Researchers

Pejman Mirza-Babaei

Affiliated Faculty

Projects

Affective Evaluation of Games & Interactive Media

Games User Research

SWaGUR: Saskatchewan-Waterloo Games User Research

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

Publications

Year 2020

Gamification of Older Adults’ Physical Activity: Thematic Analysis of an Eight-Week Experimental Study

@article{kappen2020gamification,
  title={Gamification of Older Adults’ Physical Activity: Thematic Analysis of an Eight-Week Experimental Study},
  author={Kappen, Dennis L and Mirza-Babaei, Pejman and Nacke, Lennart E},
  journal={Frontiers in Computer Science},
  volume={2},
  pages={44},
  year={2020},
  publisher={Frontiers}
}

Gamification technology has served as behaviour change mechanism for increasing the engagement and motivation of consumers in many areas including health and wellness domains. While research on physical activity (PA) and motivation to participate in PA in the context of older adults exist, there are fewer studies on the usage of gamified technology by older adults over longer periods of time. We conducted a mixed-method, eight-week, synchronous, three-condition experimental study with older adults in the 50+ age group. Participants were randomized into Group 1 (gamified), Group 2 (non-gamified) and a control group. The weekly semi-structured interview questions focused on their motivation for PA, setting up goals, accomplishments, fears or barriers, rewards and tracking in PA. Thematic analysis of the interview data showed distinct variations in emergent themes for the three groups over an eight-week …

Older Adults’ Motivation for Physical Activity Using Gamified Technology: An Eight-Week Experimental Study

@inproceedings{kappen2020older,
  title={Older Adults’ Motivation for Physical Activity Using Gamified Technology: An Eight-Week Experimental Study},
  author={Kappen, Dennis L and Mirza-Babaei, Pejman and Nacke, Lennart E},
  booktitle={International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction},
  pages={292--309},
  year={2020},
  organization={Springer}
}

While gamification strategy has been used in many areas such as marketing, education, health and wellness, only a few projects have investigated the relevance of longer study durations. There are limited number of long-term studies in the usage of gamification elements to facilitate motivation and engagement of users in a physical activity (PA) setting, especially for the older adult demographic. We conducted a synchronous, three-condition (gamified, non-gamified and control), eight-week, experimental study which randomized 30 participants in the 50+ age group. Results from quantitative analysis indicated that the addition of motivational affordances increased engagement of participants. Perceived competence, perceived autonomy was significant for the gamified group against the non gamified (traditional PA monitor – pedometer) and control group. Results from the quantitative analysis rejects the null hypothesis that there was no change between the groups as measured by motivation, enjoyment and engagement. Furthermore, the results also support our hypotheses that enjoyment and engagement was less in groups with pedometers (non-gamified PA monitors) than in the group with gamification elements. Results highlight the possibility of adaptive engagement where gamification elements can be customized to participants for the 50+ age group to foster engagement tailored to suit their current health conditions and prevalent barriers to participate in PA.

Technology Facilitates Physical Activity Through Gamification: A Thematic Analysis of an 8-Week Study

@article{DBLP:journals/fcomp/KappenMN20,
  author    = {Dennis L. Kappen and
               Pejman Mirza{-}Babaei and
               Lennart E. Nacke},
  title     = {Technology Facilitates Physical Activity Through Gamification: {A}
               Thematic Analysis of an 8-Week Study},
  journal   = {Frontiers Comput. Sci.},
  volume    = {2},
  pages     = {530309},
  year      = {2020},
  url       = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomp.2020.530309},
  doi       = {10.3389/fcomp.2020.530309},
  timestamp = {Fri, 23 Oct 2020 15:51:32 +0200},
  biburl    = {https://dblp.org/rec/journals/fcomp/KappenMN20.bib},
  bibsource = {dblp computer science bibliography, https://dblp.org}
}
a service of Schloss Dagstuhl - Leibniz Center for Informatics	homebrowsesearchabout
w3c valid html l

Gamification has enabled technology to facilitate behavior change through increasing the engagement and motivation of people in health and wellness domains. While research on physical activity (PA) and why older adults engage in PA exists, there are not many long-term studies on how gamification influences technology use and adherence to PA by older adults. We conducted a synchronous, 8-week, experimental study with older adults in the 50+ age group. Participants were randomized into three groups: Gamified technology, non-gamified technology and a control group. We conducted a weekly semi-structured interview with them focused on their PA motivations, setting up goals, accomplishments, fears or barriers, (immediate and long-term) rewards, and tracking in PA. Thematic analysis (TA) of the interview data showed these distinct variations in themes for the three groups over the 8-week period. This indicates that motivational affordances or gamification elements can be customized for older adults to suit their current health conditions and PA participation barriers. We define gamification design guidelines for PA motivation of older adults based on self-determination theory, setting up progressive goals, accomplishments to track PA quality, intangible rewards, and activity tracking.

Year 2019

Motivational Affordances for Older Adults’ Physical Activity Technology: An Expert Evaluation

@inproceedings{Kappen2019b,
abstract = {Gamification has become popular as a behavior change strategy to increase the motivation and engagement of users in a health and wellness applications. Motivational affordances or gamification elements can help to foster intrinsic or extrinsic motivation for an activity as mundane as achieving fitness and wellness goals. Research indicates that there are many motivations among older adults for playing digital games and exergames to encourage physical activity (PA). However, very few specific gamification elements (motivational affordances) have been defined for technology artifacts pertinent to older adults' physical activity (PA). We designed Spirit50, a gamified PA technology app and conducted an expert evaluation using long form questionnaires and the Heuristics Evaluation for Gameful Design instrument. Content analysis and comparisons of expert ratings of the heuristics provided specific insights into motivational affordances for older adults' PA technology.},
author = {Kappen, Dennis L and Mirza-Babaei, Pejman and Nacke, Lennart E},
booktitle = {Human-Computer Interaction. Perspectives on Design. Proceedings of HCI International 2019. LNCS 11566},
publisher = {Springer},
title = {{Motivational Affordances for Older Adults' Physical Activity Technology: An Expert Evaluation}},
year = {2019}
}

Gamification has become popular as a behavior change strategy to increase the motivation and engagement of users in a health and wellness applications. Motivational affordances or gamification elements can help to foster intrinsic or extrinsic motivation for an activity as mundane as achieving fitness and wellness goals. Research indicates that there are many motivations among older adults for playing digital games and exergames to encourage physical activity (PA). However, very few specific gamification elements (motivational affordances) have been defined for technology artifacts pertinent to older adults’ physical activity (PA). We designed Spirit50, a gamified PA technology app and conducted an expert evaluation using long form questionnaires and the Heuristics Evaluation for Gameful Design instrument. Content analysis and comparisons of expert ratings of the heuristics provided specific insights into motivational affordances for older adults’ PA technology.

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.

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.

Year 2018

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.

Games and Play SIG: Engaging Small Developer Communities

@inproceedings{Nacke:2018:GPS:3170427.3185360,
 author = {Nacke, Lennart E. and Mirza-Babaei, Pejman and Spiel, Katta and Toups, Zachary O. and Isbister, Katherine},
 title = {Games and Play SIG: Engaging Small Developer Communities},
 booktitle = {Extended Abstracts of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems},
 series = {CHI EA '18},
 year = {2018},
 isbn = {978-1-4503-5621-3},
 location = {Montreal QC, Canada},
 pages = {SIG11:1--SIG11:4},
 articleno = {SIG11},
 numpages = {4},
 url = {http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/3170427.3185360},
 doi = {10.1145/3170427.3185360},
 acmid = {3185360},
 publisher = {ACM},
 address = {New York, NY, USA},
 keywords = {chi play, entertainment, games, gamification, hci, play, playful experience, video games},
} 

The Games-and-Play community has thrived at ACM SIGCHI with a consistent increase in games- and play-related submissions across research papers, workshops, posters, demos, and competitions. The community has attracted a significant number of academic researchers, students, and practitioners to CHI conferences in recent years. CHI 2018 is being held in Montréal, a major game development hub. Montréal is not only a home for major game studios but also more than 100 smaller game studios. In line with the "Engage With CHI" spirit of CHI 2018, this SIG aims to engage the Games and Play community in a discussion about the directions that we can take to advance towards demographics that will benefit from HCI games research but are currently underrepresented: small, independent developers, non-profit organizations, and academics that create mobile games, games for health, games for change, and/or educational games.

Gamification of Older Adults’ Physical Activity: An Eight-Week Study

@inproceedings{Kappen2018a,
abstract = {Designing fitness programs to combat a sedentary lifestyle and foster older adults' motivation and goalsetting is not yet well-understood beyond point-based systems. To improve older adults' (over 50 years) health and wellness, we studied a gamified physical activity intervention over eight weeks in an experiment (N=30) with three conditions (gamified, non-gamified, control). Our qualitative analysis showed the gamified group exhibited more engagement and interest in performing physical activity facilitated by technology. Results from our quantitative analysis indicated significance in the perceived competence dimension compared to the nongamified and the control group. Perceived autonomy was significant for the non-gamified group against the control group. The findings from qualitative and quantitative analysis show motivation, enjoyment, and engagement were higher in the gamified group. This provides support for successfully facilitating older adults' physical activity through gamified technology, which helped us create guidelines for older adults' adaptive engagement.},
author = {Kappen, Dennis L and Mirza-Babaei, Pejman and Nacke, Lennart E.},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 51st Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS)},
publisher = {IEEE},
title = {{Gamification of Older Adults ' Physical Activity : An Eight-Week Study}},
year = {2018}
}

Designing fitness programs to combat a sedentary lifestyle and foster older adults’ motivation and goalsetting is not yet well-understood beyond point-based systems. To improve older adults’ (over 50 years) health and wellness, we studied a gamified physical activity intervention over eight weeks in an experiment (N=30) with three conditions (gamified, non-gamified, control). Our qualitative analysis showed the gamified group exhibited more engagement and interest in performing physical activity facilitated by technology. Results from our quantitative analysis indicated significance in the perceived competence dimension compared to the nongamified and the control group. Perceived autonomy was significant for the non-gamified group against the control group. The findings from qualitative and quantitative analysis show motivation, enjoyment, and engagement were higher in the gamified group. This provides support for successfully facilitating older adults’ physical activity through gamified technology, which helped us create guidelines for older adults’ adaptive engagement.

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.

Year 2017

Gamification through the Application of Motivational Affordances for Physical Activity Technology

@inproceedings{Kappen2017a,
abstract = {Motivational affordances are attributes of interactive technologies or game elements that promote participation in physical activity (PA) routines. Although these affordances have been previously integrated into technologies in non-tailored approaches, the motivations of adults for PA are specific (e.g., to improve one's health, wellness, or fitness). There are no previous comparisons of either the motivation to participate in PA or motivational affordances that facili-tate PA in different age groups. Therefore, we conducted an online survey with 150 participants using the Exercise Motivations Inventory-2 scale (EMI-2) together with long-form questions to explore motivational affordances and PA technology preferences in four age groups. Our results suggest health-related pressures are significant motivations for PA in different age groups. Additionally, a content analysis of preferences allowed us to distinguish between gamified motivational affordances and feedback elements. These results provide age-group-specific gamification design guidelines for incorporating motivational elements in PA technology.},
author = {Kappen, Dennis L and Mirza-Babaei, Pejman and Nacke, Lennart E.},
booktitle = {The ACM SIGCHI Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play (CHI PLAY 2017)},
doi = {10.1145/3116595.3116604},
keywords = {Motivational affordances,gamification,motivation,physical activity,user experience design},
publisher = {ACM},
title = {{Gamification through the Application of Motivational Affordances for Physical Activity Technology}},
year = {2017}
}

Motivational affordances are attributes of interactive technologies or game elements that promote participation in physical activity (PA) routines. Although these affordances have been previously integrated into technologies in non-tailored approaches, the motivations of adults for PA are specific (e.g., to improve one’s health, wellness, or fitness). There are no previous comparisons of either the motivation to participate in PA or motivational affordances that facili-tate PA in different age groups. Therefore, we conducted an online survey with 150 participants using the Exercise Motivations Inventory-2 scale (EMI-2) together with long-form questions to explore motivational affordances and PA technology preferences in four age groups. Our results suggest health-related pressures are significant motivations for PA in different age groups. Additionally, a content analysis of preferences allowed us to distinguish between gamified motivational affordances and feedback elements. These results provide age-group-specific gamification design guidelines for incorporating motivational elements in PA technology.

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.

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.

Playtesting for indie studios

@inproceedings{10.1145/2994310.2994364,
author = {Mirza-Babaei, Pejman and Moosajee, Naeem and Drenikow, Brandon},
title = {Playtesting for Indie Studios},
year = {2016},
isbn = {9781450343671},
publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery},
address = {New York, NY, USA},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1145/2994310.2994364},
doi = {10.1145/2994310.2994364},
abstract = {Creating video games is a lengthy and demanding process. Financial success for games studios often depends on making games that deliver a fun and engaging experience for a diverse audience of players. Therefore, understanding how players interact and behave during gameplay is of vital importance. Playtesting aims to assist developers to achieve their design intent and help to identify and resolve potential problem areas during development. However, playtests are not always feasible or affordable for smaller, independent game developers (indie studios) because they require specialized equipment and expertise. In addition to this, there is a lack of research on the value of playtesting for indie studios, which means most indie developers are not convinced of the value of user research and playtesting. This paper reports on our collaboration with six commercial indie developers conducting eleven rounds of playtesting session. Through these collaborations, our paper contributes to this growing domain by highlighting the value of playtesting for indie developers and discussing the user research process and approaches based on indie developers' needs and budget.},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 20th International Academic Mindtrek Conference},
pages = {366–374},
numpages = {9},
keywords = {game development, indie developers, case studies, playtesting, user experience, games user research},
location = {Tampere, Finland},
series = {AcademicMindtrek '16}
}

Creating video games is a lengthy and demanding process. Financial success for games studios often depends on making games that deliver a fun and engaging experience for a diverse audience of players. Therefore, understanding how players interact and behave during gameplay is of vital importance. Playtesting aims to assist developers to achieve their design intent and help to identify and resolve potential problem areas during development. However, playtests are not always feasible or affordable for smaller, independent game developers (indie studios) because they require specialized equipment and expertise. In addition to this, there is a lack of research on the value of playtesting for indie studios, which means most indie developers are not convinced of the value of user research and playtesting. This paper reports on our collaboration with six commercial indie developers conducting eleven rounds of playtesting session. Through these collaborations, our paper contributes to this growing domain by highlighting the value of playtesting for indie developers and discussing the user research process and approaches based on indie developers' needs and budget.

Year 2015

Actionable Inexpensive Games User Research.

@inproceedings{nacke2015actionable,
  title={Actionable inexpensive games user research},
  author={Nacke, Lennart E and Engels, Steve and Mirza-Babaei, Pejman},
  booktitle={Proceedings of the 33rd Annual ACM Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems},
  pages={2461--2462},
  year={2015}
}

This course will allow people to understand the intricacies of rapid games user research methods. For this we will weave together playtesting exercises and help participants turn player feedback into actionable design recommendations. The course is designed from a user experience (UX) perspective and should allow for people unfamiliar with rapid iteration and user testing to playtesting and basic user research skills.

Year 2014

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Introducing a Biometric Storyboards Tool for Games User Research

@inproceedings{mirza2014introducing,
  title={Introducing the biometric storyboards tool for games user research},
  author={Mirza-Babaei, Pejman and Nacke, Lennart},
  booktitle={2014 IEEE Games Media Entertainment},
  pages={1--7},
  year={2014},
  organization={IEEE}
}

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.

Storyboarding for Games User Research

Year 2012

Biometric Storyboards: An Industry-Friendly Method for Evaluating Affect and User Experience in Games

@misc{mirzabiometric,
abstract = {Evaluating affective user experience in games is an important component of the growing field of game user research. However, a major challenge for the game industry and researchers alike is tying physiological measures and player experience reports together, because of the different data quality. We developed a new method called Biometric Storyboards (BioSt) that helps user researchers to visualize meaningful relationships between a player's physiological changes and in-game events.},
author = {Mirza-Babaei, Pejman and Nacke, Lennart E},
title = {{Biometric Storyboards: An Industry-Friendly Method for Evaluating Affect and User Experience in Games}}
}

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.

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