Researchers

Julia Brich

Visiting Ph.D. Student, Game Development for Human Emotions

Profile Video

Projects

SWaGUR: Saskatchewan-Waterloo Games User Research

Developing and Analysing Adaptive, Enjoyable, and Engaging Human-Computer Interfaces

Publications

Year 2017

LiverDefense: how to employ a tower defense game as a customisable research tool

@article{10.1007/s00371-016-1314-0,
author = {Brich, Julia and Rogers, Katja and Frommel, Julian and Weidhaas, Martin and Br\"{u}ckner, Adrian and Mirabile, Sarah and Dorn, Tamara and Riemer, Valentin and Schrader, Claudia and Weber, Michael},
title = {LiverDefense: How to Employ a Tower Defense Game as a Customisable Research Tool},
year = {2017},
issue_date = {April 2017},
publisher = {Springer-Verlag},
address = {Berlin, Heidelberg},
volume = {33},
number = {4},
issn = {0178-2789},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s00371-016-1314-0},
doi = {10.1007/s00371-016-1314-0},
abstract = {In game-related research, it is often necessary to create different versions of a game prototype and gather information about players. To make this possible even for non-programmers, we present LiverDefense, an educational Tower Defense game about the basic functions of the human liver, which can be used as a customisable research tool. LiverDefense can be customised via human-readable XML files both in its degree of difficulty and the content of Likert scale questionnaires to be presented to the player. As a proof of concept, LiverDefense has been successfully employed in a psychological study focused on exploring the effect of perceived control over gameplay on players' emotions. We report on the analysis of this study with regard to enjoyment and frustration and the resulting insights on using LiverDefense as a customisable research tool.},
journal = {Vis. Comput.},
month = apr,
pages = {429–442},
numpages = {14},
keywords = {Game design, Bio-medical education, Educational games, Questionnaire integration, Customisable games}
}

In game-related research, it is often necessary to create different versions of a game prototype and gather information about players. To make this possible even for non-programmers, we present LiverDefense, an educational Tower Defense game about the basic functions of the human liver, which can be used as a customisable research tool. LiverDefense can be customised via human-readable XML files both in its degree of difficulty and the content of Likert scale questionnaires to be presented to the player. As a proof of concept, LiverDefense has been successfully employed in a psychological study focused on exploring the effect of perceived control over gameplay on players' emotions. We report on the analysis of this study with regard to enjoyment and frustration and the resulting insights on using LiverDefense as a customisable research tool.

Rising to the Challenge: An Emotion-Driven Approach Toward Adaptive Serious Games

@incollection{schrader2017rising,
  title={Rising to the challenge: An emotion-driven approach toward adaptive serious games},
  author={Schrader, Claudia and Brich, Julia and Frommel, Julian and Riemer, Valentin and Rogers, Katja},
  booktitle={Serious games and edutainment applications},
  pages={3--28},
  year={2017},
  publisher={Springer}
}

Serious games are steadily becoming a powerful tool for educational purposes as their challenging characteristics are suggested to make them particularly appealing to learn with. This challenging nature, however, comes at a price, namely, the need to maintain the optimal balance according to players’ emotional experiences. By focusing on players’ emotions as main player characteristic considered to be important for learning processes and performance, this chapter surveys empirical research and current game development that contributes to an emotion-adaptive framework for games. The goal of this chapter is to clarify the importance of continuously adjusting game characteristics to players’ emotional states. As the interaction between game characteristics and players’ emotions highlights the need for continuously assessing at what point gameplay becomes more or less positively or negatively affected, methods for emotion recognition are presented. A summary of adaptable game design elements as well as implementation methods for adaptivity are provided.

Year 2015

Integrated Questionnaires: Maintaining Presence in Game Environments for Self-Reported Data Acquisition

@inproceedings{10.1145/2793107.2793130,
author = {Frommel, Julian and Rogers, Katja and Brich, Julia and Besserer, Daniel and Bradatsch, Leonard and Ortinau, Isabel and Schabenberger, Ramona and Riemer, Valentin and Schrader, Claudia and Weber, Michael},
title = {Integrated Questionnaires: Maintaining Presence in Game Environments for Self-Reported Data Acquisition},
year = {2015},
isbn = {9781450334662},
publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
address = {New York, NY, USA},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/2793107.2793130},
doi = {10.1145/2793107.2793130},
abstract = {Research in human-computer interaction often requires the acquisition of self-reported data. Particularly concerning serious games, the interaction between the game and the user still holds many unknown aspects, partly due to the user's double role as player and learner. An easy way of collecting data consists of questionnaires, mostly employed in pen-and-paper or electronic form. In order to gather data points during game play, the player is interrupted, potentially causing unintentional side effects. We suggest an integration of questionnaires into games as game elements, in order to mitigate the effects of interruption. A serious game prototype with an integrated survey was implemented, and evaluated regarding its effects on the players' experience of presence.},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2015 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play},
pages = {359–368},
numpages = {10},
keywords = {self-reported data, immersion, player assessment, integrated questionnaires, serious games},
location = {London, United Kingdom},
series = {CHI PLAY '15}
}

Research in human-computer interaction often requires the acquisition of self-reported data. Particularly concerning serious games, the interaction between the game and the user still holds many unknown aspects, partly due to the user's double role as player and learner. An easy way of collecting data consists of questionnaires, mostly employed in pen-and-paper or electronic form. In order to gather data points during game play, the player is interrupted, potentially causing unintentional side effects. We suggest an integration of questionnaires into games as game elements, in order to mitigate the effects of interruption. A serious game prototype with an integrated survey was implemented, and evaluated regarding its effects on the players' experience of presence.

Mobile Augmented Reality as an Orientation Aid: A Scavenger Hunt Prototype

@inproceedings{10.1109/IE.2015.37,
author = {Rogers, Katja and Frommel, Julian and Breier, Larissa and Celik, Sinan and Kramer, Harry and Kreidel, Stefan and Brich, Julia and Riemer, Valentin and Schrader, Claudia},
title = {Mobile Augmented Reality as an Orientation Aid: A Scavenger Hunt Prototype},
year = {2015},
isbn = {9781467366540},
publisher = {IEEE Computer Society},
address = {USA},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1109/IE.2015.37},
doi = {10.1109/IE.2015.37},
abstract = {Orientation in public environments is a critical skill for new arrivals, yet also one that is usually only learned gradually through trial and error. This paper suggests the use of pervasive augmented reality (AR) for the design of a serious game that teaches navigational skills in a public environment. Many AR scavenger hunt games confront players with new environments by default, however they rarely focus explicitly on teaching navigational skills. We propose a concept that utilises augmented reality techniques for increased immersion and motivation, while upholding the real-world sense of presence for an easy transfer of orientation skills to everyday life. For this purpose, we implemented a first prototypical serious game in the form of an AR scavenger hunt. A preliminary evaluation regarding its usability produced promising results. As such, the prototype constitutes a first proof of concept. In future iterations, it will be further developed as an adaptive AR serious game, and evaluated in respect to its efficacy in teaching orientation and navigation skills.},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2015 International Conference on Intelligent Environments},
pages = {172–175},
numpages = {4},
series = {IE '15}
}

Orientation in public environments is a critical skill for new arrivals, yet also one that is usually only learned gradually through trial and error. This paper suggests the use of pervasive augmented reality (AR) for the design of a serious game that teaches navigational skills in a public environment. Many AR scavenger hunt games confront players with new environments by default, however they rarely focus explicitly on teaching navigational skills. We propose a concept that utilises augmented reality techniques for increased immersion and motivation, while upholding the real-world sense of presence for an easy transfer of orientation skills to everyday life. For this purpose, we implemented a first prototypical serious game in the form of an AR scavenger hunt. A preliminary evaluation regarding its usability produced promising results. As such, the prototype constitutes a first proof of concept. In future iterations, it will be further developed as an adaptive AR serious game, and evaluated in respect to its efficacy in teaching orientation and navigation skills.