Researchers

Maria Aufheimer

Visiting Graduate Student, NPCs and 3D Modeling

Profile Video

Publications

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.

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.

Year 2016

Bool the Miner: Relying on Ghost Companions to Solve Boolean Equations

@inproceedings{10.1145/2968120.2968122,
author = {Aufheimer, Maria and Bonenberger, Johannes and Klein, David and Kurashvili, Imin and Rogers, Katja},
title = {Bool the Miner: Relying on Ghost Companions to Solve Boolean Equations},
year = {2016},
isbn = {9781450344586},
publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
address = {New York, NY, USA},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/2968120.2968122},
doi = {10.1145/2968120.2968122},
abstract = {The game Bool the Miner is the result of a student project developed over two terms in a course on the design of serious games at Ulm University. Players direct the titular character Bool towards escaping from a mine. Each level represents a Boolean equation; the missing operations need to be inserted in switches to unlock the gate to the next level. Bool can record movement patterns for his helpful ghost companions, in order to operate multiple switches at the same time, while he completes an obstacle course towards the exit gate. As such, the game is a combination of the puzzle and jump'n'run genres. A pilot study investigated the validity of the game's approach towards practising knowledge of Boolean algebra, conducted alongside a psychological study on the effects of affective feedback as part of a multidisciplinary research project.},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2016 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play Companion Extended Abstracts},
pages = {25–31},
numpages = {7},
keywords = {serious game, boolean algebra, jump'n'run, logic puzzle, movement playback, npc companions},
location = {Austin, Texas, USA},
series = {CHI PLAY Companion '16}
}

The game Bool the Miner is the result of a student project developed over two terms in a course on the design of serious games at Ulm University. Players direct the titular character Bool towards escaping from a mine. Each level represents a Boolean equation; the missing operations need to be inserted in switches to unlock the gate to the next level. Bool can record movement patterns for his helpful ghost companions, in order to operate multiple switches at the same time, while he completes an obstacle course towards the exit gate. As such, the game is a combination of the puzzle and jump'n'run genres. A pilot study investigated the validity of the game's approach towards practising knowledge of Boolean algebra, conducted alongside a psychological study on the effects of affective feedback as part of a multidisciplinary research project.