Search Results (3)

This study researches the effects of a biofeedback-based Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment (DDA) system on player stress management in a survival-horror video game. For this purpose, a game titled Code: Terror was developed, in which players’ psychophysiological data—such as heart rate, stress level, and voice level—were collected in real time through a smartwatch. Based on these data, game parameters were dynamically adjusted. The adaptation process was guided by the “Relax-to-win” model, which aims to make the game easier as players remain calm, using their level of relaxation as a baseline. A total of 40 participants were recruited and divided into two reciprocal groups: one group experienced the game solely with the DDA system activated, while the other played first with the DDA system disabled and then with it enabled. Player experience was evaluated using the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) and the Challenge Originating from Recent Gameplay Interaction Scale (CORGIS). Results showed that the dynamic biofeedback system significantly enhanced intrinsic motivation and perceived challenge, while also reducing physiological arousal, indicating its effectiveness in promoting emotional regulation—the inclusion of both gameplay conditions for participants allowed for the collection of more consistent and meaningful data. The results suggest that biofeedback-driven DDA systems have the potential to enrich player experience both emotionally and motivationally. Furthermore, the findings highlight the potential of such adaptive biofeedback mechanisms to serve as intelligent medical decision support tools for stress management, mental health monitoring, and personalized intervention strategies. Full article

This article compares Ridley Scott’s film Alien (1979) with Creative Assembly’s video game Alien: Isolation (2014), which is based on Scott’s film. Guidance for academics who teach creative writing—as well as for working screenwriters and video game narrative designers—emerges in the comparison, particularly with regard to the importance of developing strong yet vulnerable main characters who put themselves in danger in order to protect other characters with whom they have meaningful relationships. Examples from other media, including Ira Levin’s Rosemary’s Baby (1967), James Cameron’s Aliens (1986), Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead (2012), and Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us (2013), are also discussed as they relate to larger principles involved in crafting sympathetic characters, realistic settings, and compelling gameplay for media within the horror and sci-fi genres. Full article

The influence of the cult television series Twin Peaks (1990–1991) can be detected in a wide range of videogames, from adventure, to roleplaying to survival horror titles. While many games variously draw upon the narrative, setting and imagery of the series for inspiration, certain elements of the distinctive uncanniness of Twin Peaks are difficult to translate into gameplay, particularly its ability consistently disrupt the expectations and emotional responses of its audience. This paper examines the ways in which the 2010 survival horror title Deadly Premonition replicates the uncanniness of Twin Peaks in both its narrative and gameplay, noting how it expands upon conceptualizations of the gamerly uncanny. It contends that Deadly Premonition’s awkward recombination of seemingly inconsistent and excessive gameplay features mirrors the ways in which David Lynch and Mark Frost draw upon and subvert audience expectations for police procedurals and soap operas in the original Twin Peaks in order to generate an uncanny effect. Furthermore, Deadly Premonition uses the theme of possession—a central element of the television series—to offer a diegetic exploration of the uncanny relationship between the player and their onscreen avatar. In these regards, Deadly Premonition provides a rare example of how the subversive uncanniness of Twin Peaks can be addressed through gameplay, rather than solely through the game’s narrative or representational elements. Full article