Title :
A Control-Theoretic Approach to Adaptive Physiological Games
Author :
Parnandi, Avinash ; Youngpyo Son ; Gutierrez-Osuna, R.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Comput. Sci. & Eng., Texas A&M Univ., College Station, TX, USA
Abstract :
We present an adaptive biofeedback game that aims to maintain the player´s arousal level by monitoring physiological signals. We use concepts from control theory to model the interaction between human physiology and game difficulty during game play. We validate the approach on a car-racing game with real-time adaptive game mechanics. Specifically, we use car speed, road visibility, and steering jitter as three mechanisms to manipulate game difficulty. We propose quantitative measures to characterize the effectiveness of these game adaptations in manipulating the player´s arousal. For this purpose, we use electro dermal activity (EDA) as a physiological correlate of arousal. Experimental trials with 20 subjects in both open-loop (no feedback) and closed-loop (negative feedback) conditions show statistically significant differences among the three game mechanics in terms of their effectiveness. Specifically, manipulating car speed provides higher arousal levels than changing road visibility or vehicle steering. Finally, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our approach.
Keywords :
bioelectric phenomena; closed loop systems; computer games; control theory; human computer interaction; open loop systems; physiology; psychology; EDA; adaptive biofeedback game; adaptive physiological games; car speed manipulation; car-racing game; closed-loop conditions; control-theoretic approach; electrodermal activity; game adaptations; game difficulty; game mechanics; gameplay; human physiology; negative feedback condition; no feedback condition; open-loop conditions; physiological signal monitoring; player arousal level; real-time adaptive game mechanics; road visibility; vehicle steering jitter; Adaptation models; Biological control systems; Biomedical monitoring; Games; Meteorology; Physiology; Sensors; Physiological games; control theory; dynamic game balancing;
Conference_Titel :
Affective Computing and Intelligent Interaction (ACII), 2013 Humaine Association Conference on
Conference_Location :
Geneva
DOI :
10.1109/ACII.2013.8