The role of game preferences on arousal state when playing first-person shooters

Abstract

Several player typologies have emerged as a result of needing to understand the role of personal preferences when selecting and playing games. However, experimental investigations into whether these preferences affect psychophysiological responses when playing have been scarce. In this study, two groups of active gamers (N=24) played and watched a gameplay video of a first-person shooter game. The two groups consisted of players who either preferred or disliked game dynamics prominent in first-person shooter games, such as killing and shooting. While playing and watching, the participants' electrodermal activity and heart rate were monitored as indexes of autonomic arousal. The results suggest that playing preferences and autonomic arousal are related. Those who preferred the content showed a stable arousal state across time when playing, whereas those who disliked the content showed a rising tendency in autonomic arousal state. The effects were similar when participants were watching a video of gameplay.