The relationship between input mechanics, flow and auxiliary movements during videogame-play.

Heildartexti lokaskýrslu. Prentuð útgáfa og öll fylgiskjöl á CD eru varðveitt í bókasafni HR.Designing computer games is a mixture of art and science. One of the psychological concepts that greatly affects both videogame design and videogame-play is the mental state of flow. In this report we studied how motion sensing input mechanisms for game-play affect flow. We examined 62 people with an obstacle course game that had two input methods, an exaggerated method and a minimalistic method. An exaggerated method is an input method that requires an extensive use of a players body while a minimalistic input method only requires the application of fingers. Motion sensing input like the Wii controller and steering wheels for racing games are example of input methods that require exaggerated input. Keyboard and mouse or a run-of-the-mill gamepad controller are examples of minimal input methods. None of our data supports any relationship between input methods and flow. We also examined the relationship between flow and auxiliary movements videogame-players often exhibit. We define auxiliary movements as movements performed by players that have no direct influence on game-play. We checked if such movements were an indication of flow, but there is no data to support that hypothesis either. We then asked if exaggerated input could cause auxiliary movements. This seems t be the case as we had strong correlation between those two factors. What is more interesting is that the less people played games the stronger this effect was. In the game, participants controlled the swing of a pendulum as it travelled forwards through an obstacle course. The goal was to avoid unbreakable objects (by halting the swing) and to follow strings of golden circles by adjusting the swings momentum and width. We used the Flow Short Scale to see if participants reported flow and we measured body movements with an accelerometer attached to a players head.Þetta er lokaskýrsla verkefnisins en hún er ein af sjö skjölum, sem skilað var vegna verkefnisins. Þau er hægt að nálgast á CD-diski á bókasafni Háskólans í Reykjavík