Manipulating attention in computer games

In computer games, a user's attention is focused on the current task, and task-irrelevant details remain unnoticed. This behavior, known as inattentional blindness, is a main problem for the optimal placement of information or advertisements. We propose a guiding principle based on Wolfe's theory of Guided Search, which predicts the saliency of objects during a visual search task. Assuming that computer games elicit visual search tasks frequently, we applied this model in a “reverse” direction: Given a target item (e.g., advertisement) which should be noticed by the user, we choose a frequently searched game item and modify it so that it shares some perceptual features (e.g., color or orientation) with the target item. A memory experiment with 36 participants showed that in an action video game, advertisements were more noticeable to users when this method is applied.