Flow adaptation in serious games for health

Abstract

This work studies the relevance of flow in gameplay adaptability and how it may offer a better gaming experience, since it provides a better enjoyment of an activity. We developed a first-person shooter video game that adapts its in-game difficulty and environmental settings based on a representation of the mental state of the user to keep a balance between the skills of the player and the challenge of the game. The mental state of the player is measured with their physiological signals, namely the heart rate and the beta band of the brainwaves, and we distinguish the mental state of the player with an accuracy of 87%. We also conducted an evaluation using self-perceived flow and in-game scores as metrics to compare the mental state-based adaptability with a performance-based version. Results show that the latter provided a better gaming experience, suggesting that further research is needed to fully understand the relation of flow and gameplay on FPS games.