Abstract:
Game difficulty is a crucial aspect of game design, that can be directly influenced by tweaking game mechanics. Perceived difficulty can however also be influenced by sim...Show MoreMetadata
Abstract:
Game difficulty is a crucial aspect of game design, that can be directly influenced by tweaking game mechanics. Perceived difficulty can however also be influenced by simply altering the graphics to something more threatening. Here, we present a study with 12 participants playing 4 different minigames with either altered graphics or mechanics to make the game more difficult. Using EEG bandpower analysis, we find that frontal lobe activity is heightened in all 4 of the mechanically challenging versions and 2/4 of the visually altered versions, all differences that do not emerge from the self-reported player experience. This suggests that EEG could aid researchers with a more sensitive tool for investigating challenge in games.
Published in: 2023 IEEE Conference on Games (CoG)
Date of Conference: 21-24 August 2023
Date Added to IEEE Xplore: 04 December 2023
ISBN Information: