Mikko Salminen

Spatial Presence and Emotions during Video Game Playing: Does It Matter with Whom You Play?

The authors examined whether the nature of the opponent (computer, friend, or stranger) influences spatial presence, emotional responses, and threat and challenge appraisals when playing video games. In a within-subjects design, participants played two different video games against a computer, a friend, and a stranger. In addition to self-report ratings, cardiac interbeat intervals (IBIs) and facial electromyography (EMG) were measured to index physiological arousal and emotional valence. When compared to playing against a computer, playing against another human elicited higher spatial presence, engagement, anticipated threat, post-game challenge appraisals, and physiological arousal, as well as more positively valenced emotional responses. In addition, playing against a friend elicited greater spatial presence, engagement, and self-reported and physiological arousal, as well as more positively valenced facial EMG responses, compared to playing against a stranger. The nature of the opponent influences spatial presence when playing video games, possibly through the mediating influence on arousal and attentional processes.

Phasic Emotional Reactions to Video Game Events: A Psychophysiological Investigation

We examined emotional valence- and arousal-related phasic psychophysiological responses to different video game events among 36 young adults who played Super Monkey Ball 2 (Sega Corporation, Tokyo, Japan). Event-related changes in zygomaticus major, corrugator supercilii, and orbicularis oculi electromyographic activity, skin conductance level, and cardiac interbeat intervals were recorded. Instantaneous game events elicited reliable psychophysiological responses indexing valence and arousal. A largely linear, positive dose-response relationship between rewards obtained in the game and phasic increases in arousal was revealed. The valence of the emotional response varied as a function of the players active participation (active coping). In addition, not only positive events, but also some putatively negative events elicited positively valenced arousal. The findings extend our understanding of the phasic changes in the emotional state during video games and a dynamic flow of events and action and may have several applied implications (e.g., for game design).

Emotional response patterns and sense of presence during video games: potential criterion variables for game design

We investigated the emotional response patterns and sense of presence elicited by video games with different characteristics (i.e., Tetris, Super Monkey Ball 2, Monkey Bowling 2, and James Bond 007: NightFire) among 37 undergraduates. We also examined the moderating influence of the sensation seeking and self-forgetfulness traits on the responses. Participants self-reported their emotional responses, defined in terms of joy, pleasant relaxation, anger, fear, and depressed feeling, and sense of presence. The results showed that games with different characteristics elicit differential emotional response patterns, and the engagement elicited by the games varies as a function of the Sensation Seeking trait of the player. Measuring emotional response patterns may have practical implications for game design, given that they give information on the game characteristics that maximize entertainment and pleasure, and may potentially be used in pre-testing different versions of the games.

Increased oscillatory theta activation evoked by violent digital game events

The authors examined electroencephalographic (EEG) oscillatory responses to two violent events, the player character wounding and killing an opponent character with a gun, in the digital game James Bond 007: NightFire. EEG was recorded from 25 (16 male) right-handed healthy young adults. EEG data were segmented into one 1-s baseline epoch before each event and two 1-s epochs after event onset. Power estimates (microV(2)) were derived with the fast Fourier transform (FFT) for each artefact free event. Both of the studied events evoked increased occipital theta (4-6Hz) responses as compared to the pre-event baseline. The wounding event evoked also increased occipital high theta (6-8Hz) response and the killing event evoked low alpha (8-10Hz) asymmetry over the central electrodes, both relative to the pre-event baseline. The results are discussed in light of facial electromyographic and electrodermal activity responses evoked by these same events, and it is suggested that the reported EEG responses may be attributable to affective processes related to these violent game events.

Social Interaction in Games: Measuring Physiological Linkage and Social Presence

Psychophysiological methodology has been successfully applied to investigate media responses, including the experience of playing digital games. The approach has many benefits for a player experience assessment—it can provide detailed, unbiased, and time-accurate data without interrupting the gameplay. However, gaming can be a highly social activity. This article extends the methodological focus from single player to include multiple simultaneous players. A physiological metric for investigating social experience within a shared gaming context is introduced: Physiological linkage is measured by gathering simultaneous psychophysiological measurements from several players. The authors review how physiological linkage may be associated with social presence among participants in various gaming situations or social contexts. These metrics provide such information about the interaction among participants that is not currently available by any other method. The authors discuss various measures used to calculate linkage, the related social processes, and how to use physiological linkage in game experience research.Psychophysiological methodology has been successfully applied to investigate media responses, including the experience of playing digital games. The approach has many benefits for a player experien...

Oscillatory brain responses evoked by video game events: the case of super monkey ball 2.

Electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded while the subjects played a video game where the player had to steer a monkey into a goal while collecting bananas for extra points and had to avoid falling off the edge of the game board. Each of these three studied events evoked differential EEG oscillatory changes. Picking up bananas evoked decreased theta activation on central electrodes, decreased high alpha activation on frontal electrodes, and increased beta activation on frontal electrodes. Falling off the game board evoked decreased central theta activation and increased fronto-central beta activation. Reaching the goal evoked increased theta activation on parietal electrodes, increased low alpha activation on frontal electrodes, increased high alpha activation on frontal, central, and parietal electrodes, and increased beta activation on frontal and central electrodes. It is suggested that the EEG oscillations evoked by picking up bananas reflect increased cortical activation and arousal; the oscillations evoked by falling off the edge of the game board reflect motor functions; and the oscillations evoked by reaching the goal reflect a relaxed state. Thus, EEG may turn out to be a valuable tool when examining psychological responses to video game events.

A Mobile System and Application for Facilitating Emotional Awareness in Knowledge Work Teams

In this paper we present a prototype of a mobile system and application for enhancing emotional awareness in knowledge work teams. The prototype gathers emotional, social and informal information on a group of users explicitly and implicitly. The advantages of using the prototype are expected to be increased emotional awareness within group possibly leading to positive effects on group performance.

Virtual Character Facial Expressions Influence Human Brain and Facial EMG Activity in a Decision-Making Game

We examined the effects of the emotional facial expressions of a virtual character (VC) on human frontal electroencephalographic (EEG) asymmetry (putatively indexing approach/withdrawal motivation), facial electromyographic (EMG) activity (emotional expressions), and social decision making (cooperation/defection). In a within-subjects design, the participants played the Iterated Prisoners Dilemma game with VCs with different dynamic facial expressions (predefined or dependent on the participants electrodermal and facial EMG activity). In general, VC facial expressions elicited congruent facial muscle activity. However, both frontal EEG asymmetry and facial EMG activity elicited by an angry VC facial expression varied as a function of preceding interactional events (human collaboration/defection). Pre-decision inner emotional-motivational processes and emotional facial expressions were dissociated, suggesting that human goals influence pre-decision frontal asymmetry, whereas display rules may affect (pre-decision) emotional expressions in human-VC interaction. An angry VC facial expression, high pre-decision corrugator EMG activity, and relatively greater left frontal activation predicted the participants decision to defect. Both post-decision frontal asymmetry and facial EMG activity were related to reciprocal cooperation. The results suggest that the justifiability of VC emotional expressions and the perceived fairness of VC actions influence human emotional responses.

Psychophysiological responses to digital media: frontal EEG alpha asymmetry during newspaper reading on a tablet versus print

This paper reports the frontal electroencephalographic (EEG) alpha asymmetry, an index of approach/withdrawal motivation, during natural reading of a newspaper on the traditional print medium and a tablet computer. The moderating influences of dispositional behavioral activation system (BAS) and behavioral inhibition system (BIS) sensitivities, demographics, and reading style on frontal asymmetry were examined. Reading the print newspaper induced relatively greater left frontal cortical activation, suggesting higher approach motivation during reading on paper than on a tablet in the presence of moderating effects of personality, reading style, and level of experience with a tablet. In general, higher scores of Drive and Fun Seeking were associated with higher frontal asymmetry when reading on print than on a tablet. Reading style showed also a moderating effect on frontal EEG asymmetry; focused readers experienced greater approach motivation towards the print newspaper. A higher experience with a tablet predicted a lower approach motivation in the tablet reading condition than in the print reading condition. The results show that dispositional BAS sensitivities, reading style, and level of experience with a tablet have moderating influences on approach motivation elicited during reading on digital media, and thus, these human factors should be taken into account when designing interfaces for newspaper applications.

A Mobile and Desktop Application for Enhancing Group Awareness in Knowledge Work Teams

In this paper we present a first prototype for a mobile and desktop system and application for enhancing group awareness in knowledge work teams. The prototype gathers information from the interactions of the group within the application and analyses it. Results are displayed to members of the group as key indexes describing the activity of the group as a whole and the individual members of the group. The advantages of using the prototype are expected to be increased awareness within group possibly leading to positive effects on group performance.