion with Data-Driven Statistical Classifiers

@inproceedings{nogueira2013hybrid,
Abstract = {With the rising popularity of affective computing techniques, there have been several advances in the field of emotion recognition systems. However, despite the several advances in the field, these systems still face scenario adaptability and practical implementation issues. In light of these issues, we developed a nonspecific method for emotional state classification in interactive environments. The proposed method employs a two-layer classification process to detect Arousal and Valence (the emotion's hedonic component), based on four psychophysiological metrics: Skin Conductance, Heart Rate and Electromyography measured at the corrugator supercilii and zygomaticus major muscles. The first classification layer applies multiple regression models to correctly scale the aforementioned metrics across participants and experimental conditions, while also correlating them to the Arousal or Valence dimensions. The second layer then explores several machine learning techniques to merge the regression outputs into one final rating. The obtained results indicate we are able to classify Arousal and Valence independently from participant and experimental conditions with satisfactory accuracy (97\% for Arousal and 91\% for Valence).},
Address = {Atlanta, GA, United States},
Author = {P. A. Nogueira, R. A. Rodrigues, E. Oliveira, and L. E. Nacke},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of WI-IAT 2013},
Doi = {10.1109/WI-IAT.2013.117},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/A-Hybrid-Approach-at-Emotional-State-Detection-Merging-Theoretical-Models-of-Emotion-with-Data-Driven-Statistical-Classifiers.png},
Organization = {IEEE},
Pages = {253-260},
Publisher = {IEEE},
Title = {A Hybrid Approach at Emotional State Detection: Merging Theoretical Models of Emotion with Data-Driven Statistical Classifiers},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/a-hybrid-approach-at-emotional-state-detection-merging-theoretical-models-of-emotion-with-data-driven-statistical-classifiers},
Volume = {2},
Year = {2013},

With the rising popularity of affective computing techniques, there have been several advances in the field of emotion recognition systems. However, despite the several advances in the field, these systems still face scenario adaptability and practical implementation issues. In light of these issues, we developed a nonspecific method for emotional state classification in interactive environments. The proposed method employs a two-layer classification process to detect Arousal and Valence (the emotion's hedonic component), based on four psychophysiological metrics: Skin Conductance, Heart Rate and Electromyography measured at the corrugator supercilii and zygomaticus major muscles. The first classification layer applies multiple regression models to correctly scale the aforementioned metrics across participants and experimental conditions, while also correlating them to the Arousal or Valence dimensions. The second layer then explores several machine learning techniques to merge the regression outputs into one final rating. The obtained results indicate we are able to classify Arousal and Valence independently from participant and experimental conditions with satisfactory accuracy (97\% for Arousal and 91\% for Valence).

A Regression-Based Method for Lightweight Emotional State Detection in Interactive Environments

@article{nogueira2013regression,
Abstract = {With the popularity increase in affective computing techniques the number of emotion detection and recognition systems has risen considerably. However, despite their steady accuracy improvement, they are yet faced with application domain transferability and practical implementation issues. In this paper, we present a novel methodology for modelling individuals' emotional states in multimedia interactive environments, while addressing the aforemen- tioned transferability and practical implementation issues. Our method relies on a two-layer classification process to classify Arousal and Valence based on four distinct physiological sensor inputs. The first classification layer uses several regression models to normalize each of the sensor inputs across participants and experimental conditions, while also correlating each input to either Arousal or Valence. The second classification layer then employs decision trees to merge the various regression outputs into one optimal Arousal/Valence classification. The presented method not only exhibits convincing accuracy ratings -- 89\% for Arousal and 84\% for Valence - but also presents an adaptable and practical ap- proach at emotional state detection in interactive environment experiences.},
Address = {Angra do Heroísmo, Açores, Portugal},
Author = {P. A. Nogueira, R. A. Rodrigues, E. Oliveira, and L. E. Nacke},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/A-Regression-Based-Method-for-Lightweight-Emotional-State-Detection-in-Interactive-Environments.png},
Journal = {Proceedings of epia 2013},
Publisher = {Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg},
Title = {A Regression-Based Method for Lightweight Emotional State Detection in Interactive Environments},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/a-regression-based-method-for-lightweight-emotional-state-detection-in-interactive-environments},
Year = {2013},

With the popularity increase in affective computing techniques the number of emotion detection and recognition systems has risen considerably. However, despite their steady accuracy improvement, they are yet faced with application domain transferability and practical implementation issues. In this paper, we present a novel methodology for modelling individuals' emotional states in multimedia interactive environments, while addressing the aforemen- tioned transferability and practical implementation issues. Our method relies on a two-layer classification process to classify Arousal and Valence based on four distinct physiological sensor inputs. The first classification layer uses several regression models to normalize each of the sensor inputs across participants and experimental conditions, while also correlating each input to either Arousal or Valence. The second classification layer then employs decision trees to merge the various regression outputs into one optimal Arousal/Valence classification. The presented method not only exhibits convincing accuracy ratings -- 89\% for Arousal and 84\% for Valence - but also presents an adaptable and practical ap- proach at emotional state detection in interactive environment experiences.

An Introduction to EEG Analysis Techniques and Brain-Computer Interfaces for Games User Researchers

@inproceedings{wehbe2013introduction,
Abstract = {Games User Research (GUR) can provide meaningful insights into the study of games. As a part of GUR, we focus on the area of cognitive psychology and discuss electroencephalography (EEG) as an evaluation technique for games. We want to introduce game researchers to EEG when studying the cognitive side of player experience and discuss how it can benefit game studies. In this paper, we review EEG techniques before providing researchers with information about general EEG setup and methodology, EEG data collection, preparation, and analysis. Techniques reviewed have been used in medical applications, research, brain-computer interaction (BCI) and human-computer interaction (HCI) applications. In addition, future ideas for applications of EEG techniques in game studies are discussed. We outline how to use different EEG analysis techniques for game research and it is our hope to make these techniques more understandable for the game studies community and to demonstrate their merit for games user research.},
Address = {Atlanta, GA, United States},
Author = {R. R. Wehbe and L. E. Nacke},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of digra 2013},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/an_introduction_to_eeg_analysis_techniques_and_brain-computer_interfaces_for_games_user_researchers.png},
Organization = {DiGRA},
Pages = {1-16},
Publisher = {DiGRA},
Title = {An Introduction to EEG Analysis Techniques and Brain-Computer Interfaces for Games User Researchers},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/an-introduction-to-eeg-analysis-techniques-and-brain-computer-interfaces-for-games-user-researchers},
Year = {2013},

Games User Research (GUR) can provide meaningful insights into the study of games. As a part of GUR, we focus on the area of cognitive psychology and discuss electroencephalography (EEG) as an evaluation technique for games. We want to introduce game researchers to EEG when studying the cognitive side of player experience and discuss how it can benefit game studies. In this paper, we review EEG techniques before providing researchers with information about general EEG setup and methodology, EEG data collection, preparation, and analysis. Techniques reviewed have been used in medical applications, research, brain-computer interaction (BCI) and human-computer interaction (HCI) applications. In addition, future ideas for applications of EEG techniques in game studies are discussed. We outline how to use different EEG analysis techniques for game research and it is our hope to make these techniques more understandable for the game studies community and to demonstrate their merit for games user research.

An Introduction to Physiological Player Metrics for Evaluating Games

@incollection{nacke2013introduction,
Abstract = {Evaluating affective user experience in games is an important component of the growing field of game user research, because compelling gameplay experiences incorporate meaningful and, therefore, emotional player decisions. This makes evaluating player emotions and player visceral physiological reactions a fascinating field of study for game researchers. With their recent success in the human factors domain, physiological metrics, which complement game metrics, have been successfully used to study player engagement and emotion in research and industry. This chapter provides a brief introduction to and primer of physiological measures currently used in game research and discusses the benefits and challenges of this quantitative method of game user research.},
Author = {L. E. Nacke},
Booktitle = {Game analytics - maximizing the value of player data},
Chapter = {26},
Doi = {10.1007/978-1-4471-4769-5_26},
Editor = {M. {Seif El-Nasr}, A. Drachen, and A. Canossa},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/an_introduction_to_physiological_player_metrics_for_evaluating_games.png},
Isbn = {1447147685},
Pages = {585-619},
Publisher = {Springer London},
Title = {An Introduction to Physiological Player Metrics for Evaluating Games},
Url = {http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4471-4769-5_26},
Year = {2013},

Evaluating affective user experience in games is an important component of the growing field of game user research, because compelling gameplay experiences incorporate meaningful and, therefore, emotional player decisions. This makes evaluating player emotions and player visceral physiological reactions a fascinating field of study for game researchers. With their recent success in the human factors domain, physiological metrics, which complement game metrics, have been successfully used to study player engagement and emotion in research and industry. This chapter provides a brief introduction to and primer of physiological measures currently used in game research and discusses the benefits and challenges of this quantitative method of game user research.

Assessing User Preference of Video Game Controller Button Settings

@inproceedings{ellick2013assessing,
Abstract = {Only very few studies exist linking preference in controller usage to physiological effects and user experience (UX). While many games already feature different controller layouts, there is a lack of research on whether giving control to participants over their button choices affects their UX in the game. In our study, participants were given two predetermined button configurations for playing FIFA 12. Their preferences were assessed through electroencephalography (EEG) and a Game Experience Questionnaire (GEQ). Our results show no significant difference in EEG intensity between participants using their preferred or non-preferred button settings. Preference also appears to have no significant effect on subjective feelings assessed by the GEQ. We have identified three distinct factors that may have potentially compromised this study. These findings could help to structure future research in this area.},
Address = {Paris, France},
Author = {W. Ellick, P. Mirza-Babaei, S. Wood, D. Smith, and L. E. Nacke},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of CHI EA 2013},
Doi = {10.1145/2468356.2468554},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Assessing-User-Preference-of-Video-Game-Controller-Button-Settings.png},
Organization = {ACM},
Pages = {1107-1112},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Assessing User Preference of Video Game Controller Button Settings},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/assessing-user-preference-of-video-game-controller-button-settings},
Year = {2013},

Only very few studies exist linking preference in controller usage to physiological effects and user experience (UX). While many games already feature different controller layouts, there is a lack of research on whether giving control to participants over their button choices affects their UX in the game. In our study, participants were given two predetermined button configurations for playing FIFA 12. Their preferences were assessed through electroencephalography (EEG) and a Game Experience Questionnaire (GEQ). Our results show no significant difference in EEG intensity between participants using their preferred or non-preferred button settings. Preference also appears to have no significant effect on subjective feelings assessed by the GEQ. We have identified three distinct factors that may have potentially compromised this study. These findings could help to structure future research in this area.

Contextual Influences on Mobile Player Experience--A Game User Experience Model

@article{engl2012contextual,
Abstract = {In this paper we are discussing a new model of mobile gameplay experience with a special focus on contextual influences of play in ubiquitous environments. The model was developed based on prior general gameplay models which were extended and refined based on the results and personal experiences taken from several evaluative user field studies with mobile games. The experimental results point to two different playing contexts: home and mobile, which were evaluated with a gameplay experience questionnaire (GEQ). The GEQ showed significant difference in negative affect and immersion between mobile and home setting, which are moderated by several influencing contextual factors. This leads us to propose a contextual gameplay experience model that accounts for spatial, temporal, social, cultural, and psychological influences in an external context. The implications of the contextual gameplay model are discussed in light of future research.},
Author = {S. Engl and L. E. Nacke},
Doi = {10.1016/j.entcom.2012.06.001},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Contextual-Influences-on-Mobile-Player-Experience–A-Game-User-Experience-Model.png},
Journal = {Entertainment Computing},
Number = {1},
Pages = {83-91},
Publisher = {Elsevier},
Title = {Contextual Influences on Mobile Player Experience--A Game User Experience Model},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/contextual-influences-on-mobile-player-experience-a-game-user-experience-model},
Volume = {4},
Year = {2013},

In this paper we are discussing a new model of mobile gameplay experience with a special focus on contextual influences of play in ubiquitous environments. The model was developed based on prior general gameplay models which were extended and refined based on the results and personal experiences taken from several evaluative user field studies with mobile games. The experimental results point to two different playing contexts: home and mobile, which were evaluated with a gameplay experience questionnaire (GEQ). The GEQ showed significant difference in negative affect and immersion between mobile and home setting, which are moderated by several influencing contextual factors. This leads us to propose a contextual gameplay experience model that accounts for spatial, temporal, social, cultural, and psychological influences in an external context. The implications of the contextual gameplay model are discussed in light of future research.

Designing and Evaluating Sociability in Online Video Games

@inproceedings{christou2013designing,
Abstract = {The emergence of Online Video Games has led to new ways of socializing with friends. Nowadays a good online game is also associated with the pleasure of socializing and interaction with other players. One cannot play such a game solitarily in a meaningful sense without interacting with the other players. However, there are still no integrated ways of designing and evaluating the inherent sociability of online video games, nor are there methods or guidelines for designing and evaluating social user experiences. Designers of online video games are often left to use their intuition and experience, many times leading to design failures. This workshop aims to further the understanding of designing for sociability and evaluating such designs for online video games. The goal is to exact a framework for the design of sociability structures in online games, and identify methods of effective evaluation of those structures that are practical and can be applied in the industry. With the wide reach of online video games, the time is ripe to codify and integrate the methods that have been developed for designing and evaluating social player experiences. The results will then be turned into a methodological framework that enables online video game designers to select appropriately existing methods and tools to design and evaluate systematically the social player experience of their online computer game prototypes and products.},
Address = {Paris, France},
Author = {G. Christou, E. Law, D. Geerts, L. E. Nacke, and P. Zaphiris},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of CHI EA 2013},
Doi = {10.1145/2468356.2479656},
Organization = {ACM},
Pages = {3239-3242},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Designing and Evaluating Sociability in Online Video Games},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/designing-and-evaluating-sociability-in-online-video-games},
Year = {2013},

The emergence of Online Video Games has led to new ways of socializing with friends. Nowadays a good online game is also associated with the pleasure of socializing and interaction with other players. One cannot play such a game solitarily in a meaningful sense without interacting with the other players. However, there are still no integrated ways of designing and evaluating the inherent sociability of online video games, nor are there methods or guidelines for designing and evaluating social user experiences. Designers of online video games are often left to use their intuition and experience, many times leading to design failures. This workshop aims to further the understanding of designing for sociability and evaluating such designs for online video games. The goal is to exact a framework for the design of sociability structures in online games, and identify methods of effective evaluation of those structures that are practical and can be applied in the industry. With the wide reach of online video games, the time is ripe to codify and integrate the methods that have been developed for designing and evaluating social player experiences. The results will then be turned into a methodological framework that enables online video game designers to select appropriately existing methods and tools to design and evaluate systematically the social player experience of their online computer game prototypes and products.

EEG-Based Assessment of Video and In-Game Learning

@inproceedings{wehbe2013eeg,
Abstract = {People often learn game-related information in video games by taking turns playing and watching each other play. This type of in-game learning involves both observation and imitation of actions. However, games are also made to be learnt individually during gameplay. Our study seeks to assess which is more effective for learning: just playing a game yourself or watching somebody play it first. We compare two gameplay situations: playing a digital game before watching a game-play video and playing a digital game after watching a gameplay video. Using a between-participants design, to measure learning effectiveness we recorded Mu rhythms, which are indirectly linked to mirror neuron activation during imitation learning. We also analyze hemispheric frontal alpha asymmetry. Our results indicate that presentation order of the video game matters and players are more aroused when watching a gameplay video before playing.},
Address = {Paris, France},
Author = {R. R. Wehbe, D. L. Kappen, D. Rojas, M. Klauser, B. Kapralos, and L. E. Nacke},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of CHI EA 2013},
Doi = {10.1145/2468356.2468474},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/eeg-based_assessment_of_video_and_in-game_learning.png},
Organization = {ACM},
Pages = {667-672},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {EEG-Based Assessment of Video and In-Game Learning},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/eeg-based-assessment-of-video-and-in-game-learning},
Year = {2013},

People often learn game-related information in video games by taking turns playing and watching each other play. This type of in-game learning involves both observation and imitation of actions. However, games are also made to be learnt individually during gameplay. Our study seeks to assess which is more effective for learning: just playing a game yourself or watching somebody play it first. We compare two gameplay situations: playing a digital game before watching a game-play video and playing a digital game after watching a gameplay video. Using a between-participants design, to measure learning effectiveness we recorded Mu rhythms, which are indirectly linked to mirror neuron activation during imitation learning. We also analyze hemispheric frontal alpha asymmetry. Our results indicate that presentation order of the video game matters and players are more aroused when watching a gameplay video before playing.

Exploring Social Interaction in Co-Located Multiplayer Games

@inproceedings{kappen2013exploring,
Abstract = {Games have always been a social activity. Playing digital games affords spending time with people; helps build personal connections between individuals and helps to redefine the personality of the player while in play. Games also enable to build the concept of togetherness as a means to foster and enhance the concept of social connectedness, mutual dependencies, collaboration, community living and social interaction. We present a work in progress digital game installation to create multi-level social interactions between the player, the spatial game environment and the digital game. We discuss MagicDuel, a multiplayer digital game, where we are in the process of evaluating the socio-spatial contextual relationship between the players, the audience and gameplay elements for this specific digital game.},
Address = {Paris, France},
Author = {D. L. Kappen, J. Gregory, D. Stepchenko, R. R. Wehbe, and L. E. Nacke},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of CHI EA 2013},
Doi = {10.1145/2468356.2468556},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Exploring-Social-Interaction-in-Co-Located-Multiplayer-Games.png},
Organization = {ACM},
Pages = {1119-1124},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Exploring Social Interaction in Co-Located Multiplayer Games},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/exploring-social-interaction-in-co-located-multiplayer-games},
Year = {2013},

Games have always been a social activity. Playing digital games affords spending time with people; helps build personal connections between individuals and helps to redefine the personality of the player while in play. Games also enable to build the concept of togetherness as a means to foster and enhance the concept of social connectedness, mutual dependencies, collaboration, community living and social interaction. We present a work in progress digital game installation to create multi-level social interactions between the player, the spatial game environment and the digital game. We discuss MagicDuel, a multiplayer digital game, where we are in the process of evaluating the socio-spatial contextual relationship between the players, the audience and gameplay elements for this specific digital game.

Games User Research: Practice, Methods, and Applications

@inproceedings{mirza2013games,
Abstract = {Games User Research (GUR) is an emerging field that ties together Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Game Development. The GUR community has rapidly evolved over the past few years (spawning an International Game Developers Association Special Interest Group). In this workshop, we are investigating different methodologies currently used in practice. We will highlight benefits and drawbacks in assessing game design issues hoping to gain insights into player experience. The outcome will be a collection of best practices online, showing practitioners and researchers how to apply these techniques. We will also peer-review and publish extended versions of paper submissions in a Cognitive Science Research Papers Special Issue on GUR. This will extend the discussion of topics beyond the workshop and serve as a platform for future work.},
Address = {Paris, France},
Author = {P. Mirza-Babaei, V. Zammitto, J. Niesenhaus, M. Sangin, and L. E. Nacke},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of CHI EA 2013},
Doi = {10.1145/2468356.2479651},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Games-User-Research-Practice-Methods-and-Applications.png},
Organization = {ACM},
Pages = {3219-3222},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Games User Research: Practice, Methods, and Applications},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/games-user-research-practice-methods-and-applications},
Year = {2013},

Games User Research (GUR) is an emerging field that ties together Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Game Development. The GUR community has rapidly evolved over the past few years (spawning an International Game Developers Association Special Interest Group). In this workshop, we are investigating different methodologies currently used in practice. We will highlight benefits and drawbacks in assessing game design issues hoping to gain insights into player experience. The outcome will be a collection of best practices online, showing practitioners and researchers how to apply these techniques. We will also peer-review and publish extended versions of paper submissions in a Cognitive Science Research Papers Special Issue on GUR. This will extend the discussion of topics beyond the workshop and serve as a platform for future work.

Guided Emotional State Regulation: Understanding and Shaping Players' Affective Experiences in Digital Games

@inproceedings{nogueira2013guided,
Abstract = {Designing adaptive games for individual emotional experi- ences is a tricky task, especially when detecting a player's emotional state in real time requires physiological sensing hardware and signal processing software. There is currently a lack of software that can identify and learn how emotional states in games are triggered. To address this problem, we developed a system capable of understanding the fundamen- tal relations between emotional responses and their eliciting events. We propose time-evolving Affective Reaction Mod- els (ARM), which learn new affective reactions and manage conflicting ones. These models are then meant to provide in- formation on how a set of predetermined game parameters (e.g., enemy and item spawning, music and lighting effects) should be adapted, to modulate the player's emotional state. In this paper, we propose and describe a framework for modulating player emotions and the main components in- volved in regulating players' affective experience. We ex- pect our technique will allow game designers to focus on defining high-level rules for generating gameplay experi- ences instead of having to create and test different content for each player type.},
Address = {Palo Alto, CA, United States},
Author = {P. A. Nogueira, R. A. Rodrigues, E. C. Oliveira, and L. E. Nacke},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of aiide 2009},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Guided-Emotional-State-Regulation-Understanding-and-Shaping-Players-Affective-Experiences-in-Digital-Games.png},
Pages = {51-57},
Title = {Guided Emotional State Regulation: Understanding and Shaping Players' Affective Experiences in Digital Games},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/guided-emotional-state-regulation-understanding-and-shaping-players'-affective-experiences-in-digital-games},
Year = {2013},

Designing adaptive games for individual emotional experi- ences is a tricky task, especially when detecting a player's emotional state in real time requires physiological sensing hardware and signal processing software. There is currently a lack of software that can identify and learn how emotional states in games are triggered. To address this problem, we developed a system capable of understanding the fundamen- tal relations between emotional responses and their eliciting events. We propose time-evolving Affective Reaction Mod- els (ARM), which learn new affective reactions and manage conflicting ones. These models are then meant to provide in- formation on how a set of predetermined game parameters (e.g., enemy and item spawning, music and lighting effects) should be adapted, to modulate the player's emotional state. In this paper, we propose and describe a framework for modulating player emotions and the main components in- volved in regulating players' affective experience. We ex- pect our technique will allow game designers to focus on defining high-level rules for generating gameplay experi- ences instead of having to create and test different content for each player type.

How Does It Play Better? Exploring User Testing and Biometric Storyboards in Games User Research

@article{mirza2013does,
Abstract = {Improving game design is a hard task. Few methods are available in games user research (GUR) to test formally how game designs work for players. In particular, the usefulness of user tests (UTs) for game designers has not been fully studied in the CHI community. We propose a novel GUR method called Biometric Storyboards (BioSt) and present a study demonstrating how a Classic UT and a BioSt UT both help designers create a better gameplay experience. In addition, we show that BioSt can help designers deliver significantly better visuals, more fun, and higher gameplay quality than designing without UTs and that classic UTs do not provide this significant advantage. Our interviews support the idea that BioSt provides more nuanced game design improvement. The design implication is that a game designed with the BioSt method will result in high gameplay quality.},
Address = {Paris, France},
Author = {P. Mirza-Babaei, L. E. Nacke, J. Gregory, N. Collins, and G. Fitzpatrick},
Doi = {10.1145/2470654.2466200},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/How-Does-It-Play-Better-Exploring-User-Testing-and-Biometric-Storyboards-in-Games-User-Research.png},
Journal = {Proceedings of CHI 2013},
Pages = {1499-1508},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {How Does It Play Better? Exploring User Testing and Biometric Storyboards in Games User Research},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/how-does-it-play-better-exploring-user-testing-and-biometric-storyboards-in-games-user-research},
Year = {2013},

Improving game design is a hard task. Few methods are available in games user research (GUR) to test formally how game designs work for players. In particular, the usefulness of user tests (UTs) for game designers has not been fully studied in the CHI community. We propose a novel GUR method called Biometric Storyboards (BioSt) and present a study demonstrating how a Classic UT and a BioSt UT both help designers create a better gameplay experience. In addition, we show that BioSt can help designers deliver significantly better visuals, more fun, and higher gameplay quality than designing without UTs and that classic UTs do not provide this significant advantage. Our interviews support the idea that BioSt provides more nuanced game design improvement. The design implication is that a game designed with the BioSt method will result in high gameplay quality.

The Effect of Sound on Visual Fidelity Perception in Stereoscopic 3-D

@article{rojas2013effect,
Abstract = {Visual and auditory cues are important facilitators of user engagement in virtual environments and video games. Prior research supports the notion that our perception of visual fidelity (quality) is influenced by auditory stimuli. Understanding exactly how our perception of visual fidelity changes in the pres- ence of multimodal stimuli can potentially impact the design of virtual environments, thus creating more engaging virtual worlds and scenarios. Stereoscopic 3-D display technology provides the users with additional visual information (depth into and out of the screen plane). There have been relatively few studies that have investigated the impact that auditory stimuli have on our perception of visual fidelity in the presence of stereoscopic 3-D. Building on previous work, we examine the effect of auditory stimuli on our perception of visual fidelity within a stereoscopic 3-D environment.},
Author = {D. Rojas, B. Kapralos, A. Hogue, K. Collins, L. E. Nacke, S. Cristancho, C. Conati, and A. Dubrowski},
Doi = {10.1109/TCYB.2013.2269712},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/The-Effect-of-Sound-on-Visual-Fidelity-Perception-in-Stereoscopic-3-D.png},
Journal = {IEEE Transactions on Cybernetics},
Number = {6},
Pages = {1572-1583},
Publisher = {IEEE},
Title = {The Effect of Sound on Visual Fidelity Perception in Stereoscopic 3-D},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/the-effect-of-sound-on-visual-fidelity-perception-in-stereoscopic-3-d},
Volume = {43},
Year = {2013},

Visual and auditory cues are important facilitators of user engagement in virtual environments and video games. Prior research supports the notion that our perception of visual fidelity (quality) is influenced by auditory stimuli. Understanding exactly how our perception of visual fidelity changes in the pres- ence of multimodal stimuli can potentially impact the design of virtual environments, thus creating more engaging virtual worlds and scenarios. Stereoscopic 3-D display technology provides the users with additional visual information (depth into and out of the screen plane). There have been relatively few studies that have investigated the impact that auditory stimuli have on our perception of visual fidelity in the presence of stereoscopic 3-D. Building on previous work, we examine the effect of auditory stimuli on our perception of visual fidelity within a stereoscopic 3-D environment.

The Kaleidoscope of Effective Gamification: Deconstructing Gamification in Business Applications

@inproceedings{kappen2013kaleidoscope,
Abstract = {Developers of gamified business applications face the chal- lenge of creating motivating gameplay strategies and crea- tive design techniques to deliver subject matter not typically associated with games in a playful way. We currently lack models that frame what makes gamification effective (e.g., what drives people to engage with a business application). Thus, we propose a design approach and analysis tool for gamification: The Kaleidoscope of Effective Gamification. We take a look at current models of game design, self de- termination theory and the principles of systems design to deconstruct the gamification layer in the design of these applications. Based on the layers of our model, we provide design guidelines for effective gamification.},
Address = {Stratford, ON, Canada},
Author = {D. L. Kappen and L. E. Nacke},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of gamification 2013},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/The-Kaleidoscope-of-Effective-Gamification-Deconstructing-Gamification-in-Business-Applications.png},
Organization = {ACM},
Pages = {119-122},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {The Kaleidoscope of Effective Gamification: Deconstructing Gamification in Business Applications},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/the-kaleidoscope-of-effective-gamification-deconstructing-gamification-in-business-applications},
Year = {2013},

Developers of gamified business applications face the chal- lenge of creating motivating gameplay strategies and crea- tive design techniques to deliver subject matter not typically associated with games in a playful way. We currently lack models that frame what makes gamification effective (e.g., what drives people to engage with a business application). Thus, we propose a design approach and analysis tool for gamification: The Kaleidoscope of Effective Gamification. We take a look at current models of game design, self de- termination theory and the principles of systems design to deconstruct the gamification layer in the design of these applications. Based on the layers of our model, we provide design guidelines for effective gamification.

Year 2012

"I'm Just Here to Play Games": Social Dynamics and Sociality in an Online Game Site

@inproceedings{mcewan2012m,
Abstract = {There are many web sites that allow people to play board or card games against other human players. These sites offer tools and opportunities for social interaction, but little is known about how people really interact on these sites. To learn more about social dynamics on game sites, we analysed three months of log files from a large site to explore three themes: permanence (whether people formed a long-term association with the site); social interaction (in terms of shared activity and verbal communication); and formation of ties (whether people made contacts with others). Our analyses showed that while the site seems very social when we consider gameplay, the population was highly transient, and people talked very little. To explain these behaviours, we suggest that games and game-based activity should be considered as a legitimate form of human interaction. Our analysis provides new information and new ways of thinking about how game environments can be designed to support many kinds of sociability.},
Address = {Seattle, WA, United States},
Author = {G. McEwan, C. Gutwin, R. L. Mandryk, and L. E. Nacke},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of cscw 2012},
Doi = {10.1145/2145204.2145289},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Im-Just-Here-to-Play-Games-Social-Dynamics-and-Sociality-in-an-Online-Game-Site.png},
Organization = {ACM},
Pages = {549-558},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {"I'm Just Here to Play Games": Social Dynamics and Sociality in an Online Game Site},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/%E2%80%9Ci'm-just-here-to-play-games%E2%80%9D-social-dynamics-and-sociality-in-an-online-game-site},
Year = {2012},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Im-Just-Here-to-Play-Games-Social-Dynamics-and-Sociality-in-an-Online-Game-Site.pdf},
BdskUrl2 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2145204.2145289}}

There are many web sites that allow people to play board or card games against other human players. These sites offer tools and opportunities for social interaction, but little is known about how people really interact on these sites. To learn more about social dynamics on game sites, we analysed three months of log files from a large site to explore three themes: permanence (whether people formed a long-term association with the site); social interaction (in terms of shared activity and verbal communication); and formation of ties (whether people made contacts with others). Our analyses showed that while the site seems very social when we consider gameplay, the population was highly transient, and people talked very little. To explain these behaviours, we suggest that games and game-based activity should be considered as a legitimate form of human interaction. Our analysis provides new information and new ways of thinking about how game environments can be designed to support many kinds of sociability.

Analysing Social Metrics in an Online Game Site

@article{mcewan2012analysing,
Abstract = {Understanding real-time coordination behaviour around multiplayer games is important as it allows designers to make informed decisions about supporting player communities. However, studying existing sites is difficult because of the amounts and range of data involved. In this paper, we argue for using social accounting metrics to investigate large game sites.},
Address = {Montréal, QC, Canada},
Author = {G. McEwan, C. Gutwin, R. L. Mandryk, and L. E. Nacke},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Analysing-Social-Metrics-in-an-Online-Game-Site.png},
Journal = {Proceedings of grand 2012},
Publisher = {GRAND},
Title = {Analysing Social Metrics in an Online Game Site},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/analysing-social-metrics-in-an-online-game-site},
Year = {2012},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Analysing-Social-Metrics-in-an-Online-Game-Site.pdf}}

Understanding real-time coordination behaviour around multiplayer games is important as it allows designers to make informed decisions about supporting player communities. However, studying existing sites is difficult because of the amounts and range of data involved. In this paper, we argue for using social accounting metrics to investigate large game sites.

Biometric Storyboards: Visualising Game User Research Data

@inproceedings{mirza2012biometric,
Abstract = {Player experience is difficult to evaluate and report, especially using quantitative methodologies in addition to observations and interviews. One step towards tying quantitative physiological measures of player arousal to player experience reports are Biometric Storyboards (BioSt). They can visualise meaningful relationships between a player's physiological changes and game events. This paper evaluates the usefulness of BioSt to the game industry. We presented the Biometric Storyboards technique to six game developers and interviewed them about the advantages and disadvantages of this technique.},
Address = {Austin, TX, United States},
Author = {P. Mirza-Babaei, L. E. Nacke, G. Fitzpatrick, G. White, G. McAllister, and N. Collins},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of chi ea 2012},
Doi = {10.1145/2212776.2223795},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Biometric-Storyboards-Visualising-Game-User-Research-Data.png},
Organization = {ACM},
Pages = {2315-2320},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Biometric Storyboards: Visualising Game User Research Data},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/biometric-storyboards-visualising-game-user-research-data},
Year = {2012},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Biometric-Storyboards-Visualising-Game-User-Research-Data.pdf},
BdskUrl2 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2212776.2223795}}

Player experience is difficult to evaluate and report, especially using quantitative methodologies in addition to observations and interviews. One step towards tying quantitative physiological measures of player arousal to player experience reports are Biometric Storyboards (BioSt). They can visualise meaningful relationships between a player's physiological changes and game events. This paper evaluates the usefulness of BioSt to the game industry. We presented the Biometric Storyboards technique to six game developers and interviewed them about the advantages and disadvantages of this technique.

Feedback-Based Gameplay Metrics: Measuring Player Experience via Automatic Visual Analysis

@inproceedings{marczak2012feedback,
Abstract = {Using gameplay metrics to articulate player interaction within game systems has received increased interest in game studies. The value of gameplay metrics comes from a desire to empirically validate over a decade of theorization of player experience and knowledge of games as ludic systems. Taking gameplay metrics beyond formalized user testing (i.e. with the aim of improving a product) allows researchers the freedom of examining any commercially available game without the need to have access to the game's source code. This paper offers a new methodology to obtain data on player behavior, achieved through analyzing video and audio streams. Game interface features are being analyzed automatically, which are indicative of player behavior and gameplay events. This paper outlines the development of this methodology and its application to research that seeks to understand the nature of engagement and player motivations.},
Address = {Auckland, New Zealand},
Author = {R. Marczak, J. van Vught, G. Schott, and L. E. Nacke},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of acm ie 2012},
Doi = {10.1145/2336727.2336733},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Feedback-Based-Gameplay-Metrics-Measuring-Player-Experience-via-Automatic-Visual-Analysis.png},
Organization = {ACM},
Pages = {6},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Feedback-Based Gameplay Metrics: Measuring Player Experience via Automatic Visual Analysis},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/feedback-based-gameplay-metrics-measuring-player-experience-via-automatic-visual-analysis},
Year = {2012},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Feedback-Based-Gameplay-Metrics-Measuring-Player-Experience-via-Automatic-Visual-Analysis.pdf},
BdskUrl2 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2336727.2336733}}

Using gameplay metrics to articulate player interaction within game systems has received increased interest in game studies. The value of gameplay metrics comes from a desire to empirically validate over a decade of theorization of player experience and knowledge of games as ludic systems. Taking gameplay metrics beyond formalized user testing (i.e. with the aim of improving a product) allows researchers the freedom of examining any commercially available game without the need to have access to the game's source code. This paper offers a new methodology to obtain data on player behavior, achieved through analyzing video and audio streams. Game interface features are being analyzed automatically, which are indicative of player behavior and gameplay events. This paper outlines the development of this methodology and its application to research that seeks to understand the nature of engagement and player motivations.

Flow in Games: Proposing a Flow Experience Model

@inproceedings{nacke2012flow,
Abstract = {When discussing fun in games, one will ultimately have to discuss the matching of skills and challenges as proposed in Csikszentmihalyi's flow theory, an influential concept in game design. In this position paper, I want to give a brief overview of flow theory and its application in game research, as well as propose a model for further discussion that synthesizes common streams in game flow research. I hope this synthesis will be challenged and can serve as a discussion point for flow theory and player experience in games.},
Address = {Toulouse, France},
Author = {L. E. Nacke},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of the workshop on conceptualising, operationalising and measuring the player experience in videogames at fun and games 2012},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Flow-in-Games-Proposing-a-Flow-Experience-Model.png},
Organization = {QUT},
Pages = {104-108},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Flow in Games: Proposing a Flow Experience Model},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/flow-in-games-proposing-a-flow-experience-model},
Year = {2012},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Flow-in-Games-Proposing-a-Flow-Experience-Model.pdf}}

When discussing fun in games, one will ultimately have to discuss the matching of skills and challenges as proposed in Csikszentmihalyi's flow theory, an influential concept in game design. In this position paper, I want to give a brief overview of flow theory and its application in game research, as well as propose a model for further discussion that synthesizes common streams in game flow research. I hope this synthesis will be challenged and can serve as a discussion point for flow theory and player experience in games.

Full-Body Motion-Based Game Interaction for Older Adults

@inproceedings{gerling2012full,
Abstract = {Older adults in nursing homes often lead sedentary lifestyles, which reduces their life expectancy. Full-body motion-control games provide an opportunity for these adults to remain active and engaged; these games are not designed with age-related impairments in mind, which prevents the games from being leveraged to increase the activity levels of older adults. In this paper, we present two studies aimed at developing game design guidelines for full-body motion controls for older adults experiencing age-related changes and impairments. Our studies also demonstrate how full-body motion-control games can accommodate a variety of user abilities, have a positive effect on mood and, by extension, the emotional well-being of older adults. Based on our studies, we present seven guidelines for the design of full-body interaction in games. The guidelines are designed to foster safe physical activity among older adults, thereby increasing their quality of life.},
Address = {Austin, TX, United States},
Author = {K. M. Gerling, I. J. Livingston, L. E. Nacke, and R. L. Mandryk},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of sigchi 2012},
Doi = {10.1145/2207676.2208324},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Full-Body-Motion-Based-Game-Interaction-for-Older-Adults.png},
Organization = {ACM},
Pages = {1873-1882},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Full-Body Motion-Based Game Interaction for Older Adults},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/full-body-motion-based-game-interaction-for-older-adults},
Year = {2012},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Full-Body-Motion-Based-Game-Interaction-for-Older-Adults.pdf},
BdskUrl2 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2207676.2208324}}

Older adults in nursing homes often lead sedentary lifestyles, which reduces their life expectancy. Full-body motion-control games provide an opportunity for these adults to remain active and engaged; these games are not designed with age-related impairments in mind, which prevents the games from being leveraged to increase the activity levels of older adults. In this paper, we present two studies aimed at developing game design guidelines for full-body motion controls for older adults experiencing age-related changes and impairments. Our studies also demonstrate how full-body motion-control games can accommodate a variety of user abilities, have a positive effect on mood and, by extension, the emotional well-being of older adults. Based on our studies, we present seven guidelines for the design of full-body interaction in games. The guidelines are designed to foster safe physical activity among older adults, thereby increasing their quality of life.

Game User Research

@inproceedings{seif2012game,
Abstract = {Game User Research is an emerging field that ties together Human Computer Interaction, Game Development, and Experimental Psychology, specifically investigating the interaction between players and games. The community of Game User Research has been rapidly evolving for the past few years, extending and modifying existing methodologies used by the HCI community to the environment of digital games. In this workshop, we plan to investigate the different methodologies currently in practice within the field as well as their utilities and drawbacks in measuring game design issues or gaining insight about the players' experience. The outcome of the workshop will be a collection of lessons from the trenches and commonly used techniques published in a public online forum. This will extend the discussion of topics beyond the workshop, and serve as a platform for future work. The workshop will be the first of its kind at CHI, tying together HCI research and Game User Research.},
Address = {Austin, TX, United States},
Author = {M. Seif El-Nasr, H. W. Desurvire, L. E. Nacke, A. Drachen, L. Calvi, K. Isbister, and R. Bernhaupt},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of chi ea 2012},
Doi = {10.1145/2212776.2212694},
Organization = {ACM},
Pages = {2679-2682},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Game User Research},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/game-user-research},
Year = {2012},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Game-User-Research.pdf},
BdskUrl2 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2212776.2212694}}

Game User Research is an emerging field that ties together Human Computer Interaction, Game Development, and Experimental Psychology, specifically investigating the interaction between players and games. The community of Game User Research has been rapidly evolving for the past few years, extending and modifying existing methodologies used by the HCI community to the environment of digital games. In this workshop, we plan to investigate the different methodologies currently in practice within the field as well as their utilities and drawbacks in measuring game design issues or gaining insight about the players' experience. The outcome of the workshop will be a collection of lessons from the trenches and commonly used techniques published in a public online forum. This will extend the discussion of topics beyond the workshop, and serve as a platform for future work. The workshop will be the first of its kind at CHI, tying together HCI research and Game User Research.

Mixed Reality Games

@inproceedings{bonsignore2012mixed,
Abstract = {Collaborative technologies increasingly permeate our everyday lives. Mixed reality games use these technologies to entertain, motivate, educate, and inspire. We understand mixed reality games as goal-directed, structured play experiences that are not fully contained by virtual or physical worlds. They transform existing technologies, relationships, and places into platforms for gameplay. While the design of mixed reality games has received increasing attention across multiple disciplines, a focus on the collaborative potential of mixed reality formats, such as augmented and alternate reality games, has been lacking. We believe the CSCW community can play an essential and unique role in examining and designing the next generation of mixed reality games and technologies that support them. To this end, we seek to bring together researchers, designers, and players to advance an integrated mixed reality games' research canon and outline key opportunities and challenges for future research and development.},
Address = {Seattle, WA, United States},
Author = {E. M. Bonsignore, D. L. Hansen, Z. O. Toups, L. E. Nacke, A. Salter, and W. Lutters},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of cscw 2012},
Doi = {10.1145/2141512.2141517},
Organization = {ACM},
Pages = {7-8},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Mixed Reality Games},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/mixed-reality-games},
Year = {2012},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Mixed-Reality-Games.pdf},
BdskUrl2 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2141512.2141517}}

Collaborative technologies increasingly permeate our everyday lives. Mixed reality games use these technologies to entertain, motivate, educate, and inspire. We understand mixed reality games as goal-directed, structured play experiences that are not fully contained by virtual or physical worlds. They transform existing technologies, relationships, and places into platforms for gameplay. While the design of mixed reality games has received increasing attention across multiple disciplines, a focus on the collaborative potential of mixed reality formats, such as augmented and alternate reality games, has been lacking. We believe the CSCW community can play an essential and unique role in examining and designing the next generation of mixed reality games and technologies that support them. To this end, we seek to bring together researchers, designers, and players to advance an integrated mixed reality games' research canon and outline key opportunities and challenges for future research and development.

Motion-Based Game Design for Older Adults

@article{gerling2012motion,
Abstract = {Older adults in nursing homes often lead sedentary lifestyles, which reduces their life expectancy. Full-body motion-control games provide an opportunity for these adults to remain active and engaged; but these games are not designed with age-related impairments in mind, which prevents the games from being leveraged to increase the activity levels of older adults. In this paper, we create a gardening game specifically addressing institutionalized older adults. Additionally, we present an evaluation of the game that demonstrates how full-body motion-control games can accommodate a variety of user abilities, have a positive effect on mood and, by extension, the emotional well-being of older adults, thereby increasing their quality of life.},
Address = {Montréal, QC, Canada},
Author = {K. M. Gerling, I. J. Livingston, L. E. Nacke, and R. L. Mandryk},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Motion-Based-Game-Design-for-Older-Adults.png},
Journal = {Proceedings of grand 2012},
Publisher = {GRAND},
Title = {Motion-Based Game Design for Older Adults},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/motion-based-game-design-for-older-adults},
Year = {2012},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Motion-Based-Game-Design-for-Older-Adults.pdf}}

Older adults in nursing homes often lead sedentary lifestyles, which reduces their life expectancy. Full-body motion-control games provide an opportunity for these adults to remain active and engaged; but these games are not designed with age-related impairments in mind, which prevents the games from being leveraged to increase the activity levels of older adults. In this paper, we create a gardening game specifically addressing institutionalized older adults. Additionally, we present an evaluation of the game that demonstrates how full-body motion-control games can accommodate a variety of user abilities, have a positive effect on mood and, by extension, the emotional well-being of older adults, thereby increasing their quality of life.

Year 2011

Accessible Games SIG

@inproceedings{lund2011accessible,
Abstract = {Video games are early adopters of emerging technologies and introduce them to the mainstream market. Increasingly work-related applications follow the lead of entertainment systems. Yet with the growing importance and complexity of 3D technologies and virtual worlds, motion and gesture interfaces, more barriers are being raised that prevent people with disabilities from using or fully enjoying them. These new gaming experiences often require more control than current assistive technologies can support, even when the architectures themselves are designed to be accessible. The Accessible Games SIG will provide an opportunity for people working in the area of accessible games and entertainment or who can bring value to the area to meet and network, and to discuss future community building activities. A goal is to stimulate more collaboration in the accessible games area. In addition to sharing current work and identifying areas of common interest, a scenario focused exercise will be held that imagines a fully accessible networked virtual world game in order to uncover opportunities for research and innovation.},
Address = {Vancouver, BC, Canada},
Author = {A. Lund, A. Perkins, S. Kurniawan, and L. E. Nacke},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of chi ea 2011},
Doi = {10.1145/1979742.1979545},
Organization = {ACM},
Pages = {883-886},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Accessible Games SIG},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/accessible-games-sig},
Year = {2011},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Accessible-Games-SIG.pdf},
BdskUrl2 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1979742.1979545}}

Video games are early adopters of emerging technologies and introduce them to the mainstream market. Increasingly work-related applications follow the lead of entertainment systems. Yet with the growing importance and complexity of 3D technologies and virtual worlds, motion and gesture interfaces, more barriers are being raised that prevent people with disabilities from using or fully enjoying them. These new gaming experiences often require more control than current assistive technologies can support, even when the architectures themselves are designed to be accessible. The Accessible Games SIG will provide an opportunity for people working in the area of accessible games and entertainment or who can bring value to the area to meet and network, and to discuss future community building activities. A goal is to stimulate more collaboration in the accessible games area. In addition to sharing current work and identifying areas of common interest, a scenario focused exercise will be held that imagines a fully accessible networked virtual world game in order to uncover opportunities for research and innovation.

Biofeedback Game Design: Using Direct and Indirect Physiological Control to Enhance Game Interaction

@inproceedings{Nacke2011a,
Abstract = {Prior work on physiological game interaction has focused on dynamically adapting games using physiological sensors. In this paper, we propose a classification of direct and indirect physiological sensor input to augment traditional game control. To find out which sensors work best for which game mechanics, we conducted a mixed-methods study using different sensor mappings. Our results show participants have a preference for direct physiological control in games. This has two major design implications for physiologically controlled games: (1) Direct physiological sensors should be mapped intuitively to reflect an action in the virtual world; (2) Indirect physiological input is best used as a dramatic device in games to influence features altering the game world.},
Address = {Vancouver, BC, Canada},
Author = {L. E. Nacke, M. Kalyn, C. Lough, and R. L. Mandryk},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of chi 2011},
Doi = {10.1145/1978942.1978958},
File = {::},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Biofeedback-Game-Design-Using-Direct-and-Indirect-Physiological-Control-to-Enhance-Game-Interaction.png},
Keywords = {affective computing,affective gaming,biofeedback,entertainment,games,physiological input,psychophysiology},
MendeleyTags = {affective computing,affective gaming,biofeedback,entertainment,games,physiological input,psychophysiology},
Pages = {103-112},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Biofeedback Game Design: Using Direct and Indirect Physiological Control to Enhance Game Interaction},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/biofeedback-game-design-using-direct-and-indirect-physiological-control-to-enhance-game-interaction},
Year = {2011},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Biofeedback-Game-Design-Using-Direct-and-Indirect-Physiological-Control-to-Enhance-Game-Interaction.pdf},
BdskUrl2 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1978942.1978958}}

Prior work on physiological game interaction has focused on dynamically adapting games using physiological sensors. In this paper, we propose a classification of direct and indirect physiological sensor input to augment traditional game control. To find out which sensors work best for which game mechanics, we conducted a mixed-methods study using different sensor mappings. Our results show participants have a preference for direct physiological control in games. This has two major design implications for physiologically controlled games: (1) Direct physiological sensors should be mapped intuitively to reflect an action in the virtual world; (2) Indirect physiological input is best used as a dramatic device in games to influence features altering the game world.

BrainHex: Preliminary Results from a Neurobiological Gamer Typology Survey

@incollection{nacke2011brainhex,
Abstract = {This paper briefly presents a player satisfaction model called BrainHex, which was based on insights from neurobiological findings as well as the results from earlier demographic game design models (DGD1 and DGD2). The model presents seven different archetypes of players: Seeker, Survivor, Daredevil, Mastermind, Conqueror, Socialiser, and Achiever. We explain how each of these player archetypes relates to older player typologies (such as Myers-Briggs), and how each archetype characterizes a specific playing style. We conducted a survey among more than 50,000 players using the BrainHex model as a personality type motivator to gather and compare demographic data to the different BrainHex archetypes. We discuss some results from this survey with a focus on psychometric orientation of respondents, to establish relationships between personality types and BrainHex archetypes.},
Address = {Vancouver, BC, Canada},
Author = {L. E. Nacke, C. Bateman, and R. L. Mandryk},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of icec 2011},
Doi = {10.1007/978-3-642-24500-8_31},
Pages = {288-293},
Publisher = {Springer Berlin Heidelberg},
Title = {BrainHex: Preliminary Results from a Neurobiological Gamer Typology Survey},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/brainHex-preliminary-results-from-a-neurobiological-gamer-typology-survey},
Year = {2011},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/BrainHex-A-Neurobiological-Gamer-Typology-Survey.pdf},
BdskUrl2 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-24500-8%5C_31}}

This paper briefly presents a player satisfaction model called BrainHex, which was based on insights from neurobiological findings as well as the results from earlier demographic game design models (DGD1 and DGD2). The model presents seven different archetypes of players: Seeker, Survivor, Daredevil, Mastermind, Conqueror, Socialiser, and Achiever. We explain how each of these player archetypes relates to older player typologies (such as Myers-Briggs), and how each archetype characterizes a specific playing style. We conducted a survey among more than 50,000 players using the BrainHex model as a personality type motivator to gather and compare demographic data to the different BrainHex archetypes. We discuss some results from this survey with a focus on psychometric orientation of respondents, to establish relationships between personality types and BrainHex archetypes.

Calibration Games : Making Calibration Tasks Enjoyable by Adding Motivating Game Elements

@inproceedings{Flatlaetal2011,
Abstract = {Interactive systems often require calibration to ensure that input and output are optimally configured. Without calibration, user performance can degrade (e.g., if an input device is not adjusted for the user's abilities), errors can increase (e.g., if color spaces are not matched), and some interactions may not be possible (e.g., use of an eye tracker). The value of calibration is often lost, however, because many calibration processes are tedious and unenjoyable, and many users avoid them altogether. To address this problem, we propose calibration games that gather calibration data in an engaging and entertaining manner. To facilitate the creation of calibration games, we present design guidelines that map common types of calibration to core tasks, and then to well-known game mechanics. To evaluate the approach, we developed three calibration games and compared them to standard procedures. Users found the game versions significantly more enjoyable than regular calibration procedures, without compromising the quality of the data. Calibration games are a novel way to motivate users to carry out calibrations, thereby improving the performance and accuracy of many human-computer systems.},
Address = {Santa Barbara, CA, United States},
Author = {D. R. Flatla, C. Gutwin, L. E. Nacke, S. Bateman, and R. L. Mandryk},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of acm uist 2011},
Doi = {10.1145/2047196.2047248},
File = {::},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Calibration-Games-Making-Calibration-Tasks-Enjoyable-by-Adding-Motivating-Game-Elements.png},
Isbn = {9781450307161},
Keywords = {calibration,computer games,game design,gamification,gaming,modeling,motivation,system},
MendeleyTags = {calibration,gamification,gaming,modeling,motivation,system},
Pages = {403-412},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Calibration Games : Making Calibration Tasks Enjoyable by Adding Motivating Game Elements},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/calibration-games-making-calibration-tasks-enjoyable-by-adding-motivating-game-elements},
Year = {2011},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Calibration-Games-Making-Calibration-Tasks-Enjoyable-by-Adding-Motivating-Game-Elements.pdf},
BdskUrl2 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2047196.2047248}}

Interactive systems often require calibration to ensure that input and output are optimally configured. Without calibration, user performance can degrade (e.g., if an input device is not adjusted for the user's abilities), errors can increase (e.g., if color spaces are not matched), and some interactions may not be possible (e.g., use of an eye tracker). The value of calibration is often lost, however, because many calibration processes are tedious and unenjoyable, and many users avoid them altogether. To address this problem, we propose calibration games that gather calibration data in an engaging and entertaining manner. To facilitate the creation of calibration games, we present design guidelines that map common types of calibration to core tasks, and then to well-known game mechanics. To evaluate the approach, we developed three calibration games and compared them to standard procedures. Users found the game versions significantly more enjoyable than regular calibration procedures, without compromising the quality of the data. Calibration games are a novel way to motivate users to carry out calibrations, thereby improving the performance and accuracy of many human-computer systems.

Developing a Triangulation System for Digital Game Events, Observational Video, and Psychophysiological Data to Study Emotional Responses to a Virtual Character

@article{matias2011developing,
Abstract = {Game researchers are currently lacking comprehensive data analysis tools that triangulate game events, event-related survey data, and psychophysiological data. Such a tool would allow a comprehensive analysis of player engagement in digital games. The development of this tool was motivated by an experimental psychology study that asked whether emotional reactions to congruent and incongruent emotional stimuli within an intrinsically motivated game task are the same as within the traditional experimental picture-viewing paradigm. To address the needs of our study, we used the Source SDK (Valve Corporation) for creating a system that automates event logging, video management psychophysiological data markup. The system also allowed recording of self-report measures at individual play events without interrupting the game activity.},
Author = {J. M. Kivikangas, L. E. Nacke, and N. Ravaja},
Doi = {10.1016/j.entcom.2011.03.006},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Developing-a-Triangulation-System-for-Digital-Game-Events-Observational-Video-and-Psychophysiological-Data-to-Study-Emotional-Responses-to-a-Virtual-Character.png},
Issn = {18759521},
Journal = {Entertainment computing},
Number = {1},
Pages = {11-16},
Publisher = {Elsevier},
Title = {Developing a Triangulation System for Digital Game Events, Observational Video, and Psychophysiological Data to Study Emotional Responses to a Virtual Character},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/developing-a-triangulation-system-for-digital-game-events-observational-video-and-psychophysiological-data-to-study-emotional-responses-to-a-virtual-character},
Volume = {2},
Year = {2011},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Developing-a-Triangulation-System-for-Digital-Game-Events-Observational-Video-and-Psychophysiological-Data-to-Study-Emotional-Responses-to-a-Virtual-Character.pdf},
BdskUrl2 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.entcom.2011.03.006}}

Game researchers are currently lacking comprehensive data analysis tools that triangulate game events, event-related survey data, and psychophysiological data. Such a tool would allow a comprehensive analysis of player engagement in digital games. The development of this tool was motivated by an experimental psychology study that asked whether emotional reactions to congruent and incongruent emotional stimuli within an intrinsically motivated game task are the same as within the traditional experimental picture-viewing paradigm. To address the needs of our study, we used the Source SDK (Valve Corporation) for creating a system that automates event logging, video management psychophysiological data markup. The system also allowed recording of self-report measures at individual play events without interrupting the game activity.

Directions in Physiological Game Evaluation and Interaction

@inproceedings{nacke2011directions,
Abstract = {Physiological sensors are becoming cheaper and more available to game players. This has led to their increased usage in game research and the game industry, where applications range from biofeedback games to design evaluation tools supporting game user researchers in creating more engaging gameplay experiences. This paper gives a brief overview of these current directions of game industry and research threads.},
Address = {Vancouver, BC, Canada},
Author = {L. E. Nacke},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of the bbi workshop at chi 2011},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Directions-in-Physiological-Game-Evaluation-and-Interaction.png},
Title = {Directions in Physiological Game Evaluation and Interaction},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/directions-in-physiological-game-evaluation-and-interaction},
Year = {2011},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Directions-in-Physiological-Game-Evaluation-and-Interaction.pdf}}

Physiological sensors are becoming cheaper and more available to game players. This has led to their increased usage in game research and the game industry, where applications range from biofeedback games to design evaluation tools supporting game user researchers in creating more engaging gameplay experiences. This paper gives a brief overview of these current directions of game industry and research threads.

From Game Design Elements to Gamefulness: Defining "Gamification"

@inproceedings{deterding2011game,
Abstract = {Recent years have seen a rapid proliferation of mass-market consumer software that takes inspiration from video games. Usually summarized as "gamification", this trend connects to a sizeable body of existing concepts and research in human-computer interaction and game studies, such as serious games, pervasive games, alternate reality games, or playful design. However, it is not clear how "gamification" relates to these, whether it denotes a novel phenomenon, and how to define it. Thus, in this paper we investigate "gamification" and the historical origins of the term in relation to precursors and similar concepts. It is suggested that "gamified" applications provide insight into novel, gameful phenomena complementary to playful phenomena. Based on our research, we propose a definition of "gamification" as the use of game design elements in non-game contexts.},
Address = {Tampere, Finland},
Author = {S. Deterding, D. Dixon, R. Khaled, and L. E. Nacke},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of mindtrek 2011},
Doi = {10.1145/2181037.2181040},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/From-Game-Design-Elements-to-Gamefulness-Defining-Gamification.png},
Organization = {ACM},
Pages = {9-15},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {From Game Design Elements to Gamefulness: Defining "Gamification"},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/from-game-design-elements-to-gamefulness-defining-%E2%80%9Cgamification%E2%80%9D},
Year = {2011},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/From-Game-Design-Elements-to-Gamefulness-Defining-Gamification.pdf},
BdskUrl2 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2181037.2181040}}

Recent years have seen a rapid proliferation of mass-market consumer software that takes inspiration from video games. Usually summarized as "gamification", this trend connects to a sizeable body of existing concepts and research in human-computer interaction and game studies, such as serious games, pervasive games, alternate reality games, or playful design. However, it is not clear how "gamification" relates to these, whether it denotes a novel phenomenon, and how to define it. Thus, in this paper we investigate "gamification" and the historical origins of the term in relation to precursors and similar concepts. It is suggested that "gamified" applications provide insight into novel, gameful phenomena complementary to playful phenomena. Based on our research, we propose a definition of "gamification" as the use of game design elements in non-game contexts.

Gamification: Toward a Definition

@article{deterding2011gamificationa,
Abstract = {This paper proposes a working definition of the term gamification as the use of game design elements in non-game contexts. This definition is related to similar concepts such as serious games, serious gaming, playful interaction, and game-based technologies.},
Address = {Vancouver, BC, Canada},
Author = {S. Deterding, R. Khaled, L. E. Nacke, and D. Dixon},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Gamification-Toward-a-Definition.png},
Journal = {Proceedings of chi ea 2011},
Title = {Gamification: Toward a Definition},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/gamification-toward-a-definition},
Year = {2011},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Gamification-Toward-a-Definition.pdf}}

This paper proposes a working definition of the term gamification as the use of game design elements in non-game contexts. This definition is related to similar concepts such as serious games, serious gaming, playful interaction, and game-based technologies.

Gamification: Using Game Design Elements in Non-Gaming Contexts

@inproceedings{deterding2011gamificationi,
Abstract = {"Gamification" is an informal umbrella term for the use of video game elements in non-gaming systems to improve user experience (UX) and user engagement. The recent introduction of 'gamified' applications to large audiences promises new additions to the existing rich and diverse research on the heuristics, design patterns and dynamics of games and the positive UX they provide. However, what is lacking for a next step forward is the integration of this precise diversity of research endeavors. Therefore, this workshop brings together practitioners and researchers to develop a shared understanding of existing approaches and findings around the gamification of information systems, and identify key synergies, opportunities, and questions for future research.},
Address = {Vancouver, BC, Canada},
Author = {S. Deterding, M. Sicart, L. E. Nacke, K. O'Hara, and D. Dixon},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of chi ea 2011},
Doi = {10.1145/1979742.1979575},
Organization = {ACM},
Pages = {2425-2428},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Gamification: Using Game Design Elements in Non-Gaming Contexts},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/gamification-using-game-design-elements-in-non-gaming-contexts},
Year = {2011},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Gamification-Using-Game-Design-Elements-in-Non-Gaming-Contexts.pdf},
BdskUrl2 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1979742.1979575}}

"Gamification" is an informal umbrella term for the use of video game elements in non-gaming systems to improve user experience (UX) and user engagement. The recent introduction of 'gamified' applications to large audiences promises new additions to the existing rich and diverse research on the heuristics, design patterns and dynamics of games and the positive UX they provide. However, what is lacking for a next step forward is the integration of this precise diversity of research endeavors. Therefore, this workshop brings together practitioners and researchers to develop a shared understanding of existing approaches and findings around the gamification of information systems, and identify key synergies, opportunities, and questions for future research.

Influencing Experience: The Effects of Reading Game Reviews on Player Experience

@incollection{livingston2011influencing,
Abstract = {Game reviews are used by game developers for making business decisions and measuring the success of a title, and have been shown to affect player perception of game quality. We conducted a study where players read positive or negative reviews of a game before playing, and show that the valence of review text affected game ratings and that these differences could not be explained by mediating changes in mood. Although we show predictable changes in player experience over the course of the study (measured objectively through physiological sensors), there were no objective differences in experience depending on review valence. Our results suggest that reading reviews does not directly affect play experience, but rather is a post-play cognitive rationalization of the experience with the content of the review. Our results are important for understanding player experience and to the game industry where reviews and user forums affect a game's commercial success.},
Address = {Vancouver, BC, Canada},
Author = {I. J. Livingston, L. E. Nacke, and R. L. Mandryk},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of icec 2011},
Doi = {10.1007/978-3-642-24500-8_10},
Pages = {89-100},
Publisher = {Springer Berlin Heidelberg},
Title = {Influencing Experience: The Effects of Reading Game Reviews on Player Experience},
Url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-24500-8_10},
Year = {2011},
BdskUrl1 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-24500-8%5C_10}}

Game reviews are used by game developers for making business decisions and measuring the success of a title, and have been shown to affect player perception of game quality. We conducted a study where players read positive or negative reviews of a game before playing, and show that the valence of review text affected game ratings and that these differences could not be explained by mediating changes in mood. Although we show predictable changes in player experience over the course of the study (measured objectively through physiological sensors), there were no objective differences in experience depending on review valence. Our results suggest that reading reviews does not directly affect play experience, but rather is a post-play cognitive rationalization of the experience with the content of the review. Our results are important for understanding player experience and to the game industry where reviews and user forums affect a game's commercial success.

Player Typology in Theory and Practice

@article{bateman2011player,
Abstract = {Player satisfaction modeling depends in part upon quantitative or qualitative typologies of playing preferences, although such approaches require scrutiny. Examination of psychometric typologies reveal that type theories have---except in rare cases---proven inadequate and have made way for alternative trait theories. This suggests any future player typology that will be sufficiently robust will need foundations in the form of a trait theory of playing preferences. This paper tracks the development of a sequence of player typologies developing from psychometric type theory roots towards an independently validated trait theory of play, albeit one yet to be fully developed. Statistical analysis of the results of one survey in this lineage is presented, along with a discussion of theoretical and practical ways in which the surveys and their implied typological instruments have evolved.},
Address = {Utrecht, The Netherlands},
Author = {C. Bateman, R. Lowenhaupt, and L. E. Nacke},
Journal = {Proceedings of digra 2011},
Title = {Player Typology in Theory and Practice},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/player-typology-in-theory-and-practice},
Year = {2011},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Player-Typology-in-Theory-and-Practice.pdf}}

Player satisfaction modeling depends in part upon quantitative or qualitative typologies of playing preferences, although such approaches require scrutiny. Examination of psychometric typologies reveal that type theories have---except in rare cases---proven inadequate and have made way for alternative trait theories. This suggests any future player typology that will be sufficiently robust will need foundations in the form of a trait theory of playing preferences. This paper tracks the development of a sequence of player typologies developing from psychometric type theory roots towards an independently validated trait theory of play, albeit one yet to be fully developed. Statistical analysis of the results of one survey in this lineage is presented, along with a discussion of theoretical and practical ways in which the surveys and their implied typological instruments have evolved.

Player-Game Interaction Through Affective Sound

@article{nacke2011player,
Abstract = {This chapter treats computer game playing as an affective activity, largely guided by the audio-visual aesthetics of game content (of which, here, we concentrate on the role of sound) and the pleasure of gameplay. To understand the aesthetic impact of game sound on player experience, definitions of emotions are briefly discussed and framed in the game context. This leads to an introduction of empirical methods for assessing physiological and psychological effects of play, such as the affective impact of sonic player-game interaction. The psychological methodology presented is largely based on subjective interpretation of experience, while psychophysiological methodology is based on measurable bodily changes, such as context-dependent, physiological experience. As a means to illustrate both the potential and the difficulties inherent in such methodology we discuss the results of some experiments that investigate game sound and music effects and, finally, we close with a discussion of possible research directions based on a speculative assessment of the future of player-game interaction through affective sound.},
Address = {Hershey, PA, United States},
Author = {L. E. Nacke and M. Grimshaw},
Chapter = {13},
Doi = {10.4018/978-1-61692-828-5.ch013},
Editor = {M. N. Grimshaw},
Isbn = {161692828X},
Journal = {Game sound technology and player interaction: concepts and developments},
Pages = {264-285},
Publisher = {IGI Global},
Title = {Player-Game Interaction Through Affective Sound},
Url = {http://www.igi-global.com/chapter/game-sound-technology-player-interaction/46796},
Year = {2011},
BdskUrl1 = {http://www.igi-global.com/chapter/game-sound-technology-player-interaction/46796},
BdskUrl2 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/978-1-61692-828-5.ch013}}

This chapter treats computer game playing as an affective activity, largely guided by the audio-visual aesthetics of game content (of which, here, we concentrate on the role of sound) and the pleasure of gameplay. To understand the aesthetic impact of game sound on player experience, definitions of emotions are briefly discussed and framed in the game context. This leads to an introduction of empirical methods for assessing physiological and psychological effects of play, such as the affective impact of sonic player-game interaction. The psychological methodology presented is largely based on subjective interpretation of experience, while psychophysiological methodology is based on measurable bodily changes, such as context-dependent, physiological experience. As a means to illustrate both the potential and the difficulties inherent in such methodology we discuss the results of some experiments that investigate game sound and music effects and, finally, we close with a discussion of possible research directions based on a speculative assessment of the future of player-game interaction through affective sound.

The Impact of Negative Game Reviews and User Comments on Player Experience

@inproceedings{livingston2011impact,
Abstract = {Game reviews and player ratings have an effect on the commercial success of games. They are used extensively by game developers to gauge the success of their titles and by potential buyers to make more informed purchase decisions. However, their potential influence on player experience remains uncertain. We investigated how game reviews and user comments influence players' affective states and experiences during game play. We found that both professional reviews and user comments (especially the negative comments) affected experience measured through game ratings, and that this effect was not mediated by changes in players' moods. Our results are important to the game industry because of the meaningful negative effect that user and critic comments can have on individual player experience and the resulting commercial success of a game.},
Address = {Vancouver, BC, Canada},
Author = {I. J. Livingston, L. E. Nacke, and R. L. Mandryk},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of acm siggraph 2011},
Doi = {10.1145/2037692.2037697},
Organization = {ACM},
Pages = {4},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {The Impact of Negative Game Reviews and User Comments on Player Experience},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/the-impact-of-negative-game-reviews-and-user-comments-on-player-experience},
Year = {2011},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/The-Impact-of-Negative-Game-Reviews-and-User-Comments-on-Player-Experience.pdf},
BdskUrl2 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2037692.2037697}}

Game reviews and player ratings have an effect on the commercial success of games. They are used extensively by game developers to gauge the success of their titles and by potential buyers to make more informed purchase decisions. However, their potential influence on player experience remains uncertain. We investigated how game reviews and user comments influence players' affective states and experiences during game play. We found that both professional reviews and user comments (especially the negative comments) affected experience measured through game ratings, and that this effect was not mediated by changes in players' moods. Our results are important to the game industry because of the meaningful negative effect that user and critic comments can have on individual player experience and the resulting commercial success of a game.

Towards a Framework of Player Experience Research

@article{nacke2011towards,
Abstract = {Player Experience (PX), user experience in the specific context of digital games, is currently a nebulous term with no commonly accepted definition or coherent backing theory. In this paper, a brief overview of the current stateof-the-art of PX knowledge is presented, with a specific emphasis on comparing PX research with the massive amount of knowledge currently being generated about user experience in other areas of HCI, notably productivity applications. Furthermore, to outline the current gaps in the knowledge of PX and integrate current research into a unified theoretical framework, creating a shared point of reference for the decidedly multi-disciplinary PX research.},
Address = {Bordeaux, France},
Author = {L. E. Nacke and A. Drachen},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Towards-a-Framework-of-Player-Experience-Research.png},
Journal = {Proceedings of the international workshop on evaluating player experience in games at fdg 2011},
Title = {Towards a Framework of Player Experience Research},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/towards-a-framework-of-player-experience-research},
Year = {2011},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Towards-a-Framework-of-Player-Experience-Research.pdf}}

Player Experience (PX), user experience in the specific context of digital games, is currently a nebulous term with no commonly accepted definition or coherent backing theory. In this paper, a brief overview of the current stateof-the-art of PX knowledge is presented, with a specific emphasis on comparing PX research with the massive amount of knowledge currently being generated about user experience in other areas of HCI, notably productivity applications. Furthermore, to outline the current gaps in the knowledge of PX and integrate current research into a unified theoretical framework, creating a shared point of reference for the decidedly multi-disciplinary PX research.

Year 2010

BioS-Play: Workshop on Multiuser and Social Biosignal Adaptive Games and Playful Applications

@article{kuikkaniemi2010bios,
Abstract = {BioS-Play is a workshop targeted to explore the focused domain of biosignal adaptive games and playful application in a multiuser or social context. Using biosignal instrumentation is an established process in medical domains and experimental psychology. During recent years there have been many efforts in industry and research to develop applications, games and various kinds of interfaces which use biosignal analysis in real time. However, most of these applications are single user setups. According to our earlier work we have realized that there is great potential in developing biosignal adaptive applications for multiuser and social scenarios. The applications we have been developing have been either games or playful applications. Games have unique characteristics, which work well for biosignal augmentation. In addition, games can be used in a laboratory setup for exploring the social biosignal interaction design elements overall in a structured and efficient way. Ultimately, we believe that combination of biosignal adaptation, social and multiuser context, and playful interaction is useful for various kinds of situations and can elicit never before- seen experiences. The workshop organizers have several years of experience in researching games, psychophysiology, multiuser application development, and combination of them all. The workshop will be organized with a help of the Presemo presentation environment, which is also a biosignal, adaptive, social, and playful system. The workshop aims at creating new collaborations by facilitating networking of interested researchers and discussing research future research ventures in this domain, distributing knowledge among participants and developing a roadmap related to the future development in this field. Workshop participants are expected to show interest in developing biosignal prototypes or running experiments with experimental psychophysiological systems. In addition to game researchers and individuals with experience in analyzing and working with biosignals, we hope that also people with experience or strong interest in multiuser applications and social interaction will join the session.},
Address = {Leuven, Belgium},
Author = {K. Kuikkaniemi, M. Turpeinen, H. J. Korhonen, N. Ravaja, G. Chanel, and L. E. Nacke},
Journal = {Proceedings of a workshop at fun and games 2010},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {BioS-Play: Workshop on Multiuser and Social Biosignal Adaptive Games and Playful Applications},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/bioS-play-workshop-on-multiuser-and-social-biosignal-adaptive-games-and-playful-applications},
Year = {2010},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/BioS-Play-Workshop-on-Multiuser-and-Social-Biosignal-Adaptive-Games-and-Playful-Applications.pdf}}

BioS-Play is a workshop targeted to explore the focused domain of biosignal adaptive games and playful application in a multiuser or social context. Using biosignal instrumentation is an established process in medical domains and experimental psychology. During recent years there have been many efforts in industry and research to develop applications, games and various kinds of interfaces which use biosignal analysis in real time. However, most of these applications are single user setups. According to our earlier work we have realized that there is great potential in developing biosignal adaptive applications for multiuser and social scenarios. The applications we have been developing have been either games or playful applications. Games have unique characteristics, which work well for biosignal augmentation. In addition, games can be used in a laboratory setup for exploring the social biosignal interaction design elements overall in a structured and efficient way. Ultimately, we believe that combination of biosignal adaptation, social and multiuser context, and playful interaction is useful for various kinds of situations and can elicit never before- seen experiences. The workshop organizers have several years of experience in researching games, psychophysiology, multiuser application development, and combination of them all. The workshop will be organized with a help of the Presemo presentation environment, which is also a biosignal, adaptive, social, and playful system. The workshop aims at creating new collaborations by facilitating networking of interested researchers and discussing research future research ventures in this domain, distributing knowledge among participants and developing a roadmap related to the future development in this field. Workshop participants are expected to show interest in developing biosignal prototypes or running experiments with experimental psychophysiological systems. In addition to game researchers and individuals with experience in analyzing and working with biosignals, we hope that also people with experience or strong interest in multiuser applications and social interaction will join the session.

Brain, Body and Bytes: Psychophysiological User Interaction

@inproceedings{GSMTNJ_CHI2010,
Abstract = {The human brain and body are prolific signal generators. Recent technologies and computing techniques allow us to measure, process and interpret these signals. We can now infer such things as cognitive and emotional states to create adaptive interactive systems and to gain an understanding of user experience. This workshop brings together researchers from the formerly separated communities of physiological computing (PC), and brain-computer interfaces (BCI) to discuss psychophysiological computing. We set out to identify key research challenges, potential global synergies, and emerging technological contributions.},
Address = {Atlanta, GA, United States},
Author = {A. Girouard, E. T. Solovey, R. L. Mandryk, D. Tan, L. E. Nacke, and R. J. K. Jacob},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of CHI EA 2010},
Doi = {10.1145/1753846.1754167},
File = {::},
Isbn = {978-1-60558-930-5},
Keywords = {affective computing,body,brain,brain-computer interfaces,bytes,hci,interaction,physiological computing,psychophysiological signals,ui},
MendeleyTags = {affective computing,body,brain,bytes,hci,interaction,physiological computing,ui},
Pages = {4433-4436},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Brain, Body and Bytes: Psychophysiological User Interaction},
Type = {Conference proceedings (article)},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/brain-body-and-bytes-psychophysiological-user-interaction},
Year = {2010},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Brain-Body-and-Bytes-Psychophysiological-User-Interaction.pdf},
BdskUrl2 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1753846.1754167}}

The human brain and body are prolific signal generators. Recent technologies and computing techniques allow us to measure, process and interpret these signals. We can now infer such things as cognitive and emotional states to create adaptive interactive systems and to gain an understanding of user experience. This workshop brings together researchers from the formerly separated communities of physiological computing (PC), and brain-computer interfaces (BCI) to discuss psychophysiological computing. We set out to identify key research challenges, potential global synergies, and emerging technological contributions.

Bringing Digital Games to User Research and User Experience

@article{nackebringing,
Abstract = {In recent years, the gaming industry has grown up and digital games have become more complex products. With this maturity comes an increasing need for formal playtesting methods from user research and scientific methods from academia. Employing user research methods in game development, especially combined qualitative (e.g., questionnaires, interviews) and quantitative (e.g., EEG, EMG, game metrics) methods lead to a better understanding of the relationship and interactions between players and games. This panel gathers game user research industry and academic experts for discussing current methodological advancements and future challenges in playtesting, usability, playability evaluation, and general game user research.},
Address = {Duisburg, Germany},
Author = {L. E. Nacke, J. Niesenhaus, S. Engl, A. Canossa, K. Kuikkaniemi, and T. Immich},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Bringing-Digital-Games-to-User-Research-and-User-Experience.png},
Journal = {Proceedings of the Entertainment Interfaces Track 2010 at Interaktive Kulturen 2010},
Title = {Bringing Digital Games to User Research and User Experience},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/bringing-digital-games-to-user-research-and-user-experience},
Year = {2010},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Bringing-Digital-Games-to-User-Research-and-User-Experience.pdf}}

In recent years, the gaming industry has grown up and digital games have become more complex products. With this maturity comes an increasing need for formal playtesting methods from user research and scientific methods from academia. Employing user research methods in game development, especially combined qualitative (e.g., questionnaires, interviews) and quantitative (e.g., EEG, EMG, game metrics) methods lead to a better understanding of the relationship and interactions between players and games. This panel gathers game user research industry and academic experts for discussing current methodological advancements and future challenges in playtesting, usability, playability evaluation, and general game user research.

Correlation Between Heart Rate, Electrodermal Activity and Player Experience in First-Person Shooter Games

@inproceedings{Drachen2010,
Abstract = {Psychophysiological methods are becoming more popular in game research as covert and reliable measures of affective player experience, emotions, and cognition. Since player experience is not well understood, correlations between self-reports from players and psychophysiological data may provide a quantitative understanding of this experience. Measurements of electrodermal activity (EDA) and heart rate (HR) allow making inferences about player arousal (i.e., excitement) and are easy to deploy. This paper reports a case study on HR and EDA correlations with subjective gameplay experience, testing the feasibility of these measures in commercial game development contexts. Results indicate a significant correlation (p < 0.01) between psychophysiological arousal (i.e., HR, EDA) and self-reported gameplay experience. However, the covariance between psychophysiological measures and self-reports varies between the two measures. The results are consistent across three different contemporary major commercial first-person shooter (FPS) games (Prey, Doom 3, and Bioshock).},
Address = {Los Angeles, CA, United States},
Author = {A. Drachen, L. E. Nacke, G. Yannakakis, and A. L. Pedersen},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of ACM Siggraph 2010},
Doi = {10.1145/1836135.1836143},
Editor = {R. Wainess and S. N. Spencer},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Correlation-Between-Heart-Rate-Electrodermal-Activity-and-Player-Experience-in-First-Person-Shooter-Games.png},
Keywords = {affective gaming,analysis,digital games,entertainment,fps,games,human-centered design,player experience,psychophysiology,user experience (UX),user studies,ux},
MendeleyTags = {entertainment,fps,games,player experience,ux},
Pages = {49-54},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Correlation Between Heart Rate, Electrodermal Activity and Player Experience in First-Person Shooter Games},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/correlation-between-heart-rate-electrodermal-activity-and-player-experience-in-first-person-shooter-games},
Year = {2010},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Correlation-Between-Heart-Rate-Electrodermal-Activity-and-Player-Experience-in-First-Person-Shooter-Games.pdf},
BdskUrl2 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1836135.1836143}}

Psychophysiological methods are becoming more popular in game research as covert and reliable measures of affective player experience, emotions, and cognition. Since player experience is not well understood, correlations between self-reports from players and psychophysiological data may provide a quantitative understanding of this experience. Measurements of electrodermal activity (EDA) and heart rate (HR) allow making inferences about player arousal (i.e., excitement) and are easy to deploy. This paper reports a case study on HR and EDA correlations with subjective gameplay experience, testing the feasibility of these measures in commercial game development contexts. Results indicate a significant correlation (p < 0.01) between psychophysiological arousal (i.e., HR, EDA) and self-reported gameplay experience. However, the covariance between psychophysiological measures and self-reports varies between the two measures. The results are consistent across three different contemporary major commercial first-person shooter (FPS) games (Prey, Doom 3, and Bioshock).

Critic-Proofing: Robust Validation Through Data-Mining

@article{livingston2010critic,
Abstract = {Critic-proofing is a modified heuristic evaluation technique, specifically designed to provide a fine-grained, prioritized list of heuristic violations. The critic-proofing technique weights the severity of a problem based on the frequency that similar problems are found in similar games. The severity ratings are calculated using data collected from game reviews, and the severity assigned to a problem during the heuristic evaluation process. However, heuristic techniques have had limited adoption within the video game industry. One reason for this is the perceived lack of validity and robustness of game specific heuristic principles. In this paper, we introduce and outline a new data- mining project designed to validate game-specific heuristic techniques, especially the critic-proofing technique by using the popular game-review aggregation website Metacritic.},
Address = {Leuven, Belgium},
Author = {I. J. Livingston, L. E. Nacke, and R. L. Mandryk},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Critic-Proofing-Robust-Validation-Through-Data-Mining.png},
Journal = {Proceedings of Fun and Games 2010},
Pages = {81-94},
Title = {Critic-Proofing: Robust Validation Through Data-Mining},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/critic-proofing-robust-validation-through-data-mining},
Year = {2010},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Critic-Proofing-Robust-Validation-Through-Data-Mining.pdf}}

Critic-proofing is a modified heuristic evaluation technique, specifically designed to provide a fine-grained, prioritized list of heuristic violations. The critic-proofing technique weights the severity of a problem based on the frequency that similar problems are found in similar games. The severity ratings are calculated using data collected from game reviews, and the severity assigned to a problem during the heuristic evaluation process. However, heuristic techniques have had limited adoption within the video game industry. One reason for this is the perceived lack of validity and robustness of game specific heuristic principles. In this paper, we introduce and outline a new data- mining project designed to validate game-specific heuristic techniques, especially the critic-proofing technique by using the popular game-review aggregation website Metacritic.

Designing Affective Games with Physiological Input

@article{nacke2010designing,
Abstract = {With the advent of new game controllers, traditional input mechanisms for games have changed to include gestural interfaces and camera recognition techniques, which are being further explored with the likes of Sony's PlayStation Move and Microsoft's Kinect. Soon these techniques will include affective input to control game interaction and mechanics. Thus, it is important to explore which game designs work best with which affective input technologies, giving special regard to direct and indirect methods. In this paper, we discuss some affective measurement techniques and development ideas for using these as control mechanisms for affective game design using psychophysiological input.},
Address = {Leuven, Belgium},
Author = {L. E. Nacke and R. L. Mandryk},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Designing-Affective-Games-with-Physiological-Input.png},
Journal = {Proceedings of Fun and Games BiosPlay Workshop 2010},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Designing Affective Games with Physiological Input},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/designing-affective-games-with-physiological-input},
Year = {2010},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Designing-Affective-Games-with-Physiological-Input.pdf}}

With the advent of new game controllers, traditional input mechanisms for games have changed to include gestural interfaces and camera recognition techniques, which are being further explored with the likes of Sony's PlayStation Move and Microsoft's Kinect. Soon these techniques will include affective input to control game interaction and mechanics. Thus, it is important to explore which game designs work best with which affective input technologies, giving special regard to direct and indirect methods. In this paper, we discuss some affective measurement techniques and development ideas for using these as control mechanisms for affective game design using psychophysiological input.

Electroencephalographic Assessment of Player Experience: A Pilot Study in Affective Ludology

@article{NackeSG2010,
Abstract = {Psychophysiological methods, such as electroencephalography (EEG), provide reliable high-resolution measurements of affective player experience. In this article, the authors present a psychophysiological pilot study and its initial results to solidify a research approach they call affective ludology, a research area concerned with the physiological measurement of affective responses to player-game interaction. The study investigates the impact of level design on brainwave activity measured with EEG and on player experience measured with questionnaires. The goal of the study was to investigate cognition, emotion, and player behavior from a psychological perspective. For this purpose, a methodology for assessing gameplay experience with subjective and objective measures was developed extending prior work in physiological measurements of affect in digital gameplay. The authors report the result of this pilot study, the impact of three different level design conditions (boredom, immersion, and flow) on EEG, and subjective indicators of gameplay experience. Results from the subjective gameplay experience questionnaire support the validity of our level design hypotheses. Patterns of EEG spectral power show that the immersion-level design elicits more activity in the theta band, which may support a relationship between virtual spatial navigation or exploration and theta activity. The research shows that facets of gameplay experience can be assessed with affective ludology measures, such as EEG, in which cognitive and affective patterns emerge from different level designs.},
Author = {L. E. Nacke, S. Stellmach, and C. A. Lindley},
Doi = {10.1177/1046878110378140},
Issn = {1046-8781},
Journal = {Simulation & gaming},
Keywords = {affect,affective ludology,affective_computing,bci,biofeedback,biometric,boredom,brain,brain_and_body,challenge,eeg,effects,emotion,enjoyment,flow,flow_experience,game,gamedesign,gameexperience,gamemetrics,gameplay,gameplay experience,games,geq,gxp,hci,human_brain,immersion,methodology,metric,player experience,quantitative,questionnaire,research,science,theory,userexperience,ux},
MendeleyTags = {affect,affective ludology,affective_computing,bci,biofeedback,biometric,boredom,brain,brain_and_body,challenge,eeg,effects,emotion,enjoyment,flow,flow_experience,game,gamedesign,gameexperience,gamemetrics,gameplay,gameplay experience,games,geq,gxp,hci,human_brain,immersion,methodology,metric,player experience,quantitative,questionnaire,research,science,theory,userexperience,ux},
Number = {5},
Pages = {632-655},
Title = {Electroencephalographic Assessment of Player Experience: A Pilot Study in Affective Ludology},
Type = {Journal article},
Url = {http://sag.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/1046878110378140v1 http://sag.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/42/5/632},
Volume = {42},
Year = {2010},
BdskUrl1 = {http://sag.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/1046878110378140v1%20http://sag.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/42/5/632},
BdskUrl2 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1046878110378140}}

Psychophysiological methods, such as electroencephalography (EEG), provide reliable high-resolution measurements of affective player experience. In this article, the authors present a psychophysiological pilot study and its initial results to solidify a research approach they call affective ludology, a research area concerned with the physiological measurement of affective responses to player-game interaction. The study investigates the impact of level design on brainwave activity measured with EEG and on player experience measured with questionnaires. The goal of the study was to investigate cognition, emotion, and player behavior from a psychological perspective. For this purpose, a methodology for assessing gameplay experience with subjective and objective measures was developed extending prior work in physiological measurements of affect in digital gameplay. The authors report the result of this pilot study, the impact of three different level design conditions (boredom, immersion, and flow) on EEG, and subjective indicators of gameplay experience. Results from the subjective gameplay experience questionnaire support the validity of our level design hypotheses. Patterns of EEG spectral power show that the immersion-level design elicits more activity in the theta band, which may support a relationship between virtual spatial navigation or exploration and theta activity. The research shows that facets of gameplay experience can be assessed with affective ludology measures, such as EEG, in which cognitive and affective patterns emerge from different level designs.

Gameplay Experience Testing with Playability and Usability Surveys-An Experimental Pilot Study

@article{nacke2010gameplay,
Abstract = {This pilot study investigates an experimental methodology for gathering data to create correlations between experiential factors measured by a gameplay experience questionnaire and player quality measures, such as playing frequency, choice of game, and playing time. The characteristics of two distinct games were examined concerning the aspects of game experience, subjective game quality, and game usability. Interactions within the three aspects were identified. The results suggest that gameplay experience dimensions flow and immersion are similarly motivating in different game genres, which however might not be equally enjoyable. On the one hand, usability ratings may be positively influenced when a game provides immersion and flow or on the other hand, flow and immersion may be negatively influenced by poor usability ratings. These results emphasize the need for an approach to classify games based on correlation patterns involving game experience, quality, and usability.},
Address = {Leuven, Belgium},
Author = {L. E. Nacke, J. Schild, and J. Niesenhaus},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Gameplay-Experience-Testing-with-Playability-and-Usability-Surveys-An-Experimental-Pilot-Study.png},
Journal = {Proceedings of the Playability and Player Experience Workshop at Fun and Games 2010},
Pages = {31-45},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Gameplay Experience Testing with Playability and Usability Surveys-An Experimental Pilot Study},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/gameplay-experience-testing-with-playability-and-usability-surveys-an-experimental-pilot-study},
Year = {2010},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Gameplay-Experience-Testing-with-Playability-and-Usability-Surveys-An-Experimental-Pilot-Study.pdf}}

This pilot study investigates an experimental methodology for gathering data to create correlations between experiential factors measured by a gameplay experience questionnaire and player quality measures, such as playing frequency, choice of game, and playing time. The characteristics of two distinct games were examined concerning the aspects of game experience, subjective game quality, and game usability. Interactions within the three aspects were identified. The results suggest that gameplay experience dimensions flow and immersion are similarly motivating in different game genres, which however might not be equally enjoyable. On the one hand, usability ratings may be positively influenced when a game provides immersion and flow or on the other hand, flow and immersion may be negatively influenced by poor usability ratings. These results emphasize the need for an approach to classify games based on correlation patterns involving game experience, quality, and usability.

Methods for Evaluating Gameplay Experience in a Serious Gaming Context

@article{Nacke2010a,
Annote = {This paper presents an approach to formalize gameplay experience evaluation methods applied during the process of player-game interaction and a roadmap for applying these mechanisms in the context of serious games. Based on related work of user experience and player experience models, we propose a three-layer framework of gameplay experience. We also discuss potential use of this framework within the field of game-based learning and serious gaming for sports and health.},
Author = {L. E. Nacke, A. Drachen, and S. Göbel},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Methods-for-Evaluating-Gameplay-Experience-in-a-Serious-Gaming-Context.png},
Journal = {International Journal of Computer Science in Sport},
Keywords = {Affect,Gameplay,Psychophysiology,Serious Gaming,User Experience,experience,gameplay,games,model,theory,ux,ux model},
MendeleyTags = {Affect,Gameplay,Psychophysiology,Serious Gaming,User Experience,theory},
Number = {2},
Title = {Methods for Evaluating Gameplay Experience in a Serious Gaming Context},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/methods-for-evaluating-gameplay-experience-in-a-serious-gaming-context},
Volume = {9},
Year = {2010},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Methods-for-Evaluating-Gameplay-Experience-in-a-Serious-Gaming-Context.pdf}}

This paper presents an approach to formalize gameplay experience evaluation methods applied during the process of player-game interaction and a roadmap for applying these mechanisms in the context of serious games. Based on related work of user experience and player experience models, we propose a three-layer framework of gameplay experience. We also discuss potential use of this framework within the field of game-based learning and serious gaming for sports and health.

More Than a Feeling: Measurement of Sonic User Experience and Psychophysiology in a First-Person Shooter Game

@article{Nacke2010b,
Abstract = {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.},
Author = {L. E. Nacke, M. N. Grimshaw, and C. A. Lindley},
Doi = {10.1016/j.intcom.2010.04.005},
Issn = {09535438},
Journal = {Interacting with computers},
Keywords = {action video games,affective gaming,emotion,entertainment,gameplay experience,psychophysiology,sonic user experience (ux),sonic ux,ux},
MendeleyTags = {emotion,gameplay experience,psychophysiology,sonic ux,ux},
Number = {5},
Pages = {7},
Title = {More Than a Feeling: Measurement of Sonic User Experience and Psychophysiology in a First-Person Shooter Game},
Url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.intcom.2010.04.005},
Volume = {22},
Year = {2010},
BdskUrl1 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.intcom.2010.04.005}}

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.

Playability and Player Experience of Casual Games

@article{calvi2004playability,
Abstract = {This workshop focuses on the development and use of biometrics tests and data harvesting to evaluate games. Although all game genres are addressed, casual games are considered the preferred focus, since playtesting metrics are very much in demand and yet not much often used within the casual gaming industry, although already standard practice in the larger game development studios. The focus of this workshop consists therefore in defining which methods are best to apply in the domains mentioned above, and in analyzing their efficacy and applicability.},
Address = {Leuven, Belgium},
Author = {L. Calvi, S. Gualeni, K. Nuijten, L. E. Nacke, and K. Poels},
Journal = {Proceedings of Fun and Games 2010},
Title = {Playability and Player Experience of Casual Games},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/playability-and-player-experience-of-casual-games},
Year = {2010},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Playability-and-Player-Experience-of-Casual-Games.pdf}}

This workshop focuses on the development and use of biometrics tests and data harvesting to evaluate games. Although all game genres are addressed, casual games are considered the preferred focus, since playtesting metrics are very much in demand and yet not much often used within the casual gaming industry, although already standard practice in the larger game development studios. The focus of this workshop consists therefore in defining which methods are best to apply in the domains mentioned above, and in analyzing their efficacy and applicability.

The Neurobiology of Play

@inproceedings{Bateman2010,
Abstract = {A large volume of neurobiological research has been conducted in recent years, almost all of which has been considered solely from the perspective of biology. However, most of the insights gained through this research are also valuable for the game research field. This paper discusses the implications of existing research in neurobiology to the play of games (including, but not restricted to digital games), and connects neurobiological perspectives with models of play aiming to construct superior player satisfaction models built upon biological foundations. Connections are presented between already recognized patterns of play and recent research on the brain (in particular, the limbic system). By providing a framework for understanding how the brain responds to recurrent patterns inherent to play, we aim to provide a platform for future experimental player-game interaction research (for which possible directions are briefly explored), and a propaedeutic to biologically-grounded player satisfaction models.},
Address = {Vancouver, BC, Canada},
Author = {C. Bateman and L. E. Nacke},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of Futureplay 2010},
Doi = {10.1145/1920778.1920780},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/The-Neurobiology-of-Play.png},
Isbn = {9781450302357},
Keywords = {brain,brain research,brainhex,ludology,neurobiology,neurology,play patterns,player satisfaction modeling,player types,playstyle},
MendeleyTags = {brainhex,ludology,neurobiology,neurology,play patterns,player types,playstyle},
Month = {may},
Pages = {1-8},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {The Neurobiology of Play},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/the-neurobiology-of-play},
Year = {2010},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/The-Neurobiology-of-Play.pdf},
BdskUrl2 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1920778.1920780}}

A large volume of neurobiological research has been conducted in recent years, almost all of which has been considered solely from the perspective of biology. However, most of the insights gained through this research are also valuable for the game research field. This paper discusses the implications of existing research in neurobiology to the play of games (including, but not restricted to digital games), and connects neurobiological perspectives with models of play aiming to construct superior player satisfaction models built upon biological foundations. Connections are presented between already recognized patterns of play and recent research on the brain (in particular, the limbic system). By providing a framework for understanding how the brain responds to recurrent patterns inherent to play, we aim to provide a platform for future experimental player-game interaction research (for which possible directions are briefly explored), and a propaedeutic to biologically-grounded player satisfaction models.

Wiimote vs. Controller: Electroencephalographic Measurement of Affective Gameplay Interaction

@inproceedings{Nacke2010,
Abstract = {Psychophysiological methods provide covert and reliable affective measurements of user experience (UX). The nature of affective UX in interactive entertainment is currently not well understood. With the dawn of new gaming consoles, scientific methodologies for studying user interaction in immersive entertainment (e.g., digital gaming) 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 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 actions in spatial presence with a PS2 game controller. Delta as well as theta power correlate with self-location using a Wii remote and Nunchuk.},
Address = {Vancouver, BC, Canada},
Author = {L. E. Nacke},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of Futureplay 2010},
Doi = {10.1145/1920778.1920801},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Wiimote-vs.-Controller-Electroencephalographic-Measurement-of-Affective-Gameplay-Interaction.png},
Isbn = {9781450302357},
Keywords = {affective computing,digital games,eeg,electroencephalography,electroencephalography (EEG),entertainment,games,hci,interaction,psychophysiology,user experience,user experience (UX)},
MendeleyTags = {affective computing,digital games,eeg,electroencephalography,entertainment,games,hci,interaction,psychophysiology,user experience},
Month = {may},
Pages = {159-166},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {Wiimote vs. Controller: Electroencephalographic Measurement of Affective Gameplay Interaction},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/wiimote-vs-controller-electroencephalographic-measurement-of-affective-gameplay-interaction},
Year = {2010},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Wiimote-vs.-Controller-Electroencephalographic-Measurement-of-Affective-Gameplay-Interaction.pdf},
BdskUrl2 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1920778.1920801}}

Psychophysiological methods provide covert and reliable affective measurements of user experience (UX). The nature of affective UX in interactive entertainment is currently not well understood. With the dawn of new gaming consoles, scientific methodologies for studying user interaction in immersive entertainment (e.g., digital gaming) 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 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 actions in spatial presence with a PS2 game controller. Delta as well as theta power correlate with self-location using a Wii remote and Nunchuk.

Year 2009

Affective Ludology, Flow and Immersion in a First-Person Shooter: Measurement of Player Experience

@article{Nacke_AL2009,
Abstract = {Gameplay research about experiential phenomena is a challenging undertaking,given the variety of experiences that gamers encounter when playing and whichcurrently do not have a formal taxonomy, such as flow, immersion, boredom, andfun. These informal terms require a scientific explanation. Ludologists alsoacknowledge the need to understand cognition, emotion, and goal- orientedbehavior of players from a psychological perspective by establishing rigorousmethodologies. This paper builds upon and extends prior work in an area forwhich we would like to coin the term "affective ludology." The area isconcerned with the affective measurement of player-game interaction. Theexperimental study reported here investigated different traits of gameplayexperience using subjective (i.e., questionnaires) and objective (i.e.,psychophysiological) measures. Participants played three Half-Life 2 game leveldesign modifications while measures such as electromyography (EMG),electrodermal activity (EDA) were taken and questionnaire responses werecollected. A level designed for combat-oriented flow experience demonstratedsignificant high-arousal positive affect emotions. This method shows thatemotional patterns emerge from different level designs, which has greatpotential for providing real-time emotional profiles of gameplay that may begenerated together with self- reported subjective player experience descriptions.},
Author = {L. E. Nacke and C. A. Lindley},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Affective-Ludology-Flow-and-Immersino-in-a-First-Person-Shooter-Measurement-of-Player-Experience.png},
Journal = {Loading},
Keywords = {3dve,Game design,affect,affective computing,affective_computing,attention,biofeedback,biometric,effects,emg,emotion,emotional,enjoyment,experience,experimentation,flow,flow_experience,game design,gamedesign,gameexperience,gamemetrics,gameplay,gameplay experience,games,immersion,physiology,playability,player experience,psychophysiology,user experience,ux},
MendeleyTags = {3dve,affect,affective computing,affective_computing,attention,biofeedback,biometric,effects,emg,emotion,emotional,enjoyment,experience,experimentation,flow,flow_experience,game design,gamedesign,gameexperience,gamemetrics,gameplay,games,immersion,physiology,playability,player experience,psychophysiology,user experience,ux},
Number = {5},
Title = {Affective Ludology, Flow and Immersion in a First-Person Shooter: Measurement of Player Experience},
Type = {Journal article},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/affective-ludology-flow-and-immersion-in-a-first-person-shooter-measurement-of-player-experience},
Volume = {3},
Year = {2009},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Affective-Ludology-Flow-and-Immersino-in-a-First-Person-Shooter-Measurement-of-Player-Experience.pdf}}

Gameplay research about experiential phenomena is a challenging undertaking,given the variety of experiences that gamers encounter when playing and whichcurrently do not have a formal taxonomy, such as flow, immersion, boredom, andfun. These informal terms require a scientific explanation. Ludologists alsoacknowledge the need to understand cognition, emotion, and goal- orientedbehavior of players from a psychological perspective by establishing rigorousmethodologies. This paper builds upon and extends prior work in an area forwhich we would like to coin the term "affective ludology." The area isconcerned with the affective measurement of player-game interaction. Theexperimental study reported here investigated different traits of gameplayexperience using subjective (i.e., questionnaires) and objective (i.e.,psychophysiological) measures. Participants played three Half-Life 2 game leveldesign modifications while measures such as electromyography (EMG),electrodermal activity (EDA) were taken and questionnaire responses werecollected. A level designed for combat-oriented flow experience demonstratedsignificant high-arousal positive affect emotions. This method shows thatemotional patterns emerge from different level designs, which has greatpotential for providing real-time emotional profiles of gameplay that may begenerated together with self- reported subjective player experience descriptions.

Affective Ludology: Scientific Measurement of User Experience in Interactive Entertainment

@misc{Nacke2009h,
Abstract = {Digital games provide the most engaging interactive experiences. Researching gameplay experience is done mainly in the science and technology (e.g., human-computer interaction, physiological and entertainment computing) and social science (e.g., media psychology, psychophysiology, and communication sciences) research communities. This thesis is located at the intersection of these research areas, bringing together emerging methodological and scientific approaches from these multi-faceted communities for an affective ludology; a novel take on game analysis and design with focus on the player. The thesis contributes to game research with three important results: the establishment of a objective/subjective correlation methodology founded on psychophysiological methods, the creation of a formal theoretical framework in which to conduct user experience (UX) research related to games, and the combination of results regarding cognitive and emotional factors for describing, defining, and classifying the interactive relationship between players and games. Two approaches for measuring gameplay experience are used in this thesis. First, objective assessment of physiological user responses together with automated event-logging techniques, so called game metrics, allows collecting essential player- and game-related variables for a comprehensive understanding of their interaction. Second, using psychometric questionnaires allows a reliable assessment of players' subjective emotion and cognition during gameplay. The benefit of psychophysiological methods is that they are non-intrusive, covert, reliable, and objective. To fully understand psychophysiological results, a correlation between subjective gameplay experience ratings and psychophysiological responses is necessary and has been done in this thesis and prior work it builds on. This thesis explores objective and subjective assessment of gameplay experience in several experiments. The experiments focus on: level design implications from psychophysiological and questionnaire measurements, the impact of form and age on subjective gameplay experience, the impact of game audio and sound on objective and subjective player responses, and the impact of game interaction design on and the relationship between experience and electroencephalographic measures. In addition, the thesis includes a theoretical framework for UX research in games, which classifies gameplay experience along the dimensions of abstraction and time. One remaining conceptual and empirical challenge for this framework is the huge variety of vaguely defined experiential phenomena, such as immersion, flow, presence, and engagement. However, the results from the experimental studies show that by establishing correlations between psychophysiological responses and questionnaire data, we are approaching a better, scientifically grounded, understanding of gameplay experience. Many possibilities open from here. More detailed analyses of cognition will help us understand to what extent gameplay experience depends on emotional or cognitive processing. In addition, the inclusion of more complex and detailed gameplay metrics data together with psychophysiological metrics will enable a comprehensive analysis of player behavior, attention, and motivation. Finally, the integration of new measurement technologies in interactive entertainment applications will not only allow a detailed assessment of gameplay, but also improve physical and mental interaction with future games.},
Address = {Karlskrona},
Author = {L. E. Nacke},
Booktitle = {Ph.D. Thesis. Blekinge Institute of Technology},
File = {::},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Affective-Ludology-Scientific-Measurement-of-User-Experience-in-Interactive-Entertainment.png},
Keywords = {emotion,game design,games,interaction design,media psychology,physiologic measures,physiological computing,psychology,psychophysiology,user experience},
MendeleyTags = {emotion,physiological computing,psychophysiology},
Title = {Affective Ludology: Scientific Measurement of User Experience in Interactive Entertainment},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/affective-ludology-scientific-measurement-of-user-experience-in-interactive-entertainment},
Year = {2009},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Affective-Ludology-Scientific-Measurement-of-User-Experience-in-Interactive-Entertainment.pdf}}

Digital games provide the most engaging interactive experiences. Researching gameplay experience is done mainly in the science and technology (e.g., human-computer interaction, physiological and entertainment computing) and social science (e.g., media psychology, psychophysiology, and communication sciences) research communities. This thesis is located at the intersection of these research areas, bringing together emerging methodological and scientific approaches from these multi-faceted communities for an affective ludology; a novel take on game analysis and design with focus on the player. The thesis contributes to game research with three important results: the establishment of a objective/subjective correlation methodology founded on psychophysiological methods, the creation of a formal theoretical framework in which to conduct user experience (UX) research related to games, and the combination of results regarding cognitive and emotional factors for describing, defining, and classifying the interactive relationship between players and games. Two approaches for measuring gameplay experience are used in this thesis. First, objective assessment of physiological user responses together with automated event-logging techniques, so called game metrics, allows collecting essential player- and game-related variables for a comprehensive understanding of their interaction. Second, using psychometric questionnaires allows a reliable assessment of players' subjective emotion and cognition during gameplay. The benefit of psychophysiological methods is that they are non-intrusive, covert, reliable, and objective. To fully understand psychophysiological results, a correlation between subjective gameplay experience ratings and psychophysiological responses is necessary and has been done in this thesis and prior work it builds on. This thesis explores objective and subjective assessment of gameplay experience in several experiments. The experiments focus on: level design implications from psychophysiological and questionnaire measurements, the impact of form and age on subjective gameplay experience, the impact of game audio and sound on objective and subjective player responses, and the impact of game interaction design on and the relationship between experience and electroencephalographic measures. In addition, the thesis includes a theoretical framework for UX research in games, which classifies gameplay experience along the dimensions of abstraction and time. One remaining conceptual and empirical challenge for this framework is the huge variety of vaguely defined experiential phenomena, such as immersion, flow, presence, and engagement. However, the results from the experimental studies show that by establishing correlations between psychophysiological responses and questionnaire data, we are approaching a better, scientifically grounded, understanding of gameplay experience. Many possibilities open from here. More detailed analyses of cognition will help us understand to what extent gameplay experience depends on emotional or cognitive processing. In addition, the inclusion of more complex and detailed gameplay metrics data together with psychophysiological metrics will enable a comprehensive analysis of player behavior, attention, and motivation. Finally, the integration of new measurement technologies in interactive entertainment applications will not only allow a detailed assessment of gameplay, but also improve physical and mental interaction with future games.

Brain Training for Silver Gamers: Effects of Age and Game Form on Effectiveness, Efficiency, Self-Assessment, and Gameplay Experience.

@article{NackeEtAl2009a,
Abstract = {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 x 2 mixed factorial design (age group: young and old x 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.},
Author = {L. E. Nacke, A. Nacke, and C. A. Lindley},
Doi = {10.1089/cpb.2009.0013},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Brain-Training-for-Silver-Gamers-Effects-of-Age-and-Game-Form-on-Effectiveness-Efficiency-Self-Assessment-and-Gameplay-Experience.png},
Issn = {1557-8364},
Journal = {CyberPsychology & Behavior},
Keywords = {80 and over,Adaptation,Adolescent,Adult,Aged,Aging,Aging: psychology,Cognition,Consumer Satisfaction,Female,Humans,Male,Play and Playthings,Play and Playthings: psychology,Problem Solving,Psychological,Self Assessment (Psychology),Video Games,Video Games: classification,Video Games: psychology,Young Adult,arousal,assessibility,brain,effects,eldergames,elderly,enjoyment,geq,mannequin,mental,motivation,performance,psychology,research,survey,usability,ux},
Language = {en},
MendeleyTags = {arousal,assessibility,brain,effects,eldergames,elderly,enjoyment,geq,mannequin,mental,motivation,performance,psychology,research,survey,usability,ux},
Number = {5},
Pages = {493-499},
Pmid = {19772440},
Publisher = {Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. 140 Huguenot Street, 3rd Floor New Rochelle, NY 10801 USA},
Title = {Brain Training for Silver Gamers: Effects of Age and Game Form on Effectiveness, Efficiency, Self-Assessment, and Gameplay Experience.},
Type = {Journal article},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/brain-training-for-silver-gamers-effects-of-age-and-game-form-on-effectiveness-efficiency-self-assessment-and-gameplay-experience.},
Volume = {12},
Year = {2009},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Brain-Training-for-Silver-Gamers-Effects-of-Age-and-Game-Form-on-Effectiveness-Efficiency-Self-Assessment-and-Gameplay-Experience..pdf},
BdskUrl2 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/cpb.2009.0013}}

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 x 2 mixed factorial design (age group: young and old x 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.

From Playability to a Hierarchical Game Usability Model

@inproceedings{Nacke2009,
Abstract = {This paper presents a brief review of current 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.},
Address = {Vancouver, BC, Canada},
Author = {L. E. Nacke},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of Future Play 2009},
Doi = {10.1145/1639601.1639609},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/From-Playability-to-a-Hierarchical-Game-Usability-Model.png},
Keywords = {game,game design,gamedesign,gameexperience,games,gxp,model,perceptual,play,playability,player,player experience,playing,theory,usability,userexperience,ux},
MendeleyTags = {game,game design,gamedesign,gameexperience,games,gxp,model,perceptual,play,playability,player,playing,theory,usability,userexperience,ux},
Pages = {11-12},
Publisher = {ACM},
Title = {From Playability to a Hierarchical Game Usability Model},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/from-playability-to-a-hierarchical-game-usability-model},
Year = {2009},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/From-Playability-to-a-Hierarchical-Game-Usability-Model.pdf},
BdskUrl2 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/1639601.1639609}}

This paper presents a brief review of current 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.

Game Experience: Components and Methods of Measurement

@article{nacke2009game,
Abstract = {In this talk, we will have a look at game experience models and what components they consist of. Next, we continue to identify what components could potentially be measured using the methodology established in the EU-funded FUGA project. We establish a basic model of player experience and propose how this is useful for game industry and research.},
Address = {Espoo, Finland},
Author = {L. E. Nacke},
Journal = {Proceedings of fuga 2009},
Publisher = {Helsinki Institute for Information Technology (HIIT)},
Title = {Game Experience: Components and Methods of Measurement},
Url = {http://www.bth.se/fou/forskinfo.nsf/all/62867664e5785865c12575c800422fcf},
Year = {2009},
BdskUrl1 = {http://www.bth.se/fou/forskinfo.nsf/all/62867664e5785865c12575c800422fcf}}

In this talk, we will have a look at game experience models and what components they consist of. Next, we continue to identify what components could potentially be measured using the methodology established in the EU-funded FUGA project. We establish a basic model of player experience and propose how this is useful for game industry and research.

Gameplay Experience in a Gaze Interaction Game

@inproceedings{Nacke2009b,
Abstract = {Assessing gameplay experience for gaze interaction games is a challenging task. For this study, a gaze interaction Half-Life 2 game modification was created that allowed eye tracking control. The mod was deployed during an experiment at Dreamhack 2007, where participants had to play with gaze navigation and afterwards rate their gameplay experience. The results show low tension and negative affects scores on the gameplay experience questionnaire as well as high positive challenge, immersion and flow ratings. The correlation between spatial presence and immersion for gaze interaction was high and yields further investigation. It is concluded that gameplay experience can be correctly assessed with the methodology presented in this paper.},
Address = {Lyngby, Denmark},
Annote = {available online},
Author = {L. E. Nacke, S. Stellmach, D. Sasse, and C. A. Lindley},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of COGAIN 2009},
Editor = {A. Villanueva, J. P. Hansen, and B. K. Ersbo ll},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Gameplay-Experience-in-a-Gaze-Interaction-Game.png},
Keywords = {eyetracker,eyetracking,file-import,game,gaze,gazeinteraction,usability,ux},
MendeleyTags = {eyetracker,eyetracking,file-import,game,gaze,gazeinteraction,usability,ux},
Pages = {49-54},
Publisher = {The COGAIN Association},
Title = {Gameplay Experience in a Gaze Interaction Game},
Type = {Conference proceedings (article)},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/gameplay-experience-in-a-gaze-interaction-game},
Year = {2009},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Gameplay-Experience-in-a-Gaze-Interaction-Game.pdf}}

Assessing gameplay experience for gaze interaction games is a challenging task. For this study, a gaze interaction Half-Life 2 game modification was created that allowed eye tracking control. The mod was deployed during an experiment at Dreamhack 2007, where participants had to play with gaze navigation and afterwards rate their gameplay experience. The results show low tension and negative affects scores on the gameplay experience questionnaire as well as high positive challenge, immersion and flow ratings. The correlation between spatial presence and immersion for gaze interaction was high and yields further investigation. It is concluded that gameplay experience can be correctly assessed with the methodology presented in this paper.

Playability and Player Experience Research

@inproceedings{NackeetalDiGRA2009Panel,
Abstract = {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.},
Address = {Brunel University, West London, UK},
Author = {L. E. Nacke, A. Drachen, K. Kuikkaniemi, J. Niesenhaus, H. J. Korhonen, W. M. van den Hoogen, K. Poels, W. A. IJsselsteijn, and Y. A. W. de Kort},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of DiGRA 2009},
Keywords = {experimentation,gameexperience,methodology,playability,techniques,usability,userexperience,ux},
MendeleyTags = {experimentation,gameexperience,methodology,playability,techniques,usability,userexperience,ux},
Publisher = {DiGRA},
Title = {Playability and Player Experience Research},
Type = {Conference proceedings (article)},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/playability-and-player-experience-research},
Year = {2009},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Playability-and-Player-Experience-Research.pdf}}

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.

Trends and Techniques in Visual Gaze Analysis

@inproceedings{Stellmach2009a,
Abstract = {Visualizing gaze data is an effective way for the quick interpretation of eye tracking results. This paper presents a study investigation benefits and limitations of visual gaze analysis among eye tracking professionals and researchers. The results were used to create a tool for visual gaze analysis within a Master's project.},
Address = {Lyngby, Denmark},
Author = {S. Stellmach, L. E. Nacke, R. Dachselt, and C. A. Lindley},
Booktitle = {Proceedings of COGAIN 2009},
Editor = {A. Villanueva, J. P. Hansen, and B. K. Ersbo ll},
File = {::},
Img = {http://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Trends-and-Techniques-in-Visual-Gaze-Analysis.png},
Keywords = {Stellmach2009,analytics,code,eye tracking,eyetracker,eyetracking,gaze,gaze visualizations,programming,survey,techniques,trends,visualization,xna},
MendeleyTags = {Stellmach2009,code,eyetracker,eyetracking,gaze,programming,survey,techniques,trends,visualization,xna},
Organization = {DTU},
Pages = {89-93},
Publisher = {The COGAIN Association},
Title = {Trends and Techniques in Visual Gaze Analysis},
Type = {Conference proceedings (article)},
Url = {https://hcigames.com/download/trends-and-techniques-in-visual-gaze-analysis},
Year = {2009},
BdskUrl1 = {https://hcigames.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Trends-and-Techniques-in-Visual-Gaze-Analysis.pdf}}

Visualizing gaze data is an effective way for the quick interpretation of eye tracking results. This paper presents a study investigation benefits and limitations of visual gaze analysis among eye tracking professionals and researchers. The results were used to create a tool for visual gaze analysis within a Master's project.