Search Results (28)

Background: Motor performance in childhood predicts physical fitness, cognitive capacity, socio-emotional development, and academic success. Parenting styles are especially important to such performance in the preschool period, as children’s gross motor abilities are shaped in part by their interactions with parents. Young children’s physical activity is also declining as they spend more time on screens. Methods: This quantitative survey-based study examined the relationships among 252 preschoolers’ gross motor skills, their tendency to become addicted to digital games, and their parents’ parenting styles. Results: The sampled preschoolers’ gross motor skill development and game addiction tendencies were both low, while the participating parents reported high levels of democratic and overprotective parenting attitudes, low levels of authoritarian ones, and moderate levels of permissive ones. Motor skills were not associated with children’s addiction tendency or parents’ democratic (also known as authoritative), authoritarian, or permissive styles. However, overprotective parenting was positively and significantly associated with gross motor skill scores. While no significant relationship was found between children’s digital game addiction tendencies and their parents’ adoption of a democratic parenting style, such tendencies were positively and statistically correlated with the authoritarian and permissive parenting styles. One dimension of such tendencies, constant gameplay, was also positively and significantly correlated with overprotective parenting. Conclusions: Although the participating children’s digital game addiction tendencies were low, the findings indicate that parents and carers should guide children to reduce their screen time and promote increased interaction with their surroundings and other people to mitigate screen time’s known negative effects on gross motor coordination. Full article

Medical students face cognitive overload and disengagement due to the rigorous demands of their education. This study evaluates the impact of Medimon Learning Cards, a mnemonic-based trading card game, on engagement, satisfaction, and knowledge retention among students in a medical immunology course. These cards incorporate visual and linguistic mnemonics, coupled with strategic gameplay, to create an interactive learning experience. This study was conducted on 39 first-year medical students enrolled in an immunology course, divided into experimental Learning Card and control groups. The Learning Card group received the Medimon Learning Cards and participated in a structured play session, while both groups received identical in-class instruction. The results from the Situational Interest Survey for Multimedia revealed high engagement and satisfaction among the Learning Card group, with students expressing enthusiasm for expanding the scope of the cards to other topics. However, no significant differences were observed in knowledge retention or exam performance between the groups. These findings suggest that Medimon Learning Cards can serve as a valuable supplementary tool with which to enhance motivation and interest, though their impact on cognitive outcomes requires further investigation. These findings suggest that incorporating mnemonic-based card games such as Medimon Learning Cards can enhance learner motivation and interest, although their impact on cognitive outcomes warrants further study. Full article

Objective: This study focused on the effect of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) intake on psychological state and game performance during esports gameplay. Methods: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study was conducted with eight healthy male university students aged 20–24 years who regularly play esports. The participants ingested either 200 mg of GABA or a placebo prior to gameplay and then completed a standardized esports task using the Mobalytics Proving Ground™ (MPG), a perceptual-cognitive task within “League of Legends” designed to train and evaluate player performance. Subjective psychological states were assessed pre- and post-gameplay using the Profile of Mood States 2 (POMS2^®) short version. Esports task performance was evaluated based on MPG scores. Results: GABA intake significantly reduced psychological confusion–bewilderment and fatigue in the POMS 2^® short version during esports gameplay. Furthermore, the game scores were significantly higher in the GABA group compared to the placebo group. Conclusions: These findings suggest that GABA intake may serve as a potential strategy to enhance both the mental state and performance of esports players. Full article

Gaming is one of the largest industries of digital entertainment. Modern gaming software may be susceptible to command execution delay, which may be caused by various factors, such as insufficient rendering capabilities or limited network resources. At the time of writing this paper, the utilized advances in gaming are often accompanied by brief descriptions when communicated to the users. While such descriptions may be compressed into a couple of words, even a single word may impact user experience. Due to the cognitive bias induced by the labeling effect, the impact of such a word may actually be more significant than what the user genuinely perceives. In this paper, we investigate the influence of the labeling effect on the perception of command execution delay in gaming. We carried out a series of subjective tests to measure how the word “optimized” affects gaming experience. The test variables of our experiment were the added delay between command and execution, the speed of the game, and the label that was assigned to gaming sequences. The test participants were tasked to directly compare gaming sequences with the different labels assigned: “optimized” and “not optimized”. In every comparison, both sequences had the same objective characteristics; only the label differed. The experiment was conducted on single-input and continuous-input computer games that we developed for this research. The obtained results indicate that for both of these input types, the labeling effect has a statistically significant impact on perceived delay. Overall, more than 70% of the subjective ratings were affected by the assigned labels. Moreover, there is a strong correlation between the amount of delay and the effect of cognitive bias. The speed of the game also affected the obtained results, yet statistically significant differences were only measured between the slowest and the fastest gameplay. Full article

Cognitive decline and dementia prevention are global priorities, with cognitive rehabilitation games showing potential to delay their onset or progression. However, these games require sufficient user engagement to be effective. Assessing the engagement through questionnaires is challenging for the individuals suffering from cognitive decline due to age or dementia. This study aims to explore the relationship between game difficulty levels, three EEG engagement indices (β/(θ + α), β/α, 1/α), and the self-reported flow state scale score during video gameplay, and to develop an accurate machine learning algorithm for the classification of user states into high- and low-engagement. Twenty-seven participants (nine older adults) played a stunt plane video game while their EEG signals were recorded using EPOCX. They also completed the flow state scale for occupational tasks questionnaire after the easy, optimal, and hard levels of gameplay. Self-reported engagement scores significantly varied across the difficulty levels (p = 0.027), with the optimal level yielding the highest scores. Combining the three EEG indices achieved the best performance, with F1 scores of 89% (within-subject) and 81% (cross-subject). Engagement classification F1 scores were 90% for young adults and 85% for older adults. The findings provide preliminary data that supports using EEG data for engagement analysis in adults and older adults. Full article

The aim of this scoping review was to examine the existing literature on padel among young players (under 18) and classify its main research areas. A systematic search in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science identified 16 studies on teaching methodologies, psychological characteristics, physiological demands, physical attributes, and gameplay parameters. This review provides the first comprehensive synthesis of research on youth padel. The findings suggest that a search-based teaching methodology enhances skill acquisition more effectively than traditional methods. Modifying the court dimensions (20 × 10 m to 10 × 6 m) and ball pressure optimizes learning in early training (~8–10 years). At advanced levels, training with professional players increases motivation and performance. The psychological analysis shows higher self-confidence and lower cognitive and somatic anxiety, with boys exhibiting greater somatic anxiety than girls, highlighting the need for sex-specific psychological strategies. The physiological findings establish reference values, with a higher VO2max in boys and younger players. In physical performance, boys outperform girls in terms of jump height and strength, while girls excel in agility. The gameplay analysis reveals that the rally duration increases with the skill level (7–9 s in beginners, 9–12 s in national players), the stroke frequency varies by level (from 4 at initiation level to 6–9 at regional and national levels), and there are differences in specific technical actions (forehand and backhand for initiation level, volleys for advanced level, and bandeja to finish points). From a practical standpoint, these insights can help coaches to tailor training strategies by considering a player’s age, sex, and competitive level, optimizing youth padel performance. Full article

Background: Serious games (SGs) are primarily aimed at promoting learning, skills training, and rehabilitation. Artificial intelligence, immersive technologies, the metaverse, and neurotechnologies promise the next revolution in gaming. Meta-skills are considered the “must-have” skills for thriving in the era of rapid change, complexity, and innovation. Μeta-skills can be defined as a set of higher-order skills that incorporate metacognitive, meta-emotional, and meta-motivational attributes, enabling one to be mindful, self-motivated, self-regulated, and flexible in different circumstances. Skillfulness, and more specifically meta-skills development, is recognized as a predictor of optimal performance along with mental and emotional wellness. Nevertheless, there is still limited knowledge about the effectiveness of integrating cutting-edge technologies in serious games, especially in the field of meta-skills training. Objectives: The current systematic review aims to collect and synthesize evidence concerning the effectiveness of advanced technologies in serious gaming for promoting meta-skills development. Methods: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology was employed to identify experimental studies conducted in the last 10 years. Four different databases were employed: Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Results: Forty-nine studies were selected. Promising outcomes were identified in AI-based SGs (i.e., gamified chatbots) as they provided realistic, adaptive, personalized, and interactive environments using natural language processing, player modeling, reinforcement learning, GPT-based models, data analytics, and assessment. Immersive technologies, including the metaverse, virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality, provided realistic simulations, interactive environments, and sensory engagement, making training experiences more impactful. Non-invasive neurotechnologies were found to encourage players’ training by monitoring brain activity and adapting gameplay to players’ mental states. Healthy participants (n = 29 studies) as well as participants diagnosed with anxiety, neurodevelopmental disorders, and cognitive impairments exhibited improvements in a wide range of meta-skills, including self-regulation, cognitive control, attention regulation, meta-memory skills, flexibility, self-reflection, and self-evaluation. Players were more self-motivated with an increased feeling of self-confidence and self-efficacy. They had a more accurate self-perception. At the emotional level, improvements were observed in emotional regulation, empathy, and stress management skills. At the social level, social awareness was enhanced since they could more easily solve conflicts, communicate, and work in teams. Systematic training led to improvements in higher-order thinking skills, including critical thinking, problem-solving skills, reasoning, decision-making ability, and abstract thinking. Discussion: Special focus is given to the potential benefits, possible risks, and ethical concerns; future directions and implications are also discussed. The results of the current review may have implications for the design and implementation of innovative serious games for promoting skillfulness among populations with different training needs. Full article

Using digital and non-digital card games to teach mathematics is a well-established didactic technique widely applied at different levels of education. Game-based learning strategies are also gaining ground in higher education, but the use of maths card games in university settings remains limited. Generation Z students are true digital natives, members of a hyper-cognitive generation with a learning profile different from any previous generation. In this paper, an original non-digital card game, Blue Yeti, is presented that supports determining the convergence property of improper integrals using the comparison theorems and the Cauchy–Maclaurin test, providing a motivational and effective way of acquiring knowledge for Gen Z students. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the development process, rules, and gameplay mechanics of Blue Yeti, which was created as a key component of a multifunctional didactic framework. In addition, it presents findings from a two-year research study conducted among first-year bachelor’s students in computer science on the benefits of playing Blue Yeti. Quantitative studies were carried out with 63 first-year IT students using a quasi-experimental research design to measure the effectiveness of the game. A pre- and post-test design was used with the experimental group of 31 participants to evaluate the short-term effects of card game-based learning. A t-test for paired samples was used for hypothesis testing. To assess the medium-term impact, the results from the related midterm exam problems were statistically analysed, comparing the outcomes of the experimental group with those of the control group using the Mann–Whitney U-test. The results indicated that the experimental group outperformed the control group, achieving a mean score of 3.03 out of 6 on the designated midterm exam problems, compared to the control group’s mean score of 1.78. Additionally, student attitudes towards the game were measured using a mixed-method approach, which provided not only quantitative data but also qualitative information on student attitudes towards Blue Yeti, complementing the statistics on learning outcomes. The results of the study clearly support the effectiveness of the card game. Full article

Collaborative learning has been widely studied in higher education and beyond, suggesting that collaboration in small groups can be effective for promoting deeper learning, enhancing engagement and motivation, and improving a range of cognitive and social outcomes. The study presented in this paper compared different forms of human and robot facilitation in the game of planning poker, designed as a collaborative activity in the undergraduate course on agile project management. Planning poker is a consensus-based game for relative estimation in teams. Team members collaboratively estimate effort for a set of project tasks. In our study, student teams played the game of planning poker to estimate the effort required for project tasks by comparing task effort relative to one another. In this within- and between-subjects study, forty-nine students in eight teams participated in two out of four conditions. The four conditions differed in respect to the form of human and/or robot facilitation. Teams 1–4 participated in conditions C1 human online and C3 unsupervised robot, while teams 5–8 participated in conditions C2 human face to face and C4 supervised robot co-facilitation. While planning poker was facilitated by a human teacher in conditions C1 and C2, the NAO robot facilitated the game-play in conditions C3 and C4. In C4, the robot facilitation was supervised by a human teacher. The study compared these four forms of facilitation and explored the effects of the type of facilitation on the facilitator’s competence (FC), learning experience (LX), and learning outcomes (LO). The results based on the data from an online survey indicated a number of significant differences across conditions. While the facilitator’s competence and learning outcomes were rated higher in human (C1, C2) compared to robot (C3, C4) conditions, participants in the supervised robot condition (C4) experienced higher levels of focus, motivation, and relevance and a greater sense of control and sense of success, and rated their cognitive learning outcomes and the willingness to apply what was learned higher than in other conditions. These results indicate that human supervision during robot-led facilitation in collaborative learning (e.g., providing hints and situational information on demand) can be beneficial for learning experience and outcomes as it allows synergies to be created between human expertise and flexibility and the consistency of the robotic assistance. Full article

Healthy aging requires the maintenance of good physical and cognitive activity. However, as they age, older adults often experience a decline in physical and cognitive activity, leading to a more sedentary lifestyle. Some older adults may not have a choice but to become increasingly sedentary as they age due to injury or deteriorated physicality. As such, they require assistive technologies to aid in their daily lives and activities to maintain healthy cognitive function. Social Robots are a newer form of assistive technology, specifically designed for social interactions and gameplay. As with other assistive technologies, compliance barriers to their acceptance and use for meaningful, seated activities among older adults are expected. To better explore this phenomenon, improve quality of life and understand what drives older adults to accept and use newer forms of technology like social robots, this conceptual paper conjoins two theoretical frameworks: The Activity Theory of Aging (ATA) and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). As social robots hold great promise for improving the quality of life for older adults, exploring what driving factors could enable their greater acceptance and use is essential to furthering this field of study within Australia. Full article

This study aims to compare physical activity levels, esports-specific reaction times, self-evaluated health, and injuries between non-professional esports players (EPs) and non-players (NPs). Participants were healthy, with an average age of 22.7 ± 2.49 years and BMI of 25.5 ± 4.95 kg/m². Physical activity was quantified using the Baecke Questionnaire, while reaction times were measured with computer games. The analysis reveals that EPs exhibit significantly lower levels of physical activity compared to NPs (p < 0.05), underscoring the sedentary nature of esports. Despite this, EPs demonstrate superior reaction times (p < 0.001), suggesting cognitive enhancements associated with esports participation. EPs report increased incidences of gameplay-related discomfort (p = 0.025), highlighting health drawbacks of prolonged gaming. However, no significant differences were observed in overall self-evaluated health statuses and specific pain complaints between the groups, indicating a complex relationship between esports involvement and perceived health outcomes. These findings suggest that esports can offer cognitive benefits through improved reaction times but are also associated with reduced physical activity and increased reporting of discomfort. This dichotomy underscores the need for strategies that capitalize on the cognitive advantages of esports while mitigating its physical health risks, encouraging a more balanced engagement with the activity. Full article

This paper investigates the cognitive stimulation experienced by players engaging in virtual reality (VR) puzzle games through the analysis of electroencephalography (EEG) data. The study employs magnitude-square coherence (MSC) and spectral entropy (SpEn) metrics to quantify neural activity patterns associated with problem-solving processes during gameplay. Results reveal unique coherence and entropy profiles across different VR gaming tasks, with Tetris gameplay eliciting heightened coherence and entropy values compared to other games. Specifically, Tetris demonstrates increased coherence between frontal and temporal brain regions, indicative of enhanced visuospatial processing and decision making. These findings underscore the importance of considering both spectral coherence and entropy when assessing the cognitive effects of video game tasks on brain activity. Insights from this study may inform the design of serious VR games aimed at promoting cognitive development and problem-solving skills in players. Full article

Decision-making is a basic component of agents’ (e.g., intelligent sensors) behaviors, in which one’s cognition plays a crucial role in the process and outcome. Extensive games, a class of interactive decision-making scenarios, have been studied in diverse fields. Recently, a model of extensive games was proposed in which agent cognition of the structure of the underlying game and the quality of the game situations are encoded by artificial neural networks. This model refines the classic model of extensive games, and the corresponding equilibrium concept—cognitive perfect equilibrium (CPE)—differs from the classic subgame perfect equilibrium, since CPE takes agent cognition into consideration. However, this model neglects the consideration that game-playing processes are greatly affected by agents’ cognition of their opponents. To this end, in this work, we go one step further by proposing a framework in which agents’ cognition of their opponents is incorporated. A method is presented for evaluating opponents’ cognition about the game being played, and thus, an algorithm designed for playing such games is analyzed. The resulting equilibrium concept is defined as adversarial cognition equilibrium (ACE). By means of a running example, we demonstrate that the ACE is more realistic than the CPE, since it involves learning about opponents’ cognition. Further results are presented regarding the computational complexity, soundness, and completeness of the game-solving algorithm and the existence of the equilibrium solution. This model suggests the possibility of enhancing an agent’s strategic ability by evaluating opponents’ cognition. Full article

The need for effective cognitive training methodologies has increased, particularly for individuals dealing with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). In response to this demand, Virtual Reality (VR) technology emerges as a promising tool to support cognitive functions. Addressing this imperative, our paper introduces ADHD Dog, a VR game designed to aid individuals with ADHD by harnessing the advancements in VR technology and cognitive science. Our approach integrates behavioral and sociocultural theories, alongside gamification, to foster player engagement and reinforce cognitive functions. The theories employed, including operant conditioning and social constructivism, are specifically chosen for their relevance to ADHD’s cognitive aspects and their potential to promote active and context-based engagement. ADHD Dog, grounded in the principles of neuroplasticity and behaviorist methods, distinguishes itself by utilizing technology to amplify cognitive functions, like impulse control, attention, and short-term memory. An evaluation by individuals with ADHD, psychologists and computer scientists yielded promising results, underscoring the significant contribution of blending narrative-driven gameplay with behavioral and sociocultural theories, along with gamification, to ADHD cognitive training. Full article

With age, a decline in motor and cognitive functionality is inevitable, and it greatly affects the quality of life of the elderly and their ability to live independently. Early detection of these types of decline can enable timely interventions and support for maintaining functional independence and improving overall well-being. This paper explores the potential of the GAME2AWE platform in assessing the motor and cognitive condition of seniors based on their in-game performance data. The proposed methodology involves developing machine learning models to explore the predictive power of features that are derived from the data collected during gameplay on the GAME2AWE platform. Through a study involving fifteen elderly participants, we demonstrate that utilizing in-game data can achieve a high classification performance when predicting the motor and cognitive states. Various machine learning techniques were used but Random Forest outperformed the other models, achieving a classification accuracy ranging from 93.6% for cognitive screening to 95.6% for motor assessment. These results highlight the potential of using exergames within a technology-rich environment as an effective means of capturing the health status of seniors. This approach opens up new possibilities for objective and non-invasive health assessment, facilitating early detections and interventions to improve the well-being of seniors. Full article