Michael Lankes

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Papers by Michael Lankes

Looking Confused? – Introducing a VR Game Design for Arousing Confusion Among Players

2022 Symposium on Eye Tracking Research and Applications

This paper describes a virtual reality prototype's game and level design that should serve as sti... more This paper describes a virtual reality prototype's game and level design that should serve as stimulus material to arouse confusion among players. In doing so, we will use the stimulus to create a system that analyzes the players' gaze behavior and determine whether and when the player is confused or already frustrated. Consequently, this information can then be used by game and level designers to give the player appropriate assistance and guidance during gameplay. To reach our goal of creating a design that arouses confusion, we used guidelines for high-quality level design and did the exact opposite. We see the PLEY Workshop as a forum to identify and discuss the potentials and risks of the stimulus' design and level structure. In general, the paper should provide insights into our design decisions for researchers interested in investigating gaze behavior in games. CCS CONCEPTS • Human-centered computing → Interaction techniques; Interaction devices; HCI design and evaluation methods.

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It is not rocket science. It is collaborative play for old and young!

2018 IEEE 6th International Conference on Serious Games and Applications for Health (SeGAH), 2018

Our submission describes the design, development and evaluation of an intergenerational game prot... more Our submission describes the design, development and evaluation of an intergenerational game prototype called Cosmonauts. The aim of the prototype is to identify design factors for intergenerational games that are easy to learn, feature a simple and intuitive control scheme, and offer a certain amount of depth that keeps players enjoying themselves. In detail, our work investigates how different game features (collaborative creation of game content vs. predefined game content) and interaction techniques (tangible objects vs. touchscreen interaction) effect the game experience of old and young (investigated factors: relatedness, autonomy, competence, and enjoyment). Results show that implementing a collaborative creation of game content improves overall game enjoyment, and using tangible objects benefits social relatedness in a collaborative game setting.

Co-smonauts in Retrospect: The Game Design Process of an Intergenerational Co-located Collaborative Game

This paper describes the design process of an intergenerational co-located cooperative game calle... more This paper describes the design process of an intergenerational co-located cooperative game called Co-smonauts. The main aim of the research project was to identify design factors for intergenerational games in a museum context that foster the social exchange between old and young, feature an intuitive control scheme, and offer a certain amount of depth that keeps players enjoying themselves. In detail, this submission provides an overview of the study-guided design process and key design decisions that led to the final game. Three steps are presented (Game Design, Building Phase Design, Navigator Interface Design), each of them containing a detailed description of the design challenges, the carried out studies to face the challenges, and the design implications. In general, we aim at providing insights for both researchers and designers regarding the design, the development, and the evaluation of co-located collaborative intergenerational games.

The Virtual House of Medusa: Playful Co-located Virtual Archaeology

In our submission we introduce a co-located virtual archaeology installation for a museum context... more In our submission we introduce a co-located virtual archaeology installation for a museum context, called Virtual House of Medusa. It was developed in collaboration with the Federal Monuments Authority Austria. The Virtual House of the Medusa illustrates several fragments of Roman wall paintings, which are archaeological artefacts that were found at Lorch near Enns in Upper Austria. The installation is conceptualized as a playful installation with multiple virtual workstations, including one VR player and up to four fellow co-players that are equipped with mobile devices. The players slip into the roles of archaeologists and experience the fascination of their work through interacting with the virtual workstations. Furthermore, co-players and the VR player have the possibility to get in contact with each other via the devices provided by the installation. Our work deals with the issue that existing research projects and installations in virtual archaeology are mainly designed as a s...

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SpEYEders: Adults’ and children’s affective responses during immersive playful gaze interactions transforming virtual spiders

Extended Abstracts of the 2021 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play, 2021

Specific phobias like spider phobia represent a frequent mental health problem in children and ad... more Specific phobias like spider phobia represent a frequent mental health problem in children and adolescents, demanding innovative prevention and treatment approaches. We therefore develop an eye tracking supported Virtual Reality serious game for school-aged children, realizing gaze interactions to promote attention towards, and positive experiences during exposure to spiders. Within pilot studies in adults (n=30) and children (n=14) without fear of spiders, we assessed positive and negative affect during prototype gaze feedback through five different variants: If gazed for few seconds, the virtual spider changed into a shrunk, a rainbow coloured, or dying spider, or morphed into a smileyball, or speaks friendly. We found the highest positive affect for the rainbow and smileyball variant, followed by the shrunk and friendly speaking variant. In contrast, the dying variant was excluded due to the possible induction of negative affect. Findings indicate eligible variants for the further development of the VR serious game.

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EyePlay Revisited

Proceedings of the 2018 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play Companion Extended Abstracts, 2018

What are current and future challenges that incorporating eye tracking into game design and devel... more What are current and future challenges that incorporating eye tracking into game design and development creates? The Second EyePlay workshop brings together academic researchers and industry practitioners from the fields of eye tracking and games to explore these questions. In recent years, gaming has been at the forefront of the commercial popularization of eye tracking. In this workshop, we will share experiences in the development of gaze-enabled games, discuss best practices and tools, and explore future challenges for research. Topics of interest lie at the intersection of eye tracking and games including, but limited to, novel interaction techniques and game mechanics, development processes and tools, accessible games, evaluation, and future visions.

Invisible Walls

Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play, 2017

This paper investigates the effects of the virtual players' (VR) representation and verbal co... more This paper investigates the effects of the virtual players' (VR) representation and verbal communication regarding co-presence in a co-located and playful augmented virtuality (AV) installation for multiple participants. We examine if the incorporation/exclusion of the visualization of the VR players' hands and the absence/presence of verbal communication influences the perceived co-presence. To find answers to our research question, we created an experimental setting called Invisible Walls. Within the installation, players and spectators have various means of interaction at their disposal. Our study findings show a positive impact of the VR player's representation on the perceived co-presence. However, due to the experimental setup, verbal communication did not have the anticipated effect. With these findings we endeavor to reduce the gap between the VR player and the spectators and provide insights for game designers and researchers regarding the inclusion of nonverbal and verbal communication in co-located AV settings.

gEYEded: Subtle and Challenging Gaze-Based Player Guidance in Exploration Games

Multimodal Technologies and Interaction, 2019

This paper investigates the effects of gaze-based player guidance on the perceived game experienc... more This paper investigates the effects of gaze-based player guidance on the perceived game experience, performance, and challenge in a first-person exploration game. In contrast to existing research, the proposed approach takes the game context into account by providing players not only with guidance but also granting them an engaging game experience with a focus on exploration. This is achieved by incorporating gaze-sensitive areas that indicate the location of relevant game objects. A comparative study was carried out to validate our concept and to examine if a game supported with a gaze guidance feature triggers a more immersive game experience in comparison to a crosshair guidance version and a solution without any guidance support. In general, our study findings reveal a more positive impact of the gaze-based guidance approach on the experience and performance in comparison to the other two conditions. However, subjects had a similar impression concerning the game challenge in all...

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Where the eyes meet: Lessons learned from shared gaze-based interactions in cooperative and competitive online games

Entertainment Computing, 2018

This article reflects on the effects of shared gaze visualizations on perceived social presence a... more This article reflects on the effects of shared gaze visualizations on perceived social presence and non-verbal communication in online gameplay. We report on two case studies that employed shared gaze-based interaction in cooperative and competitive settings. These two case studies explored how players appropriate and utilize various gaze communication behaviors. In Study 1 we explored how a shared gaze visualization changes social behavior among players and collaborative strategies based on different combinations of gaze interaction and verbal communication. Study 2 followed a similar shared gaze approach but investigated its usage in different competitive game genres. Our study findings highlight the positive impact of shared gaze on collaboration and perceived social presence among players in both cooperative and competitive settings. This article presents a reanalysis and synthesis of the study findings, with the aim to identify differences and commonalities between cooperative and competitive use

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Vancouver Maneuver: Designing a Cooperative Augmented Reality Board Game

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2016

In this paper we present Vancouver Maneuver, a game for mobile devices using Augmented Reality so... more In this paper we present Vancouver Maneuver, a game for mobile devices using Augmented Reality software to create a cooperative board game experience. Utilizing principles from both digital and analogue board game design, a hybrid game design approach is proposed in order to identify applicable mechanics. By doing so we combine the physical and social aspects of co-located tabletop gaming with the computing power and aesthetics of digital games.

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An Eye for an Eye

Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Advances in Computer Entertainment Technology, 2016

This paper investigates the effects of a shared gaze visualization regarding social presence in a... more This paper investigates the effects of a shared gaze visualization regarding social presence in an online competitive game setting. We investigate if the incorporation of gaze interaction among different competitive game genres would influence the perceived social presence for the players. To find answers to our research question we created an experimental setting that is based on two game genres that require strategic skills (i.e., a turn-based strategy game) and motoric skills (i.e., a real-time first person shooter). Our study findings highlight the positive influence of a shared gaze visualization on competitive play. Further, the studied game genres have a significant influence on the perceived social presence. With our findings we want to provide insights for game designers and researchers regarding the inclusion of gaze-based interaction in remote gaming settings.

EyeCo: Effects of Shared Gaze on Social Presence in an Online Cooperative Game

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2016

This paper investigates the effects of a shared gaze approach on social presence in an online coo... more This paper investigates the effects of a shared gaze approach on social presence in an online cooperative game. We explored how a shared gaze visualization changes how players work together and form collaborative strategies based on different combinations of gaze interaction and verbal communication. Our study findings highlight the positive influence of a shared gaze visualization on team cohesion and involvement towards increased perceived social presence among cooperating team members. With our findings we want to inform game designers with insights on the inclusion of gaze-based interaction in remote gaming settings and whether this can strengthen the social bond between players. Our approach aims at fostering social couplings in remote collaborative gaming and investigates their potential to increase the connectedness between players.

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Player Type Models

Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2016

Player type models -- such as the BrainHex model -- are popular approaches for personalizing digi... more Player type models -- such as the BrainHex model -- are popular approaches for personalizing digital games towards individual preferences of players. Although several player type models have been developed and are currently used in game design projects, there is still a lack of data on their validity. To close this research gap we currently investigate the psychometric properties (factor structure, reliability, stability) and predictive validity (if player type scores can predict player experience) of the player type model BrainHex in an ongoing project. Results of two online studies (n1=592, n2=243) show that the psychometric properties of the BrainHex model could be improved. We suggest to improve the according questionnaire and sketch how the predictive validity could be investigated in future studies.

Personalization in Serious and Persuasive Games and Gamified Interactions

Proceedings of the 2015 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play, 2015

Serious and persuasive games and gamified interactions have become popular in the last years, esp... more Serious and persuasive games and gamified interactions have become popular in the last years, especially in the realm of behavior change support systems. They have been used as tools to support and influence human behavior in a variety of fields, such as health, sustainability, education, and security. It has been shown that personalized serious and persuasive games and gamified interactions can increase effectivity of supporting behavior change compared to "one-size-fits all"-systems. However, how serious games and gamified interactions can be personalized, which factors can be used to personalize (e.g. personality, gender, persuadability, player types, gamification user types, states, contextual/situational variables), what effect personalization has (e.g. on player/user experience) and whether there is any return on investment is still largely unexplored. This full-day workshop aims at bringing together the academic and industrial community as well as the gaming and gamification community to jointly explore these topics and define a future roadmap.

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From Classes to Mechanics

Proceedings of the 2015 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play, 2015

Research findings indicate that player types may serve as a theoretical basis for the design of p... more Research findings indicate that player types may serve as a theoretical basis for the design of persuasive games. However, until now no proof of concept is available that shows the applicability of this approach for tailoring games to player characteristics. We suggest a solution by formulating design concepts and by creating game prototypes that are driven by player types. Our strategies are composed of the three characteristics: first, design choices are based on the BrainHex player type model. Secondly, the concepts consider individual player styles and mechanics tailored to the various player types. Third, these individual game elements are combined into one game world. In order to evaluate our concepts we created two mobile game prototypes that foster physical activity. These prototypes are based on the Seeker and the Mastermind player type of the BrainHex model. First findings reveal that the usage of player types appears to be effective. Our efforts should enable designers to create persuasive games that are both engaging for individual players and allow the integration of several player types.

Autonomous vs. tele-operated

Proceedings of the 4th ACM/IEEE international conference on Human robot interaction - HRI '09, 2009

ABSTRACT Effective collaboration between robots and humans is not only a question of interface de... more ABSTRACT Effective collaboration between robots and humans is not only a question of interface design and usability, but also of user experience and social acceptance. To investigate these aspects for Human-Robot Collaboration with the HRP-2 robot, two video-based focus groups enhanced with creative stimuli were conducted. The following research question was addressed: Is the HRP-2 robot perceived differently in an autonomous collaboration condition compared to a tele-operated collaboration condition, in terms of social acceptance and user experience?&quot;The results show that participants in general are open to a humanoid robot as working partner as long as there is a clear distinction between a human and a robot, in terms of tasks and working procedures. Furthermore, participants stated a positive attitude toward the remotely-controlled HRP-2 robot.

Evaluating User Experience Factors Using Experiments: Expressive Artificial Faces Embedded in Contexts

Human-Computer Interaction Series, 2009

ABSTRACT There is an ongoing debate on what kind of factors contribute to the general positive us... more ABSTRACT There is an ongoing debate on what kind of factors contribute to the general positive user experience while playing a game. The following chapter introduces an experimental setting to measure user experience aroused by facial expression of embodied conversational agents (ECAs). The experimental setup enables to measure the implications of ECAs in three contextual settings called “still,” “animated,” and “interaction.” Within the experiment, artificially generated facial expressions are combined with emotion-eliciting situations and are presented via different presentation platforms. Stimuli (facial expressions/emotion-eliciting situations) are assembled in either consonant (for example, facial expression: “joy,” emotion-eliciting situation: “joy”) or dissonant (for example, facial expression: “joy,” emotion-eliciting situation: “anger”) constellations. The contextual setting called “interaction” is derived from the video games domain, granting an interactive experience of a given emotional situation. The aim of the study is to establish a comparative experimental framework to analyze subjects’ user experience on emotional stimuli in different context dimensions. This comparative experimental framework utilizes theoretical models of emotion theory along with approaches from human–computer interaction to close a gap in the intersection of affective computing and research on facial expressions. Results showed that the interaction situation is rated as providing a better user experience, independent of showing consonant or dissonant contextual descriptions. The “still” setting is given a higher user experience rating than the “animated” setting. KeywordsEmbodied conversational agent-Experiment-Emotion-Facial expression-AttrakDiff

An experimental setting to measure contextual perception of embodied conversational agents

Proceedings of the international conference on Advances in computer entertainment technology - ACE '07, 2007

ABSTRACT We introduce an experimental setting to observe and measure the perception of facial exp... more ABSTRACT We introduce an experimental setting to observe and measure the perception of facial expression performed by embodied conversational agents (ECAs). The experimental set-up enables to measure the implications of embodied conversational agents in various contextual settings. We developed a matrix, distinguishing three types of stimuli dimensions (simultaneous, sequential, adaptive) and three contextual configurations. The aim of the study is to establish an experimental framework to analyze subjects&#39; emotional status in different context dimensions. The experimental setting helps to close a gap in the intersection of affective computing and embodied conversational agents.

Facial expressions as game input with different emotional feedback conditions

Proceedings of the 2008 International Conference in Advances on Computer Entertainment Technology - ACE '08, 2008

Abstract We propose a game design approach that utilizes facial expressions as an input method un... more

Using a 3D game to study the perceived quality of lifting device controls

Proceedings of the International Conference on Advances in Computer Enterntainment Technology - ACE '09, 2009

... Studying User Experience in Virtual Environments. In: Proceedings of NordiCHI 2008. Lund, Swe... more

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