Can You Keep Calm?: Adaptive Gameplay using Heart Rate as a Controller
Md Mosharaf Hossan, Rifat Ara Tasnim, Farjana Z Eishita
TL;DR
This study investigates HR-based adaptive gameplay as a practical tool for reducing stress via a smartwatch-enabled, Flappy Bird–style game. A three-level, HR-adaptive design evaluates how real-time biometric feedback influences Player Experience (PX) and cardiac reactivity (CR) in a within-subject experiment with 25 participants, using PANAS and PXI for assessment. Key findings show HR-adaptive, target-driven levels boost positive affect and improve functional PX aspects (ease of control, challenge, goals) while potentially reducing CR, particularly in Level 3, suggesting biometric feedback gamification can support accessible mental-health interventions. The work highlights the promise and limitations of wearables-enabled adaptive games for stress regulation, calling for larger samples and expanded physiological measurements to validate and extend these results.
Abstract
Serious games for health are designed with specific health objectives and are increasingly being used in mental health interventions. Leveraging sensor equipped handheld devices such as smartphones and smartwatches, these games can provide accessible and engaging therapeutic environments. This study introduces a heart rate (HR) controlled game to aid players manage stress by adjusting gameplay according to their biometric feedback. We aimed to determine how HR-based controls influence their experience and if it can be used to reduce stress. Findings from a controlled experiment revealed that HR controlled gameplay reduced negative and increased positive emotions. Also, players exhibited relatively less cardiac reactivity in HR adaptive target based gameplay. This highlights the promise of biometric feedback based gamified digital environments in supporting accessible mental health support.