The role of game preferences on arousal state when playing first-person shooters

Abstract

<p>Several player typologies have emerged as a result of needing to understand<br />the role of personal preferences when selecting and playing games.<br />However, experimental investigations into whether these preferences affect psychophysiological<br />responses when playing have been scarce. In this study, two<br />groups of active gamers (N=24) played and watched a gameplay video of a firstperson<br />shooter game. The two groups consisted of players who either preferred<br />or disliked game dynamics prominent in first-person shooter games, such as killing<br />and shooting. While playing and watching, the participants’ electrodermal<br />activity and heart rate were monitored as indexes of autonomic arousal. The results<br />suggest that playing preferences and autonomic arousal are related. Those<br />who preferred the content showed a stable arousal state across time when playing,<br />whereas those who disliked the content showed a rising tendency in autonomic<br />arousal state. The effects were similar when participants were watching a video<br />of gameplay.<br /></p>