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

Reference Information:

Conference - CHI 2011  Conference on Human Factors in Computer Systems
Location - Vancouver, BC, Canada
Date - May 7-12, 2011

Authors:

Lennart Erik Nacke - An assistant professor for HCI and Game Science at the Faculty of Business and Information Technology in the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. He has interest in game design and player psychology. Did this research under University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Michael Kalyn - A student under Dr. Mandryk. He graduated in Computer Engineering and is currently still under Computer Science course. He is researching Affective Computing. Did this research under University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Calvin Lough - He is researching Affective Computing. Did this research under University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Regan Lee Mandryk - An assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Saskatchewan. Her primary research areas are Affective Computing, Ubiquitous and Mobile Gaming, and Interaction Techniques.  Did this research under University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Summary:

Hypothesis -
Can physiological controls be used to augment and enhance a user's experience in games? If so, which type of physiological control is preferred as input, direct or indirect?

Methods -
This study was conducted by testing several direct and indirect physiological controls as inputs to a 2D side-scrolling shooter that was developed for this test. The researchers selected 6 physiological controls. Gaze Location, Temperature, Muscle Activity, Skin Conductance, Respiratory and Heart Rate. Out of these, Gaze Location, Temperature, Respiratory and Muscle Activity were considered as direct physiological input. Skin Conductance and Heart Rate were classified as indirect input.

The researchers gathered a group of 10 users and asked them to play the game with physiological sensors, in addition to the traditional game controller. The game was designed with several game-play mechanics that require physiological input. These mechanics were Enemy Target Size, Speed/Jump Height, Flamethrower Length, Final Boss Conditions, and Medusa Gaze Skill. This was tested under two different conditions of various indirect and direct input combinations and one control test without any physiological inputs.

Each user played under each condition and the control for 10 minutes or until they complete the level. After each play-through, the players were asked to answer a survey relating to their experiences. They also answered a final survey, after completing all game runs, about their opinions about physiological controls.

Results -
From the experiment, researchers concluded several things.

• Additional physiological controls added more fun than only using traditional gaming controls.
• Physiological control was a fun game-play mechanic in itself, as it added a new challenging dimension to the game.
• Players preferred the use of direct physiological controls because of better responses.
• Physiological controls were effective when mapped to appropriate and coherent game mechanics.
• Indirect physiological controls were not effective for direct control of a character or actions but may find use in altering the passive game environment.

Additional Details -
The study was conducted with 10 people, 7 male and 3 female. All are relatively familiar with games and are casual gamers, with most having around average level of skill for the tested gametype. In addition, most of the participants are familiar with novel forms of controller input such as with the Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, and Rock Band controllers.

The game mechanics that were tested with physiological controls were Enemy Target Size, Speed/Jump Height, Flamethrower Length, Final Boss Conditions, and Medusa Gaze Skill. Enemy Target Size was tested first with Respiratory control, then with Skin Conductance. Speed/Jump Height was controlled Heart Rate and Muscle Activity. Flamethrower Length was determined by Skin Conductance and Respiratory. Final Boss Conditions were controlled with Temperature, then Heart Rate. The Medusa Gaze skill only used Gaze Detection. Finally, character movement and actions were controlled by traditional controller in all test cases.

After the tests, the participants said that the gaming experience was more fun with the additional physiological controls than without. Also, the users stated that they preferred the direct methods of physiological control over indirect. This is because the direct methods have a better response and easier manipulation than the indirect. Most of the participants found indirect controls react slowly or hard to determine if they are active at all. Also, some participants found that some of the controls may cause additional controls to activate, such as increasing breathing leading to increased heart rate.

For the experience, the users expressed that they enjoyed the level of immersion that the physiological controls. They especially enjoyed the experience more if they did not notice the sensors. Many were aware that they had the respiratory control strapped to them, but for the gaze and muscle contraction controls, they did not notice them and their actions felt intuitive. They also noted that indirect controls could be of better use for manipulation of the game environment than actual character control.

The researchers noted that there are some limitations. The physiological controls worked well when tested, but may be harder to keep consistent with longer game-play times. They knew that naturally mapping the physiological controls allowed for better performance, however, not all game types and genres can use the same type of mapping. The researchers also find that integrating more physiological controls in modern gaming may be difficult but not impossible. This is because most of the sensors are already available and relatively low in cost. They said it would be up to the game developers to design games with these types of controls in mind.

Discussion:

I found this paper to be very interesting. I believe that they tested their hypothesis effectively and with believable results. They mentioned that research into physiological controls for video games has been around for many years. However, these physiological controls were the primary input devices that replaced the traditional controller. They chose to use these controls to augment game-play with the traditional controller.

One thing, I found neat was that all the multiple sensors were deployed all at once and target different parts of the body. This allows users to get their entire body reactions to control the game instead of just button pressing, which would lead to an immersive experience. If better integration and hiding of these sensors can be done in the near future, I believe it would be a viable mode of play in future games. With the addition of more 3D enabled games in the market, as well as games that require direct movement controls (Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Kinect, Playstation Move), I think the game industry may be close to achieving Augmented Reality or Virtual Reality in games.

I believe that this technology can also be used outside of games. The researchers mentioned that indirect physiological control can eventually turn into direct physiological control when users get adjusted to the environment. This is part of the biofeedback design. The game gives them reinforcement for their actions. This means that these games can be used for therapy, like controlling heart rate or stress levels. In addition, I think this can be used for more military training. Video games have already been in use in the military to train soldiers. With this technology, they can train under various conditions and simulate things that happen on the field than soldiers just testing through a screen and controller.

Video: http://vimeo.com/18807782

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Blog : Gang Leader for a Day

This book was a very interesting read. It is about the author, Sudhir Venkatesh, and his ethnography study of the gangs in Chicago. The interactions he had with the community was very dynamic. It started off very awkward for him because his approach to gangs were strange to them. However, over time, the gang members and him become closer and more accepting of each other.

I think that Sudhir got a lot more from his interactions with the gangs than just his book publications. He found out that the people he met were more than what he first perceive. He got to see how and why they do what they do, and it changed his perspective on things. Sudhir got to see a lot of the violence and illegal activities that goes on within the gang, such as drug dealing, prostitution, and gang wars. But on the other hand, he also got to see many of the people help out others in the projects. They gave donations, ran events, and took care of each other. There was even a point when the higher gang members wanted to join politics. Sudhir grew more accustomed to being with them, especially with JT. It began more than a social study to him, and Sudhir even became more involved with what they do.

What is also interesting was the effect that Sudhir had on JT. JT has hesitant towards Sudhir, but he grew to be protective of him. They became close friends. Whenever trouble arose, it was him that would try and cover Sudhir or keep him away from the problem. He always tried to keep the best interest for Sudhir. This may be because JT sees Sudhir as a way to gain popularity, but I believe he fundamentally changed. After many years of being part of the gang, JT eventually felt the need to leave that part of him behind. He may have always had that thought, but without Sudhir, he would have not had the chance to reflect on all the things he did. Years after the projects closure, he still tries to keep in contact with Sudhir. It seems to me that he became a significant portion of his life.

This book does well in showing the interaction between two largely different cultures, Sudhir and his educated lifestyle and a lowly street gang from Chicago. Sudhir got to learn a lot more from them than he expected. I think that the interaction was possible because of JT, also, having an educated background. It allowed him to discuss with Sudhir on the same level. Everything that happened could have happened differently as well. If the projects did not get closed, how long will Sudhir be tied to them? If he tried to study a different gang would it have developed the same? Also, another interesting question to ask is, what if Sudhir was white? With Sudhir being Indian, it allowed him to be assimilated a bit easier because they also view him as a minority. If he was Caucasian, I do not think that his study would have gone so easily.

Blog #12: Enabling beyond-surface interactions for interactive surface with an invisible projection

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Blog #11: Multitoe

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Blog : Ethnography - Week 1 Results : Quidditch

Group:
Daniel Aninag
Xandrix Baluyot
Will Hausman
Jonathan Wiese

Discussion:

The next time we visited the Quidditch group was on Sunday, September 18.  On that day, the players had their second intramural scrimmage. The turnout was roughly about 50 people. The gender ratio was around 50/50 for guys and girls. For the scrimmage, the people would to have had their dues paid and submit which position they prefer; seeker, beater, chaser, or keeper. The leaders will temporarily assign people into teams and try to keep the balance of types of position in each team. Eventually, next Sunday, they will hold the official Sorting Ceremony, where players will be assorted to a respective House: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff.

It was a busy day with a high turnout. There were a few spectators present as well. I only talked to a few people because everyone was busy with the scrimmage. I talked to several of the viewers and a few of the players when they took a break. I found out that quite a bit of the players trying out were freshmen and sophomores. As expected, many of them are hardcore fans of the books. What surprised me was that some of them had been playing the sport since high school. Back when I was in high school, I would not have even imagined that to be possible. The influence of the Harry Potter books and its fan base is impressive. I will try to get more interviews when I go to their intercollegiate practice this coming Wednesday.

Blog : Ethnography - First Results: Quidditch

Group:
Daniel Aninag
Xandrix Baluyot
Will Hausman
Jonathan Wiese

Discussion:

Due to time constraints and other arrangements, I was only able to meet with the Quidditch team for the one hour practice this Wednesday evening. The Quidditch team meets on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 6:00 p.m. on the Simpson Drill Field and on Sundays at around 3:00 p.m. I arrived at the field at approximately 5:40 p.m. and I already found a large number of people on the field, next to the Quidditch shaped goalposts. Many of them were doing stretches and practice laps around the field. A couple of others were tossing a ball around back and forth.

I met a group member sitting on the grass, next to the sidewalk. I approached him and told him about this assignment. He then pointed me to the current Quidditch president, Drew. I went to talk to him and tell him about the ethnography assignment. He was nice and accepted me to watching them play Quidditch. He was open to any questions I had throughout the practice. At 6:00 p.m., around 30 people were there to play Quidditch. I was a bit surprised at the number of people there. I, originally, thought that only around 10 to 15 people would be interested in Quidditch.

The game itself plays interesting. It is a combination of handball, rugby, basketball, dodge ball, and tag. The game gets pretty physical and it impressive to see how focus the players were. They kept to the drills they were assigned. They act and train like people would do for real sports. Everyone was athletic, which seems to be contradictory to me since I thought that people who would be playing a game from Harry Potter are more of a bookish cast of people. It takes a lot of endurance to keep running around while holding a broomstick between your legs and throwing and catching balls with only one hand. During the practice, two people received some minor injuries. One girl was accidentally elbowed in the eye and another hurt her knee when she was dodging someone. I got to talk to them some time later. We talk a little bit about their history with the game and the Quidditch tournaments and rulings.

Throughout the practice, I noticed that there were many passersby who stopped and watched the group. This was probably out of curiosity of seeing people playing ball with brooms between their legs. The members do not seem to mind, and I saw one member try to recruit a person who asked what they were doing. The Quidditch players are all very friendly and they did not pay much attention to all the watchers. They remained focus and played the game.

Blog : Ethnography - Prior Assessment: Quidditch

Group:

Daniel Aninag

Xandrix Baluyot
Will Hausman
Jonathan Wiese

Discussion:

For the Ethnography assignment, I have selected the Texas A&M Quidditch group. They are students who simulate and play the fictional sport of Quidditch from the Harry Potter book series. The reason I chose the Quidditch group is because I was curious about the people who would want to try and bring the sport into reality. This fits the criteria for the assignment.

As for my expectations, I believe that interaction with the group would not be too difficult. I perceive that people who would play a fictional sport from a fantasy novel are going to be friendly. They must have love for the sport and the book, if they want to play and share their time with other people. So far, I plan to integrate myself into the group as an observer. I believe this would be an easier method to observing the group than participating. However, I do plan on talking with the members and spend time with them during their activities. Joining the Quidditch group directly would be nice; however, I do not know if I would be able to study the group properly in this manner. Playing Quidditch alongside them may help establish friendships, but it can also reduce time for observations and interviews when we are busy with practice and games.

When approaching the group, I think it would be best to be forward about the reason for being there. I would tell them that I would be doing this for a class. If the people are friendly, they should not find it to be a problem. This would allow us to sit on the side and watch. This way, they will understand why we are there and can stay out of the way if they need to practice. They might even be interested about the study or what we may do with it. It may even be a topic for conversation that can lead to exploring each other’s majors or studies. The people in Quidditch should be composed of a diverse group of students.

 For prior perceptions, I find it weird for people to try and play a magic game from a fantasy novel, especially when reality is void of magic and flight. I think that many of the people who will be there are a group of nerds and fans of the novels out to have fun. This is my reasoning to why they are playing Quidditch in the first place. They might choose to hang about and enjoy other activities or talk about other things during their practice times. I would not label these people as weird, but I would like to see each of their reasons for getting into this game. I think that many of the members may come from different backgrounds instead of similar backgrounds because Harry Potter was a very influential book to many of us growing up.

Blog #10: Sensing foot gestures from the pocket

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Blog #9: Jogging over a distance between Europe and Australia

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Blog #8: Gesture search

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Blog #7: Performance optimizations of virtual keyboards for stroke-based text entry on a touch-based tabletop

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Blog #1: Imaginary Interfaces

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Blog #0: On Computers

Do plants have souls? This question was raised by Aristotle in the article On Plants. Are souls only bound to living beings such as animals and humans? Aristotle mentions that if one has a soul, it reacts to sensation and desire. Plants, however, are shown to react to stimuli and follow many of the properties that living creatures do. So does this attribute to plants containing souls?

In his article, Aristotle draws many parallels that plants share with living creatures. Both beings require nourishment to sustain life. Plants and animals reproduce with separated male and female members. They grow over time and their offspring move and travel. In addition, many plants vary in type, shape, and function based on its environment, similar to animals. Aristotle also notes that plants require complex compositions from the earth to create and grow. Considering the above, what makes plants less than a human?

A plant has no mind for free will and understanding. This may be the primary reasoning behind why many people view plants more inanimate than animate. Now, look at today's modern computers. They are inanimate objects. Produced in a factory, assembled by man. Unlike plants, they do not need to feed or reproduce. Computers do not worry about survival. They are less alive than plants are.

However, computers are able to choose and understand. With many advances in modern technology in the field of Artificial Intelligence, computers are seemingly closer to replicating the process of the human mind. Given software, computers may be able to recognize speech patterns and respond accordingly. They are also able to calculate things such as risk-rewards based on given input.

Some may argue that computers do not really understand the input they are given. They only select the output by following given instructions from a software and act accordingly based on the input. But who is to say that the human brain does not work like that? Scientists have yet to completely figure out how the brain functions. It could be that our brain stores instructions and data through lessons and when given an input, it searches the storage for what to do. Wouldn't that be similar to how a computer functions?

Plants act closer to humans because of their actions to survive, but they do not have a mind for understanding. Is it possible for it to have a soul without the mind? How about computers? They are capable of processing and understanding inputs, like the human mind. If that is what attributes humans to have souls, then maybe computers may have souls.

Introduction Blog Assignment #-1

Name: Daniel Aninag
Email: ani2175dan[at]gmail.com
Standing: 4th Year Senior

As most students who generally take this class, I enrolled because it was one of the choices offered on my degree plan. I do not bring much experience to this class, but I am looking forward to gaining some as we work together through this semester.

In ten years, I see my self working on designing manufacturing hardware for computers and electronic devices. The next technological advancement in computer science would be projected and interact-able user interfaces, like seen in the movie Minority Report.

If I could travel back in time, I would probably would have liked to meet president JFK. It would be interesting to talk about how he felt and what thought during the Cuban Missile Crisis, with the world almost at nuclear war.

My favorite shoes would be any pair that I am currently wearing. I like them because they fit, and I can walk in them. Nothing too special.

If I could be fluent in any language, it would probably be Tagalog or Chinese. Tagalog would primarily be for communicating with my parents and other relatives in their native language. I would like to be fluent in Chinese because many important industries and business are involved with China.

Some facts about me. I was born and raised in Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. I lived there until 1998. That is when I moved to Florida for my elementary years all the way through 6th grade. I moved to Texas because that is where my father found a job, and I've lived here since.