Cognitive assessment games attempt to improve cognitive assessment's experience and data quality by implementing game-like features, e.g., points and narratives. However, cognitive games maintain the repetitiveness and restricted control common in traditional cognitive assessment tasks, which thwart players' sense of control and impair their motivation and experience. Leading to only modest improvements over traditional tasks. To demonstrate the value of designing cognitive games that facilitate a sense of control, we created and evaluated the infinite runner game Tunnel Runner. In two studies ($n_1$=117, $n_2$=121), we assessed the validity of the game’s cognitive measurements (inhibitory control, decision-making) against traditional cognitive tasks. Our results demonstrate Tunnel Runner’s valid and reliable cognitive measurements alongside substantial improvements to players’ experience and sense of control compared to the cognitive tasks, showcasing the feasibility and benefits of cognitive games designed to facilitate players’ sense of control.
doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642418
Recent advances in language processing and speech recognition open up a large opportunity for video game companies to embrace voice interaction as an intuitive feature and appealing game mechanics. However, speech-based systems still remain liable to recognition errors. These add a layer of challenge on top of the game's existing obstacles, preventing players from reaching their goals and thus often resulting in player frustration. This work investigates a novel method called context-aware speech recognition, where the game environment and actions are used as supplementary information to enhance recognition in a speech-based game. In a between-subject user study (N=40), we compared our proposed method with a standard method in which recognition is based only on the voice input without taking context into account. Our results indicate that our proposed method could improve the player experience and the usability of the speech system.
doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642426
Many interactive systems that support tabletop games either augment the experience with additional elements or transform game components into digital counterparts, e.g., using mixed reality. However, as many users prefer tangible game elements, digital augmentations can disrupt the immersion they seek to enhance, often due to the complexity of the hardware used. Responding to this challenge, we designed a screenless interactive tabletop system with capacitive sensing. The system is suitable for novice players and provides automatic score-keeping. Our method eliminates the need for external sensors and retains all original game pieces intact. We evaluated our system in a study with a forest planting game (n = 20). Gameplay with our system exhibited shorter turn duration, and participants adopted more effective strategies than in traditional gameplay. These results underscore the potential of screenless interactive tabletops to amplify the gaming experience without causing distractions.
doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642654
To achieve high performance in esports, players must be able to effectively and efficiently control input devices such as a computer mouse and keyboard (i.e., input skills). Characterizing and quantifying a player’s input skills can provide useful insights, but collecting and analyzing sufficient amounts of data in ecologically valid settings remains a challenge. Targeting the popular esports game, League of Legends, we go beyond the limitations of previous studies and demonstrate a holistic pipeline of input behavior analysis: from quantifying the quality of players’ input behavior (i.e., input skill) to training players based on the analysis. Based on interviews with five top-tier professionals and analysis of input behavior logs from 4,835 matches played freely at home collected from 193 players (including 18 professionals), we confirmed that players with higher ranks in the game implement eight different input skills with higher quality. In a three-week follow-up study using a training aid that visualizes a player’s input skill levels, we found that the analysis provided players with actionable lessons, potentially leading to meaningful changes in their input behavior.
doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642588
Toxicity is pervasive in online multiplayer games, exposing players to disruptive and harmful behaviours. Players employ various approaches to cope with exposure to toxicity; however, game designers and researchers lack guidance on how to implement coping support within games. In this paper, we first conduct a formative study to collect a comprehensive list of coping approaches from toxicity literature and use affinity mapping to identify overarching game-based coping strategies. Then, we report findings from a survey (n = 85) on players’ experiences with toxicity, how they employ the identified coping strategies, how games support coping, and their general coping styles. Our paper contributes a framework for coping strategies to deal with game-based toxicity and provides insights into the prevalence of these strategies among players and factors that affect their usage and effectiveness. These findings can be used to guide better in-game tools that help players mitigate the harm caused by toxicity.
doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642523