eSports and Performance Enhancement
Given that games, for all ages, are tremendously popular across the world, every player asks themselves at some point: how can I get better? What can I do to enhance my performance?
The reasons for that wish are plentiful - be it that you want to beat your sibling at a game or chase a high score - whatever it is we can use this motivation for reseach and study what makes people learn best.
If you are interested feel free to check out any of the example projects below or ask Max:
Observe and Play: On the benefits of observational learning
Watching to win: when watching others play improves performance
written by Hannah, former student at PCRS based on her thesis in 2024
The aim of this research was to investigate whether observing an individual play a video game improves one’s gaming performance. This was achieved by conducting two studies with a clone of a game called Super Hexagon.
In the first study, participants were put into pairs, with one participant acting as the observer and the other as the player with the objective of examining whether observational learning enhances gaming performance. The second study was an online study in which participants played the game with or without observing a recorded video. In addition to observational learning, the significance of sequence learning was investigated. Participants who were given the video, either saw it in the same sequence as that they played in or in a random sequence.
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Key findings:
Observational learning improved performance, both in live observations and in the context of pre-recoded videos. The first study also suggests that social dynamics influence the learning process. The second study also showed that the observational learning is more effective when the content aligns with the anticipated challenge. However, while observations can increase performance, it is important to emphasise that practice remains an important factor in the refinement of skills.
Implications:
The studies provide new insights into the effect of observational learning within the context of gaming. The findings of this study also suggests that a combination of active practice and observational learning might be more effective in increasing gaming performance compared to active practice alone. In addition, the findings suggest that game designers should include more opportunities to observe what other players are doing and that these should match the challenges that gamers are facing. Thus, these studies demonstrate the efficacy of observational learning in enhancing performance in the context of digital gaming.
Electrify your brain to enhance your game?
Electrify your brain to enhance your game?
by Max based on student work by Gina and Nick at PCRS in 2024
In this study we investigate the effect of non-invasive brain stimulation (specifically transcranial direct current stimulation) on performance in a clone of a game called SuperHexagon.
Participants were seated in front of a PC screen in the BMS Lab and wired up with the brain stimulation divice before they started playing the game.
In each session, a participant’s visuospatial working memory performance in a gaming setting was measured twice. We did find no effect of any type of transcranial direct current stimulation (regardless of timing or polarity) on performance. Nevertheless these results contribute to the understanding under which conditions cognitive enhancement may be viable in practice (e.g., to enhance learning, e-sports performance, or driving).
You can also watch them talk about their study here
