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Cognitive Psychology Applied to User Experience in Video Games
... Games, as is the case with other media, is a genre of entertainment that have long been concerned with ethics due to the potential for the medium to influence consumers [34,34,63,73]. There have been many discussions regarding ethics in game development, ranging from game content and exposing players to violence [43,66,76] to the role that games can play as vehicles to inspire reflection and thought [41,55,62,64]. ...
... Games, as is the case with other media, is a genre of entertainment that have long been concerned with ethics due to the potential for the medium to influence consumers [34,34,63,73]. There have been many discussions regarding ethics in game development, ranging from game content and exposing players to violence [43,66,76] to the role that games can play as vehicles to inspire reflection and thought [41,55,62,64]. ...
... In her GDC talk, Celia Hodent warned that there is a lack of understanding of how design decisions may be impacting users' purchasing habits. These "dark patterns", as she referred to them, include guilt tripping players into paying to make a character happy, or making it difficult to play for free [34]. ...
In recent years, the games industry has made a major move towards data-driven development, using data analytics and player modeling to inform design decisions. Data-driven techniques are beneficial as they allow for the study of player behavior at scale, making them very applicable to modern digital game development. However, with this move towards data driven decision-making comes a number of ethical concerns. Previous work in player modeling as well as work in the fields of AI and machine learning have demonstrated several ways in which algorithmic decision-making can be flawed due to data or algorithmic bias or lack of data from specific groups. Further, black box algorithms create a trust problem due to lack of interpretability and transparency of the results or models developed based on the data, requiring blind faith in the results. In this position paper, we discuss several factors affecting the use of game data in the development cycle. In addition to issues raised by previous work, we also raise issues with algorithms marginalizing certain player groups and flaws in the resulting models due to their inability to reason about situational factors affecting players' decisions. Further, we outline some work that seeks to address these problems and identify some open problems concerning ethics and game data science.
... Games, as is the case with other media, is a genre of entertainment that have long been concerned with ethics due to the potential for the medium to influence consumers [34,34,63,73]. There have been many discussions regarding ethics in game development, ranging from game content and exposing players to violence [43,66,76] to the role that games can play as vehicles to inspire reflection and thought [41,55,62,64]. ...
... Games, as is the case with other media, is a genre of entertainment that have long been concerned with ethics due to the potential for the medium to influence consumers [34,34,63,73]. There have been many discussions regarding ethics in game development, ranging from game content and exposing players to violence [43,66,76] to the role that games can play as vehicles to inspire reflection and thought [41,55,62,64]. ...
... In her GDC talk, Celia Hodent warned that there is a lack of understanding of how design decisions may be impacting users' purchasing habits. These "dark patterns", as she referred to them, include guilt tripping players into paying to make a character happy, or making it difficult to play for free [34]. ...
In recent years, the games industry has made a major move towards data-driven development, using data analytics and player modeling to inform design decisions. Data-driven techniques are beneficial as they allow for the study of player behavior at scale, making them very applicable to modern digital game development. However, with this move towards data driven decision-making comes a number of ethical concerns. Previous work in player modeling [45] as well as work in the fields of AI and machine learning [9, 53] have demonstrated several ways in which algorithmic decision-making can be flawed due to data or algorithmic bias or lack of data from specific groups. Further, black box algorithms create a trust problem due to lack of interpretability and transparency of the results or models developed based on the data, requiring blind faith in the results. In this position paper, we discuss several factors affecting the use of game data in the development cycle. In addition to issues raised by previous work, we also raise issues with algorithms marginalizing certain player groups and flaws in the resulting models due to their inability to reason about situational factors affecting players' decisions. Further, we outline some work that seeks to address these problems and identify some open problems concerning ethics and game data science. CCS CONCEPTS • Human-centered computing → Visualization.
... Na experiência das pessoas, não se pode descurar a forma como os utilizadores acedem ao Contudo, alguns autores (Hodent, 2015;Sarsenbayeva et al., 2017;Tigwell, Flatla, et al., 2018b) referem-se ao termo SVI na perspetiva de estudar situações nas quais a visão do utilizador é comprometida por ambientes externos, independentes da sua condição visual. Também, existem autores que intitulam esta dificuldade como Deficiências induzidas pelas situações (SIIDs) (Saulynas et al., 2017;Tigwell et al., 2019). ...
A Ria de Aveiro é utilizada por inúmeros navegadores para diversas finalidades tais como o turismo, a pesca e a cultura. Navegar no mar ou num rio exige uma maior atenção e interpretação dos eventuais perigos iminentes comparativamente à condução de um carro. No caso concreto da Ria de Aveiro, a falta de boias de sinalização - responsáveis por indicar a zona navegável dos canais - e a variação da altura da maré fazem parte dos principais desafios para quem navega neste plano de água. Para além disso, as aplicações móveis atualmente disponíveis no mercado que utilizam cartografias, não mapeiam adequadamente, quer ao nível dos contornos dos canais, quer no que diz respeito à respetiva batimetria, imensas zonas da Ria de Aveiro que têm um potencial de navegação (em determinadas condições de maré) fantástico. Acresce a esta problemática o facto de que, quando são utilizados dispositivos móveis (tal como se pretende no projeto de investigação ao qual este mestrado está associado), estes geralmente não têm ecrãs com brilho e contraste suficiente para a utilização de mapas em ambientes exteriores e marítimos influenciados pela luz solar. O estudo em torno do fenómeno Situational Visual Impairments (SVI), por um lado, analisa a forma como a interação com um produto pode ser afetada pelo cenário/ambiente de uso e, por outro lado, pretende promover o design das interfaces de forma apropriada ao ambiente de utilização do website. O presente estudo, pretende colmatar as lacunas referidas através do desenvolvimento de uma solução tecnológica de apoio à navegação segura em águas interiores influenciadas pela variação das condições de maré. Neste contexto, os trajetos que os utilizadores podem fazer são, aquando da sua simulação, aumentados com uma escala cromática que identifica as respetivas condições de navegabilidade. Para além disso, deu-se outro passo a este nível, com a inclusão de limitadores e boias virtuais que permitem identificar os limites navegáveis de cada canal da ria. De forma a maximizar o acesso, em ambientes marítimos, à informação disponibilizada pelo website responsivo desenvolvido realizaram-se Guerrilla Tests, no sentido de melhorar a experiência dos navegadores da Ria de Aveiro.
Ria de Aveiro has different purposes for countless navigators, such as tourism, fishing and culture. Sailing on the sea or the river requires greater attention and interpretation due to the imminent dangers that arise when compared to driving a car. The lack of signal buoys - responsible for indicating the navigable area of the channel - and the variance of tidal height in certain places of the Ria de Aveiro are part of the main challenges for those navigating on the ria. Furthermore, the mobile applications using cartographies currently available on the market, do not map appropriately, either in terms of channel contours or concerning the extensive areas of the ria with great navigation potential (under certain tidal conditions). In addition to this problem, when visualizing outdoor maps and maritime environments in mobile devices (a requirement of the research project to which this Master’s degree is associated) without adequate brightness and contrast - influenced by sunlight –, difficulties arise and impair reading and access to essential information for navigation. The study around the phenomenon of Situational Visual Impairments (SVI), on one hand, analyses how the interaction with a product can be affected by the scenario/environment of use and, on the other hand, intends to promote the design of appropriate contents for the website's context of use. Aiming to fill these gaps, this study developed a technological solution to support safer navigation in inland waters influenced by the variation of tidal conditions. The sailable routes are augmented with a colour scale that clarifies the navigability conditions, and limiters were included to aid the identification of the navigable limits of each channel of the Ria. Moreover, to enhance the access to the application’s information in maritime environments, Guerrilla tests were carried out to improve the experience of the Ria de Aveiro’s navigators through the responsive website developed.
Recently, digital games are used as a form of new media with massive potential for learning the English language. To understand the typology of user experiences with digital games, the presence-involvement-flow framework (PIFF) was utilized. A series of semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten tertiary students in Northern Malaysia. Participants were asked to download and familiarize five digital language games (Duolingo, Memrise, Word Connect, Word Domination, and Word Tower Puzzles) before the interviews. Thematic analysis technique was used to analyze the responses. The study’s thematic network comprises four global themes (game structure, feelings, skills gained, and prerequisites) and seven organizing themes (instruction, game design, positive emotional outcome, negative emotional outcome, soft skills, technical skills, and skills required). The result is expected to be a good guideline or research framework for practitioners and researchers in exploring further the concept of user experience with English language digital games.
Heuristics have become an accepted and widely used adjunct method of usability evaluation in Internet and software development. This report introduces Heuristic Evaluation for Playability (HEP), a comprehensive set of heuristics for playability, based on the literature on productivity and playtesting heuristics that were specifically tailored to evaluate video, computer, and board games. These heuristics were tested on an evolving game design to assess their face validity and evaluation effectiveness compared to more standard user testing methodologies. The results suggest that HEP identified qualitative similarities and differences with user testing and that HEP is best suited for evaluating general issues in the early development phases with a prototype or mock-up. Combined with user studies, HEP offers a new method for the HCI game community that can result in a more usable and playable game.
This presentation reviews some of the psychological research on learning by doing and discusses the role that learning-by-doing approaches can play in education and training. It includes a discussion of the author's implementations of this approach and the lessons learned from these implementations. Improved forms of learning by doing now can be supported by information technologies, and there are prospects for extensions to group learning by doing and group learning from examples in the near future.
I: Background.- 1. An Introduction.- 2. Conceptualizations of Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination.- II: Self-Determination Theory.- 3. Cognitive Evaluation Theory: Perceived Causality and Perceived Competence.- 4. Cognitive Evaluation Theory: Interpersonal Communication and Intrapersonal Regulation.- 5. Toward an Organismic Integration Theory: Motivation and Development.- 6. Causality Orientations Theory: Personality Influences on Motivation.- III: Alternative Approaches.- 7. Operant and Attributional Theories.- 8. Information-Processing Theories.- IV: Applications and Implications.- 9. Education.- 10. Psychotherapy.- 11. Work.- 12. Sports.- References.- Author Index.
Arien Mack and Irvin Rock make the radical claim that there is no conscious perception of the visual world without attention to it.
Many people believe that merely by opening their eyes, they see everything in their field of view; in fact, a line of psychological research has been taken as evidence of the existence of so-called preattentional perception. In Inattentional Blindness, Arien Mack and Irvin Rock make the radical claim that there is no such thing—that there is no conscious perception of the visual world without attention to it.
The authors present a narrative chronicle of their research. Thus, the reader follows the trail that led to the final conclusions, learning why initial hypotheses and explanations were discarded or revised, and how new questions arose along the way. The phenomenon of inattentional blindness has theoretical importance for cognitive psychologists studying perception, attention, and consciousness, as well as for philosophers and neuroscientists interested in the problem of consciousness.
Bradford Books imprint
Early user interface (UI) practitioners were trained in cognitive psychology, from which UI design rules were based. But as the field has evolved since the publication of the first edition of this book, designers enter the field from many disciplines. Practitioners today have enough experience in UI design that they have been exposed to design rules, but it is essential that they understand the psychology behind the rules in order to effectively apply them. In this completely updated and revised edition, Jeff Johnson provides you with just enough background in perceptual and cognitive psychology that UI design guidelines make intuitive sense rather than being just a list or rules to follow. In this completely updated edition, you'll find new chapters on human choice & decision making and hand-eye coordination & attention, as well as new examples, figures, and explanations throughout.
Anyone can master the fundamentals of game design - no technological expertise is necessary. The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses shows that the same basic principles of psychology that work for board games, card games and athletic games also are the keys to making top-quality videogames. Good game design happens when you view your game from many different perspectives, or lenses. While touring through the unusual territory that is game design, this book gives the reader one hundred of these lenses - one hundred sets of insightful questions to ask yourself that will help make your game better. These lenses are gathered from fields as diverse as psychology, architecture, music, visual design, film, software engineering, theme park design, mathematics, writing, puzzle design, and anthropology. Anyone who reads this book will be inspired to become a better game designer - and will understand how to do it.
More Americans now play video games than go to the movies (NPD Group, 2009). The meteoric rise in popularity of video games highlights the need for research approaches that can deepen our scientific understanding of video game engagement. This article advances a theory-based motivational model for examining and evaluating the ways by which video game engagement shapes psychological processes and influences well-being. Rooted in self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000; Ryan & Deci, 2000a), our approach suggests that both the appeal and well-being effects of video games are based in their potential to satisfy basic psychological needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness. We review recent empirical evidence applying this perspective to a number of topics including need satisfaction in games and short-term well-being, the motivational appeal of violent game content, motivational sources of postplay aggression, the antecedents and consequences of disordered patterns of game engagement, and the determinants and effects of immersion. Implications of this model for the future study of game motivation and the use of video games in interventions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This paper is concerned with some of the factors that determine the difficulty of material that needs to be learned. It is suggested that when considering intellectual activities, schema acquisition and automation are the primary mechanisms of learning. The consequences of cognitive load theory for the structuring of information in order to reduce difficulty by focusing cognitive activity on schema acquisition is briefly summarized. It is pointed out that cognitive load theory deals with learning and problem solving difficulty that is artificial in that it can be manipulated by instructional design. Intrinsic cognitive load in contrast, is constant for a given area because it is a basic component of the material. Intrinsic cognitive load is characterized in terms of element interactivity. The elements of most schemas must be learned simultaneously because they interact and it is the interaction that is critical. If, as in some areas, interactions between many elements must be learned, then intrinsic cognitive load will be high. In contrast, in different areas, if elements can be learned successively rather than simultaneously because they do not interact, intrinsic cognitive load will be low. It is suggested that extraneous cognitive load that interferes with learning only is a problem under conditions of high cognitive load caused by high element interactivity. Under conditions of low element interactivity, re-designing instruction to reduce extraneous cognitive load may have no appreciable consequences. In addition, the concept of element interactivity can be used to explain not only why some material is difficult to learn but also, why it can be difficult to understand. Understanding becomes relevant when high element interactivity material with a naturally high cognitive load must be learned.
Although player enjoyment is central to computer games, there is currently no accepted model of player enjoyment in games. There are many heuristics in the literature, based on elements such as the game interface, mechanics, gameplay, and narrative. However, there is a need to integrate these heuristics into a validated model that can be used to design, evaluate, and understand enjoyment in games. We have drawn together the various heuristics into a concise model of enjoyment in games that is structured by flow. Flow, a widely accepted model of enjoyment, includes eight elements that, we found, encompass the various heuristics from the literature. Our new model, GameFlow, consists of eight elements -- concentration, challenge, skills, control, clear goals, feedback, immersion, and social interaction. Each element includes a set of criteria for achieving enjoyment in games. An initial investigation and validation of the GameFlow model was carried out by conducting expert reviews of two real-time strategy games, one high-rating and one low-rating, using the GameFlow criteria. The result was a deeper understanding of enjoyment in real-time strategy games and the identification of the strengths and weaknesses of the GameFlow model as an evaluation tool. The GameFlow criteria were able to successfully distinguish between the high-rated and low-rated games and identify why one succeeded and the other failed. We concluded that the GameFlow model can be used in its current form to review games; further work will provide tools for designing and evaluating enjoyment in games.
A well designed game is providing players genuine feeling of pleasure and happiness or place them in their Flow Zone with a discussion on improving any interactive experience associated with end-user technology. Eight major components of flow are identified in the video games, including- a challenging activity requiring skill, a merging of action and awareness, clear goals, direct, immediate feedback, concentration on the task, a sense of control, a loss of self consciousness, and an altered sense of time. The game should reflect the right balance between challenge and ability to keep players inside the Flow Zone, and the game designers should avoid the counterproductive situations by embedding the player's choice in the core activities of the interactive experience.
Usability inspection is the generic name for a set of costeffective ways of evaluating user interfaces to find usability problems. They are fairly informal methods and easy to use.
Developing UX practices at Epic games. Presented at the 2014 game developers conference Europe
- C Hodent
Untersuchungen zur Lehre der Gestalt II Translation published as Laws of organization in perceptual forms
- M Wertheimer
Gorillas in our midst: sustained inattentional blindness for dynamic events
- D J Simons
- C F Chabris
- DJ Simons
5 misconceptions about UX (User Experience) in video games
- C Hodent