The influence of graphical elements on user's attention and control on a neurofeedback-based game

Abstract Attention-based brain-computer interfaces are systems able to measure the user’s attention level and employ this value to enable interaction. In gaming applications, the player’s attention level can be used to increase his/her engagement and the sensation of immersion in the game. However, those games can make use of heavily animated elements that may distract the player or continuously change his/her focus of attention. Being so, the effects of the graphical user interface in those systems must be investigated to attest their feasibility and its limits. This paper presents the results of an experiment with a mind-controlled tug-of-war computer game. The experiment consisted in a total of 240 game matches, played in over six individual sessions. Statistical analysis and qualitative instruments were employed to investigate key features of the subjects’ interaction and performance with the attention-based platform, with and without the visual elements. It was concluded that the game helps to increase the subjects’ average attention over time, that the absence of visual feedback had no statistically significant impact on the subjects’ performance, and that the subjects did not felt in control of the game while using the adopted brain-computer interface platform.

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