The Gamer's Brain
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
The Gamer’s Brain HOW NEUROSCIENCE AND UX CAN IMPACT VIDEO GAME DESIGN The Gamer’s Brain HOW NEUROSCIENCE AND UX CAN IMPACT VIDEO GAME DESIGN Celia Hodent CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300 Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742 © 2018 by Celia Hodent CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business No claim to original U.S. Government works Printed on acid-free paper International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-4987-7550-2 (Paperback) This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and publisher can- not assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or the consequences of their use. The authors and publishers have attempted to trace the copyright holders of all material reproduced in this publication and apologize to copyright holders if permission to publish in this form has not been obtained. If any copyright material has not been acknowledged please write and let us know so we may rectify in any future reprint. Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Law, no part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publishers. For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, please access www. copyright.com (http://www.copyright.com/) or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400. CCC is a not-for-profit organiza- tion that provides licenses and registration for a variety of users. For organizations that have been granted a photocopy license by the CCC, a separate system of payment has been arranged. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at http://www.taylorandfrancis.com and the CRC Press Web site at http://www.crcpress.com To the scientists, artists, designers, and game developer magicians out there. You never cease to inspire me. Contents Foreword xiii Author xv 1 Why You Should Care about the Gamer’s Brain 1 1.1 Disclaimer: The “Neuro-Hype” Trap .......................................................2 1.2 What This Book Is about and Who It Is for ............................................4 Part I Understanding the Brain 2 Overview about the Brain 9 2.1 Brain and Mind Myths ..............................................................................9 2.1.1 “We Only Use 10% of Our Brains” .......................................10 2.1.2 “Right-Brained People Are More Creative than Left-Brained People” ...............................................................10 2.1.3 “Men and Women Have Different Brains” ..........................11 2.1.4 Learning Styles and Teaching Styles ....................................11 2.1.5 “Video Games Are Rewiring Your Brain and Digital Natives Are Wired Differently”............................................ 12 2.2 Cognitive Biases ....................................................................................... 12 2.3 Mental Models and the Player-Centered Approach ............................15 2.4 How the Brain Works, in a Nutshell .....................................................16 vii 3 Perception 19 3.1 How Perception Works ............................................................................19 3.2 Limitations of Human Perception ........................................................ 20 3.3 Application to Games .............................................................................. 24 3.3.1 Know Your Audience ............................................................. 24 3.3.2 Playtest Your Game Regularly and Test Your Iconography ................................................................... 26 3.3.3 Use Gestalt Principles of Perception .................................. 26 3.3.4 Use Affordances ......................................................................31 3.3.5 Understand Visual Imagery and Mental Rotation .............32 3.3.6 Be Aware of the Weber–Fechner Bias .................................32 4 Memory 35 4.1 How Memory Works ................................................................................35 4.1.1 Sensory Memory .................................................................... 36 4.1.2 Short-Term Memory ...............................................................37 4.1.3 Working Memory ................................................................... 38 4.1.4 Long-Term Memory ............................................................... 40 4.2 Limitations of Human Memory ............................................................ 42 4.3 Application to Games .............................................................................. 45 4.3.1 Spacing Effect and Level Design .......................................... 46 4.3.2 Reminders ............................................................................... 48 5 Attention 51 5.1 How Attention Works ..............................................................................51 5.2 Limitations of Human Attention ...........................................................52 5.3 Application to Games ...............................................................................55 6 Motivation 59 6.1 Implicit Motivation and Biological Drives .......................................... 60 6.2 Environmental-Shaped Motivation and Learned Drives ...................61 6.2.1 Extrinsic Motivation: Of Carrots and Sticks ......................61 6.2.2 Continuous and Intermittent Rewards ............................... 63 6.3 Intrinsic Motivation and Cognitive Needs .......................................... 65 6.3.1 Undermining Effect of Extrinsic Incentives ...................... 65 6.3.2 Self-Determination Theory ................................................... 66 6.3.3 The Theory of Flow................................................................. 67 6.4 Personality and Individual Needs ......................................................... 68 6.5 Application to Games ...............................................................................70 6.6 Quick Note on the Importance of Meaning .........................................71 7 Emotion 73 7.1 When Emotion Guides Our Cognition .................................................75 7.1.1 The Influence of the Limbic System......................................75 7.1.2 The Somatic Markers Theory ................................................76 viii Contents 7.2 When Emotion “Tricks” Us ................................................................... 77 7.3 Application to Games .............................................................................. 80 8 Learning Principles 83 8.1 Behavioral Psychology Principles ......................................................... 83 8.1.1 Classical Conditioning .......................................................... 84 8.1.2 Operant Conditioning ........................................................... 84 8.2 Cognitive Psychology Principles ........................................................... 86 8.3 Constructivist Principles ........................................................................ 86 8.4 Application to Games: Learning by Doing with Meaning ................ 87 9 Understanding the Brain: Takeaway 91 9.1 Perception ................................................................................................. 92 9.2 Memory ..................................................................................................... 93 9.3 Attention ................................................................................................... 93 9.4 Motivation................................................................................................. 93 9.5 Emotion ..................................................................................................... 94 9.6 Learning principles .................................................................................. 94 Part II A UX Framework for Video Games 10 Game User Experience: Overview 97 10.1 A Short History of UX ............................................................................ 98 10.2 Debunking UX Misconceptions .......................................................... 100 10.2.1 Misconception 1: UX Will Distort the Design Intents and Make the Game Easier.................................... 100 10.2.2 Misconception 2: UX Will Restrict the Creativity of the Team .............................................................................101 10.2.3 Misconception 3: UX Is Yet Another Opinion .................103 10.2.4 Misconception 4: UX Is Just Common Sense .................. 104 10.2.5 Misconception 5: There Is Not Enough Time or Money to Consider UX ................................................... 104 10.3 A Definition of Game UX ..................................................................... 105 11 Usability 109 11.1 Usability Heuristics in Software and Video Games ..........................110 11.2 Seven Usability Pillars for Game UX ...................................................115 11.2.1 Signs and Feedback ...............................................................115