A study of gesture-based first person control

Control within a First Person Shooter (FPS) traditionally involves one of two methods of input - primarily a gamepad or the combination of keyboard and mouse. Recent advances in hardware now allow users to engage with digital media through gesture alone, opening new possibilities for interaction techniques. In this paper, we present the results of a study on using single-hand gestures to control a FPS game, comparing the performance against traditional input methods. Fundamental tasks, including movement and aiming were investigated independently, and were later combined into a full control scheme. This work presents the results of a study of 26 participants, including summaries of in-game performance and a post-game survey. The motivation behind the study is not in evaluating these three input methods through direct comparison, but to establish a baseline of user capabilities for the nascent field of gesture-based game control.