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Measuring Engagement In Games

Posted by Soulskill on from the fun-is-in-the-eye-of-the-befragger dept.

Gamasutra is running an article written by Tim Hong of EmSense in which he describes the research his company did into the physiological reactions various games engender in players. In addition to outward cues like breathing and movement, EmSense also scans brainwaves and heart activity to provide a more complete picture of how a gamer is responding to what he sees and does. They collected hundreds of hours worth of data and made comparisons among a variety of shooters, such as Gears of War 2, F.E.A.R, and Half-Life 2. They found some interesting information on how pacing, tutorials, and cutscenes can affect a player's level of engagement with the games.

2 of 72 comments (clear)

  1. Just Shooters? by Arainach · · Score: 5, Insightful

    While this could no doubt lead to some more interesting shooter games (a welcome change since it's been a while since an FPS not made by Valve has really struck me as top-grade), I'd personally be more curious to see the difference in engagement across genres - FPS, RTS, RPG, etc. I know that I personally get much more engaged into RPGs.

    1. Re:Just Shooters? by __aamnbm3774 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The best FPS I have ever played was Quake 1.
      Mainly because internet-play was relatively new to gamers, the customizeability of every aspect of that game, and oh yea, because I was a Teenager!

      I'm not trying to rip on you, but I don't think I've played a 'fantastic' FPS since then. I'm sure the same could be said by this current generation, who play Gears of War for the first time.

      The games are still good, but you've just gotten used to them. (because you are old). Unfortunately, very few movies, even highly acclaimed ones, stir up my emotions as well. You can only do the same thing so many times before it becomes boring.