Video Game Performance & Experience
The landscape of video game-related behavior encompasses a wide range of topics: from the rapidly growing domain of esports and the nuanced interplay of performance enhancement and ethical considerations, to the influence of acute stress and toxic behavior.
Exemplary focus areas for this line of research include:
- Esports and Performance Enhancement: Esports has propelled competitive gaming into mainstream recognition. Athletes in this digital arena strive for peak performance, akin to traditional sports counterparts. Consequently, athletes and teams explore their options for performance enhancement; both legitimate and questionable. The allure of gaining a competitive edge has given rise to concerns about the dangers of illicit performance enhancement in the industry. Apart from evaluating the effectiveness of certain performance enhancements strategies (anything from non-invasive brain stimulation to training schedules) we have to ask ourselves: What is fair and what is not? What (mental) health risks do need to be considered? How prevalent are certain forms of enhancement? How can performance actually be enhanced and what are the (safe) limits? Beyond the performance-centric focus, the emotional well-being of gamers becomes a crucial facet. The competitive nature of many (multiplayer) games and the perceived pressure to perform at the highest level can lead to heightened stress levels. Consequently, we need to understand how acute stress influences performance, cognition and subjective experiences. Only then we can start to investigate and promote effective emotional regulation strategies.
- Academic Games - Learning to play; playing to learn: In one way or another researchers have been using games for decades. It could be, a 'serious game' for learning a skill, such as learning a language or driving. Maybe researchers also choose an off-the-shelf game for user-studies on entertainment. A study may also employ a scary horror game to induce some form of stress or study how game performance relate to certain cognitive-motor skills. Researchers also develop custom-made 'academic game' that are suppossed to evoke (and measure) a specific behaviour or experience. Thus we can ask ourselves: what type of game, what game mechanics and what design elements are best suited to make people learn, induce a certain behaviour or experience?
Interested in hearing more about this line of research, want to collaborate or (if you are a student) write your thesis related to this research or do an internship? Please contact Maximilian A. Friehs. Also if you are a student you may be interested in the Research Enthusiasts Club.