Biofeedback-Controlled Video Games for Emotional Regulation

Abstract

Stress and psychological distress in the workplace are behind a large number of physiological and mental concerns. As a way to face this, modern businesses have increasingly embraced active pauses and short breaks to favor relaxation and distraction for reducing emotional burden and increasing productivity. To that respect, mindfulness and quick-bite video games are among the go-to options for taking a rest. In this paper we explore how to introduce biofeedback in casual—short—video games as a way to assist the player in regulating their emotional state. Biofeedback, i.e., the use of biological signals (such as heart rate) as a way to inform and/or control an interactive application, has been increasingly attracting the attention of HCI researchers and practitioners, particularly in the design and development of health applications in wearable devices, such as smartwatches. However, its use in entertainment and video games is still in the making. To bridge this gap, we report the design and development of a biofeedback-controlled microgame for emotional regulation, based on the pleasure/arousal model. This game, which dynamically self-affects its difficulty based on the player’s heart rate variation, allows the player to navigate through different emotional states, such as stress, excitement, calm, and languishment. We evaluated the prototype application through a proof of concept, showing that the underlying game mechanics indeed altered the player’s pleasure and arousal. The obtained results are a first step toward exploring how biofeedback in video games can be exploited as a mechanic to regulate emotional valence in players.