Abstract
HEART RATE VARIABILITY OF ADOPTA VIDEO GAME PLAYER TYPES: COMPETITOR AND STRATEGIST
Yin Mun Fei. and James Mountstephens*
ABSTRACT
Video game players may be categorised according to their preferences and play style. Competitors are known to enjoy active and often aggressive challenge whereas strategists prefer calmer tests of planning and intellect. Knowing a given player?s type may be useful in developing games that adapt to their preferences in real time in order to maximise enjoyment. Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is a physiological measure that may be able to transparently determine both a player?s type and their current level of enjoyment. This exploratory work attempts to identify patterns in the HRV of two significant player types associated with enjoyment and dislike of the playing experience. 10 Players were categorised as either competitor or strategist using the ADOPTA play styles questionnaire. HRV of these players was measured when playing games that they like and dislike and clear patterns in the NN20 and NN50 measures of HRV were seen. Both profiles demonstrated significantly lower HRV when playing games they dislike, which is consistent with the literature where low HRV is associated with stress. Competitors, being a more spontaneous and flowing type of gamer, displayed generally higher HRV than strategists. These findings will be utilised in an adaptive gaming system in the near future.
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