The paper discusses the results of a case study on the effect of players' facial responses when playing a casual game. In order to do so, it measures the facial responses in casual games by recording facial EMG and analyzing players' facial expressions using FACS. It investigates which one of the two measurements is more effective to measure emotional responses in casual games. The results of this case study show that playing a casual game causes the players to respond with both facial expressions and facial EMG activity and that both measurements are needed in order to get a good understanding of the players' emotional responses to casual game events.
Psychophysiological measurements have so far been used to express player experience quantitatively in game genres such as shooter games and race games. However, these methods have not yet been applied to casual video games. From a development point of view, games developed in the casual sector of the games industry are characterized by very short production cycles which make them ill-suited for complex and lengthy psychophysiological testing regimes. This paper discusses some methodological innovations that lead to the application of psychophysiological measurements to enhance the design of a commercially released casual game for the Apple iPad, called 'Gua-Le-Ni'; or, The Horrendous Parade'. The game was tested in different stages of its development to dry-run a cycle of design improvements derived from psychophysiological data. The tests looked at the correlation between stress levels and the contraction of facial muscles with in-game performance in order to establish whether 'Gua-Le-Ni' offered the cognitive challenge, the learning curve, and the enjoyment the designers had in mind for this product. In this paper, we discuss the changes that were made to the game and the data-analysis that led to these changes.
Games zijn bedoeld voor vermaak, maar we kunnen ze ook opvatten als een vorm van cultuur. Ze vertellen iets over de samenleving waarin ze zijn gemaakt: al dan niet met opzet komen er via de verbeelding van de makers opvattingen over de samenleving in games terecht. Games zetten op hun beurt aan tot verbeelding, waardoor gamers zich mogelijk gestimuleerd voelen na te denken over die samenleving. Toch is het aannemelijk dat gamers daar weinig voor voelen, omdat dit een plezierige ervaring in de weg kan staan. Maar gamers blijken wel degelijk geneigd tot reflectie op de wereld om ons heen, over het leven, over goed en kwaad. Ruim driekwart van de gamers uit dit onderzoek zegt dat wel eens te doen. Tegen de verwachting is daarbij geen verschil te zien tussen reguliere gamers en professionals, zoals reviewers en game designers. Verondersteld werd dat die laatstgenoemden zich beroepsmatig vaker aangezet voelen tot reflectie op de wereld om ons heen. Vaker dan verwacht blijken gamers een kunstervaring te ondergaan bij het spelen van games. In de context van deze studie wil dat zeggen dat die spelers ‘tussen de regels door’ commentaar op de spel- en verhaalgebeurtenissen hebben opgemerkt, dat hen aan het denken zette over de wereld. Daarbij was geen verschil te zien tussen mainstream games en indiegames. De verwachting dat de meeste gamers vooral de bijzondere vormgeving van games noemen als reden om ze als kunst te bestempelen is ten slotte wel bevestigd. Dit laat meteen ook het verschil zien tussen de gangbare esthetische kunstopvatting en wat ik in deze studie onder kunst versta: het ervaren van een betekenisproces dat stimuleert tot reflectie op het leven.
Evaluating player game experiences through biometric measurementsThe BD4CG (Biometric Design for Casual Games project) worked in a highly interdisciplinary context with several international partners. The aim of our project was to popularize the biometric method, which is a neuro-scientific approach to evaluating the player experience. We specifically aimed at the casual games sector, where casual games can be defined as video or web-based games with simple and accessible game mechanics, non threatening themes and generally short play sessions. Popular examples of casual games are Angry Birds and FarmVille. We focussed on this sector because it is growing fast, but its methodologies have not grown with it yet. Especially the biometrics method has so far been almost exclusively used domain by the very large game developers (such as Valve and EA). The insights and scientific output of this project have been enthusiastically embraced by the international academic arena. The aim of the grant was to focus on game producers in the casual sector, and we have done so but we also established further contacts with the game sector in general. Thirty-one outputs were generated, in the form of presentations, workshops, and accepted papers in prominent academic and industry journals in the field of game studies and game user research. Partners: University of Antwerpen, RANJ, Forward Games, Double Jungle, Realgames, Dreams of Danu, Codemasters, Dezzel, Truimph Studios, Golabi Studios
