Affective Gaming
6 May 2011: Living rooms all over the world could be the staging spot for a new movement that takes games beyond what is available through motion-sensing technology. ‘Affective Gaming’ is the latest innovation that taps into the emotional state of gamers to immerse them into the game environment, making the action real.
Previously in games, such as Left 4 Dead 2, players participated in fighting off zombies. If played well, the game becomes more intense and tougher opponents appear. If players play badly, the level of difficulty drops in the game.
Valve Software, a game developer, sees a better approach in using players’ emotional response more directly by adjusting game intensity based on physiological measures that are linked into the gaming environment.
A team from the University of Saskatchewan in Canada has already developed a simple 2D game that uses an Xbox 360 controller and a number of physiological inputs, such as heart rate and breathing. As players get excited and breathe faster, their enemies become larger.
Heart and breathing rates are measured through simple sensors such as a strap worn around the player’s chest. In the future, sensors to measure palm sweat, an indicator of the player’s level of excitement, could be integrated into existing controllers.
Great immersion will result in deeper participation and authentic gaming experiences for players. Later this year, Microsoft will introduce its new Avatar Kinect, which can detect emotions via facial expressions, allowing users to socialize online using cartoon characters that reflect their real-life emotions.
