Mcewan, Mitchell, Johnson, Daniel, Wyeth, Peta,& Blackler, Alethea (2012) Videogame Control Device Impact on the Play Experience

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McEwan, Mitchell, Johnson, Daniel, Wyeth, Peta,& Blackler, Alethea (2012) Videogame control device impact on the play experience. In Tan, C T, Walker, C, & Cermak-Sassenrath, D (Eds.) Proceedings of the 8th Australasian Conference on Interactive Entertainment: Playing the System. Association for Computing Machinery, United States of America, pp. 1-3.

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Notice: Please note that this document may not be the Version of Record (i.e. published version) of the work. Author manuscript versions (as Sub- mitted for peer review or as Accepted for publication after peer review) can be identiﬁed by an absence of publisher branding and/or typeset appear- ance. If there is any doubt, please refer to the published source. https://doi.org/10.1145/2336727.2336745 Videogame Control Device Impact on the Play Experience Mitchell McEwan Daniel Johnson Peta Wyeth Alethea Blackler GRID Lab School of EECS School of EECS School of Design School of EECS Queensland University Queensland University Queensland University Queensland University of Technology, Australia of Technology, Australia of Technology, Australia of Technology, Australia +61 7 3138 9263 +61 7 3138 2868 +61 7 3138 7030 [email protected] dm.johnson@ peta.wyeth@ a.blackler@

ABSTRACT research designed to better understand the relationship between New types of control devices for videogames have emerged and control devices, players, game genres and resultant player expanded the demographics of the game playing public, yet little experiences. is known about which populations of gamers prefer which style of Previous research investigating the impact of various control interaction and why. This paper presents data from a study that devices for games began by measuring differences in performance seeks to clarify the influence the control interface has on the play and/or preference amongst study participants [3, 4]. More recently experience. Three commercial control devices were categorised games researchers have sought to establish a way to categorise using an existing typology, according to how the interface maps different types of interfaces in order to generalise about their physical control inputs with the virtual gameplay actions. The impact. Game control interfaces have been classed by the amount devices were then used in a within-groups experimental design of body movement required for interaction [7], as well as the type aimed at measuring differences in play experience across 64 of mapping used in the interface: for example natural/realistic participants. Descriptive analysis is undertaken on the versus non-natural/symbolic [6, 10]. Skalski et al. expanded on performance, play experience and preference results for each this work by providing a typology of NMCIs, with four types each device. Potential explanations for these results are discussed, as representing a different level of natural mapping [11]. In the order well as the direction of future work. of least to most naturally mapped the NMCI types are: directional, kinesic, incomplete tangible, and realistic tangible. Categories and Subject Descriptors Directional natural mapping takes place when there is a K.8.0 [Personal Computing]: General – games. ‘correspondence’ with direction between physical control and virtual result, such as when a control stick makes a character General Terms move forward when pushed up or turn left when pushed left. Measurement, Performance, Experimentation, Human Factors. Kinesic natural mapping occurs when natural body movements are captured and translated into equivalent actions in the game world without a tangible component, as is possible with camera-

Keywords based devices such as Sony's PlayStation Eye and Microsoft's Control Device, Natural Mapping, Play Experience, Videogames. Kinect. Incomplete tangible natural mapping is when the player is provided with a physical object to manipulate that ‘partially 1. INTRODUCTION simulates’ the form of the equivalent virtual object, such as when The interaction between the player and a videogame has always using Nintendo’s Wii Remote as a racket in a tennis game. been mediated via control devices. Recently, devices have Realistic tangible natural mapping takes place when the tangible emerged that employ naturally mapped control interfaces object looks, feels and is manipulated like the real world tool (NMCIs), which take advantage of a player’s understanding of being simulated in the game, as with a spring loaded leather- objects and the actions that can be used to control them in the real bound steering-wheel controller used in a racing game [11]. world. Both traditional controls and NMCIs come in different Skalski et al. hypothesised that the realistic and tangible NMCIs forms, with variance in how tightly physical control actions can will sit at the top of the scale of perceived controller naturalness, be coupled with virtual control mechanics. Despite the rapid provide a greater sense of spatial presence, and in turn predict expansion of technologies facilitating new control devices, and videogame enjoyment [11]. Their research, testing controllers the growing pool of researchers studying games, little is known falling into different categories in their typology for both a racing about the role controls have in supporting or preventing an and a golf game, failed to fully support this hypothesis, but optimal play experience. This paper reports on an initial study that nevertheless found natural mapping to powerfully modify examines how three different types of control devices affect the responses to videogames. Other research has challenged the videogame play experience. The study forms part of a program of assumptions about body movement predicting game involvement Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for [5], highlighting the need for further work exploring the personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are relationship between NMCIs and play experience across gaming not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that contexts. copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be Games researchers are also developing instruments designed to honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, to measure people’s experience while playing videogames. Ryan et republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior al. present an approach to measuring the motivation for specific permission and/or a fee. videogame play based on the satisfaction of psychological needs IE '12, July 21 - 22 2012, Auckland, NZ, New Zealand [8, 9]. Their work is based on Cognitive Evaluation Theory Copyright 2012 ACM 978-1-4503-1410-7/12/07…$15.00.

(CET), a branch of Self Determination Theory (SDT), which implementation asked participants to think about their time argues that a person’s sense of Autonomy, Competence and playing the game with the most recently used control device and Relatedness derived from an activity support its intrinsic appeal. rate their agreement on a seven-point Likert scale between ‘1-do Two other major sub-components are added to this theory, not agree’ and ‘7-strongly agree’. Presence and Intuitive Controls (IC), to form the Player The other play experience measure used was the 33-item core Experience of Need Satisfaction (PENS), a survey instrument module of the GEQ. For the GEQ, Competence is comparable to intended to measure the satisfaction of psychological needs the PENS description, and the Tension/Annoyance and Negative determined to be integral to sustained videogame enjoyment. and Positive Affect subscales are understandable from their titles. Several studies have further developed and validated the PENS [2, The Challenge subscale includes items around effort, challenge, 8, 9]. Another model focused on measuring distinct constructs of and pressure; the Sensitive and Imaginative (S&I) Immersion play experience has been developed into the ‘Game Experience subscale around exploring, imagination and story; and the Flow Questionnaire’ (GEQ) by Ijsselsteijn et al. [1]. Based on subscale around transportation, concentration and becoming theoretical accounts of player experiences and focus group occupied with the game. The GEQ implementation asked explorations with a range of gamers, the questionnaire is designed participants to indicate how they felt when playing the game with to distinguish between seven different proposed play experience the most recent used control device and rate each item on a five constructs: Competence, Sensory and Imaginative Immersion, point scale between ‘0 – not at all’ and ‘4 – extremely’. Item order Flow, Tension/Annoyance, Challenge, Negative Affect, and for both measures was randomised upon presentation to Positive Affect. Ijsselsteijn and colleagues argue that no single participants, and the scores for each of the components calculated play experience measure or model is likely to gain consensus for as the average of its items. some time, and so advocate the use of a multi-method approach. 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 2. METHODOLOGY Race percentage complete averages for each control device 2.1 Procedure revealed that generally participants performed better with the Sixty-four participants (21 female and 43 male) voluntarily took controller (64.8%), followed by the Speed Wheel (63%) and then part in a within-groups study design aimed at testing the play the Racing Wheel (58.8%). Initial descriptive analysis has been experience impact of three control devices in the racing game undertaken on the play experience survey results, with subscale Forza Motorsport 4 (Turn 10 Studios, 2011). The study was means calculated for each control device. As shown in Figure 1, conducted with participants individually and took about an hour to the control device impact on Presence validates the order expected complete. Participant age ranged from 17 to 76, with an average for spatial presence according to the existing typology [11] – the age of 29.7 years. Each control device tested represented a more naturally mapped a device’s interface is the higher the different NMCI type: a standard Xbox 360 controller was used as average ratings of presence. A new finding for NMCIs in the an example of a directionally mapped device, the U-shaped results is that this ordering also aligns for both Autonomy and IC. accelerometer based ‘Wireless Speed Wheel for Xbox 360’ as an Generally, the more naturally mapped a device’s control interface example of a device using incomplete tangible natural mapping, is the more participants felt it satisfied their psychological need and the ‘Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel’ as an example of a for free and unconstrained choice, and the less they felt it device using realistic tangible natural mapping. interfered with their involvement in the game. The order for IC response can be partially explained, given expectations for Participants first completed a questionnaire designed to capture perceived naturalness was also part of the original typology. The relevant demographic attributes along with their familiarity with clearly ordered results for Autonomy were not expected, however, the game and control devices used in the study. Following this and potentially represent a new dimension to define the play they played a set linear track in the game with a specific car using experience impact of NMCIs. one of the control devices. Their goal was to perform as well as they could before the researcher stopped the race at four minutes and recorded their race percentage complete. Two play experience surveys were then administered before conducting an interview aimed at capturing qualitative feedback on the devices. The above process was then repeated using the remaining two control devices. The order with which participants encountered the control devices was counterbalanced within age brackets.

2.2 Measures The first play experience measure used was an 18-item version of the PENS instrument. The component of ‘relatedness’ (consisting of three items) was removed due to its lack of relevance to the gameplay of a single player racing game. A basic description of the remaining PENS components is that: Autonomy is high when the player’s freedom of choice is perceived to be voluntary and Figure 1. PENS Component Results by Control Device uninhibited; Competence is high when the player perceives their Figure 2 shows the GEQ results, with small differences for skills/abilities are being challenged and successfully Tension/Annoyance and Negative and Positive Affect. The results demonstrated; Presence is high when the mediating technologies reveal similar trends to the PENS results for game involvement disappear and the player perceives themself to be in the game measures such as Flow; the Racing Wheel scored highest (3.45), world; and Intuitive Controls (IC) is high when the controls make followed by the Speed Wheel (3.31) and then the Controller sense and do not interfere with game involvement. The PENS (3.19). The results for S&I Immersion also show the more impact of player characteristics, such as demographics and naturally mapped devices clearly scoring higher: the Speed Wheel familiarity, on the range of play experience measures taken. scored the same as the Racing Wheel (3.03), while the Controller Future work will be aimed at strengthening understanding of the elicited a lower response (2.77). play experience impacts of different NMCI types by conducting tests using emerging control devices across game genres and player populations.

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Realistic Mapping vs. might then experience lower levels of perceived competence and Symbolic Mapping: Effects of Controllers on Video Game higher levels of perceived challenge. It is also possible player Experience. Annual meeting of the Association for Education characteristics, such as familiarity with the interface, are in Journalism and Mass Communication (Denver, 2010), 1- influencing the results. 29. [11] Skalski, P., Tamborini, R., Shelton, A., Buncher, M. and 4. FUTURE WORK Lindmark, P. 2011. Mapping the road to fun: Natural video The next step for the current study is to conduct inferential game controllers, presence, and game enjoyment. New statistical analyses in order to confirm the trends and patterns Media & Society. 13, 2 (2011), 224-242. DOI= identified in this paper. Additionally, we intend to explore the 10.1177/1461444810370949.