This may be the author’s version of a work that was submitted/accepted for publication in the following source: 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. This file was downloaded from: https://eprints.qut.edu.au/54205/ c Copyright 2012 ACM This work is covered by copyright. Unless the document is being made available under a Creative Commons Licence, you must assume that re-use is limited to personal use and that permission from the copyright owner must be obtained for all other uses. If the docu- ment is available under a Creative Commons License (or other specified license) then refer to the Licence for details of permitted re-use. 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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,