Efficiency & Player Motivations

7/28/2019 Efficiency & Player Motivations

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Table&of&Contents&Introduction".................................................................................................................................................."4 "

Investigations"................................................................................................................................................"6 "

Influence"of"video"games"on"our"abilities"................................................................................................."7 "

Gamer"Types"..........................................................................................................................................."10 "

Different"Player"Types"........................................................................................................................."11"

Problem"solving"in"a"game"environment"................................................................................................"15 "

The"Process"of"Problem"Solving".........................................................................................................."15 "

Analysis"......................................................................................................................................................."19 "

Efficient"Problem"Solving"........................................................................................................................"20 "

Development"of"Strategies"when"Problem"Solving"............................................................................"22"

How"to"Design"the"Game"........................................................................................................................"25 "

The"Flow"Theory".................................................................................................................................."25"

Designing"Problem"Solving"Environments".........................................................................................."28 "

Delimitation"of"puzzleLtypes"..............................................................................................................."33 "

The"Physical"Interface"............................................................................................................................."34 "

General"Design"Principles"for"the"Physical"Interface".........................................................................."34"

Sensors"................................................................................................................................................"37 "

Requirement"specifications"...................................................................................................................."41 "

Game"requirements"............................................................................................................................"41 "

Physical"interface"requirements"........................................................................................................."41 "

Methods"......................................................................................................................................................"42 "

Testing"Method"......................................................................................................................................."43 "

General"Framework"for"Testing".............................................................................................................."44 "

Testing"the"Player"Motivations"..........................................................................................................."44 "

Technical"Measurement"of"Efficiency"................................................................................................."45 "

Testing"Efficiency"...................................................................................................................................."46 "

Testing"Player"Motivations"....................................................................................................................."51 "

The"Questionnaire..............................................................................................................................."52 "

Comparative"Study".................................................................................................................................."54"


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Design".........................................................................................................................................................."55"

Conceptual"Design".................................................................................................................................."56 "

The"Game"................................................................................................................................................"57 "

The"Physical"Interface"............................................................................................................................."60 "

Implementation".........................................................................................................................................."65 "

Implementation"of"the"Physical"Interface".............................................................................................."66 "

Implementation"of"the"Problem"Solving"Game"......................................................................................"71 "

Programming"Platform"......................................................................................................................."71 "

Getting"the"Data"From"the"Sensors:"Arduino"Code"............................................................................"71"

Programming"the"Game"in"Unity3D"...................................................................................................."72 "

Evaluation"..................................................................................................................................................."82 "

The"Results".............................................................................................................................................."83 "Evaluation"Process".............................................................................................................................."83 "

General"Data"......................................................................................................................................."83 "

The"questionnaire"..............................................................................................................................."84 "

Tutorial"evel"Data".............................................................................................................................."90 "

evel"1"data"........................................................................................................................................."91 "

evel"2"data"........................................................................................................................................."92 "

evel"3"data"........................................................................................................................................."93 "

evel"4"data"........................................................................................................................................."94 "

Total"scores"........................................................................................................................................."95 "

Evaluation"Discussion".............................................................................................................................."96"

The"Tutorial"evel"................................................................................................................................"96 "

evel"1"................................................................................................................................................."97 "

evel"2"................................................................................................................................................."98 "

evel"3"................................................................................................................................................."99 "

evel"4"..............................................................................................................................................."100 "

Overall"results"..................................................................................................................................."100 "

Discussion.................................................................................................................................................."108 "

Were"the"Requirements"Met?".............................................................................................................."109 "

Why"Are"the"Quantitative"Players"More"Efficient?..............................................................................."111"

Sources"of"Error"and"Further"Research"................................................................................................."112 "


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Applicability"of"the"Research"................................................................................................................"113 "

Conclusion"................................................................................................................................................."115 "

Bibliography".............................................................................................................................................."116 "

APPENDIX"A"..............................................................................................................................................."119 "

APPENDIX"B"..............................................................................................................................................."120 "

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Introduction&"

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video!games,!and!how!they!inspire!social!isolation,!laziness!and!even!murder?!(Dailymail!UK,!2012).!

These!articles!are!often!inspired!by!tragic!events!such!as!people!forgetting!to!eat,!committing!homi

cide!and!admitting!to!have!played!Call$of$Duty!or!the!like.!However,!in!recent!times,!video!games!are!

getting! more! and!more!recognized! as! not!only! an! extremely! popular! platform!for!entertainment!

that!may!or!may!not!have!negative!influences!on!our!behavior,!but!also!an!excellent!medium!for!acquiring!or!improving!different!skill!sets.!!

Daphne! Bavelier,!Professor! of!Brain!and! Cognitive!Sciences!at! the!University!of!Rochester! in!New!

York,!USA,!held!a!TED!Talk,!published!on!the!official!TEDtalksDirector!channel!on!YouTube!(Baveli

er,! 2012),! in! which! she! argues! and! explain! some! of! the! many! positive! effects! of! actionpacked,!

online!shooter!games.!Among!these!are!improved!vision!in!the!sense!of!being!able!to!resolve!small!

details! from!cluttered! information! and! improved! attention!in! terms! of! tracking! information! and!

switching!between!tasks!quickly.!

et$al.,!2012).!!

Inspired!by!such!proposed!benefits!of!being!an!action!gamer,!and!driven!by!the!wellknown!wood

en!puzzle!box!toy!where!the!user!is!to!fit!different!shapes!into!their!respective!holes,!we!want!to!

investigate!these!supposedly!improved!skills!on!a!physical!interface.!We!want!to!situate!gamers!and!

nongamers!in! a! problem! solving! digital! game!environment,!observe!the! differences! in! efficiency!

when!problem!solving!using!a!physical!interface,!and!thereby!test!if!we!can!either!prove!or!disprove!

the!hypothesis!that!due!to!the!enhanced!skill!sets,!gamers!are!more!efficient!at!solving!problems!

than!nongamers.!

This!leads!to!the!Initial&Problem&Statement!of!this!report:!

"How%do%gamers%differ%from%non0gamers%when%it%comes%to%efficiently%solving%problems%

in%a%digital%game%environment%implemented%on%a%physical%interface?"!

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Investigations&"

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Initial&Problem&Statement,!

as!these!need!to!be!clear,!in!order!to!narrow!down!the!field!of!research!and!create!a!solid!founda

tion!for!later!analysis.!!!

!

Influence&of&video&games&on&our&abilities&

There! have!been! long!ongoing! debates! about! whether!games! improve!your!cognitive!abilities!or!

not.!With!improvements!in!modern!medical!technology,!studies!started!to!show!that!games!are!not!

just!a!tool!for!destroying!our!eyesight!or!making!us!antisocial!individuals,!but!they!can!actually!do!

quite!the!contrary,!that!being!said,!improve!our!cognitive!and!motoric!abilities.!We!will!look!into!a!

few!studies!that!showcase!the!positive!effects!of!video!games.!

One!of!the!major!points!that!speak!in!favor!of!such!positive!effects!is!the!usage!of!video!games!in!

surgeon!training.! It!has!been!repeatedly!proven!that!surgeons! or!surgery!students,!who!regularly!

play!video!games!or!practice!surgeries!on!a!simulator!have!higher!success!rates!in!real!life,!as!they!

can!complete!the!tasks!given!in!less!time!(Kennedy!et$al.,!2011;!Dobnik,!2004).!

A!study!from!Sweden!shows!that!video!games!can!help!people!recover!from!brain!damage!by!teach

ing!people!daily!life!routines!(Broeren!et$al.,!2008).!However,!it!is!worth!mentioning!that!the!re

search!required!the!game!to!be!educational,!meaning!it!should!teach!the!person!and!not!be!primari

ly!focused!on!entertaining.!

Integrating$gaming$features$into$virtual$environments$has$been$reported$to$enhance$motiva:

tion$ in$ adults$ undergoing$ physical$ and$ occupational$ therapy$ following$ a$ stroke!

(J!Broeren!et$al.,!2008)!!

Other!studies!have!reported!that!extensive!experience!in!videogame!playing!is! linked!to! reduced!reaction!time!in!visual!search,!inhibition!of!return!tasks!(Castel!et.!al.!2004),!enhanced!psychomotor!

abilities! such!as! tracking,!and! reduced!reaction! time! in!shape/color! discrimination!(Griffith!et.!al.!

1983).!Furthermore,!Greenfield!&!DeWinstanley!conducted!tests!that!showed!that!even!5!hours!of!

computer! gaming! (training)! is! sufficient! to! improve! performances! on! divided! attention! tasks!

(Greenfield!et! al.! 1994),! and! even! down! to!15! minutes! of!computer! gaming! will! enhance! perfor

mance!in!reaction!time!tasks!(OrosyFildes!et.!al.,!1989).!Even!elderly!individuals!(57!to!83!years!of!

age)! showed! improvement! in! response! time! tasks,! after! 7! weeks! of! game! training! (Clark! et.! al.!

1987).!

Among!other!things,!certain!games!(especially!action!packed!shooter!games)!are!said!to!improve!

some!traits!that!can!be!very!useful!in!our!everyday!life.!!With!the!rise!of!widescreen!monitors,!people!started!to!adapt!to!a!naturally!higher!field!of!view!(FOV).!First!person!games!of!today!usually!

offer!the!option!to!adjust!the!FOV,!and!when!being!forced!to!focus!on!the!sides!of!the!screen!while!

watching!the!center!point!trains!our!peripheral!vision!to!acknowledge!objects!we!would!not!nor

mally!notice,!which!is!particularly!useful!while!driving!(Trudeau,!2010;!Page,!2010).!Another!thing!

that!makes!gamers!better!drivers!is!their!ability!to!better!distinguish!shades!of!grey,!which!is!very!

useful!while!driving!in!the!fog!(Trudeau,!2010).!According!to!(Green,!2010),!playing!faster!paced!


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video!games!will!generally!make!you!react!to!events!faster.!Our!brains!are!constantly!collecting!in

formation!and!calculating!probabilities!on!which!they!base!the!decisions!we!make.!Engaging!in!ac

tivities!that!require!us!to!react!quickly,!offered!in!videogaming,!will!train!our!brain!to!assess!and!

evaluate! data! quickly,!thus!ultimately!making! our!response!time! faster! (Page,! 2010;!Green!et$al.,!

2010).!

Similar!to!for!example!piano!players,!as!you!get!better!at!a!certain!skill!you!start!using!less!and!less!

brain!capacity!while!doing!it.!While!gaming,!your!handeye!coordination!gets!progressively!better,!

which!means!you!will!end!up!multitasking!way!faster!and!more!efficiently!(Trudeau,!2010).!This!

would!mean!that!you!can!actually!learn!to!multitask!by!playing!video!games,!which!is!interesting,!

considering!our!initial!problem!statement,!and!that!we!want!to!test!if!gamers!solve!problems!more!

efficiently,!compared!to!nongamers.!

When!it!comes!to!solving!actual!problems,!gamers!are!very!good!at!thinking!outside!the!box.!One!

great!example!of!this!would!be!a!duo!of!gamers!inventing!a!game!for!solving!protein!structures!that!

beats!the!state!of!the!art!software!!fair!and!square!(Khatib!et!al.,!2011).!The!unusual!ap

proach! they!have!chosen!is! that!instead!of! trying! to!come!up! with! an!algorithm! that!could!solve!complex!protein!structures!by!itself;!they!figured!a!way!to!reformulate!the!problem!via!a!simple!

game!that!every!individual!can!understand!even!without!having!a!scientific!background,!thus!creat

ing!tools!that!augment!normal!abilities!of!human!beings!to!a!level!where!they!are!actually!able!to!

solve! scientific! problems.! Thousands! of! people! played! the! game,! creating! over! 5500! structures!

(Yong,!2011).!! This!proves!that!even!the!simplest!solutions!from!people!that!are!not!even!vaguely!

related!to!the!subject!can!hold!significant!scientific!value.!


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Figure&1.1:!Studies$comparing$gamers$with$non:gamers$(Boot,!2011)!

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The! table!on! the! previous!page! (Figure!1.1,! page!7)! sums!up! the!majority! of!studies!done! on!the!

subject!of!comparing!gamers!vs.!nongamers.!From!it!we!can!clearly!see!that!there!are!some!differ

ences!in!terms!of!cognition!between!the!two!groups.!What!is!very!interesting!is!that!people!can!be!

in!the!benefits!regular!games!have.!Walter!Boot!and!his!team!

however!argue!that!the!researches!done!might!have!come!in!vain!as!they!introduce!a!fairly!contro

versial!perspective!on!the!subject.!They!say:!

:gamers,$ the$ difference$might$not$ be$caused$ by$gaming$

people$may$become$action$gamers$because$they$have$the$types$of$abilities$required$to$excel$at$

these$ games,$ or$a$ third$ factor$might$ influence$ both$ cognitive$ abilities$ and$ gaming.

2011)!

This!is!a!very!interesting!point,!as!it!offers!an!alternative!view!on!the!field!of!the!effects!of!gaming!

and!what!abilities!can!be!improved!by!doing!so,!focused!on!the!theory!that!different!games!attract!

the!people!who!are!naturally!good!at!the!skills!required!to!do!well!at!the!game.!However,!as!Walter!

however!make!sure!to!prevent!situations!like!the!previously!mentioned!placebo!effect,!as!we!agree!that!this!could!indeed!bias!the!results,!and!this!factor!will!be!taken!into!consideration!in!the! Meth=

ods!chapter.!

To!sum!up;!based!on!such!studies!investigating!the!effects!of!gaming,!it!becomes!pertinent!to!say!

that!games!could!enhance!the!abilities!of!people,!directly!opposing!the!traditional!understanding!

that!games!only!bring!negative!effects.!As!so!many!things!in!life!is!centered!around!problem!solving,!

and! with! such! apparent!benefits! from! gaming,! it!is! interesting!to! ask! if!these! effects! will! lead! to!

more!efficient!problem!solving.!So!far,!it!seems!that!abilities!such!as!reaction!time,!handeye!coor

dination!and!focus!is! improved!in!gamers,!but!whether!these!abilities!lead!to!more!efficient!prob

lem!solving!will!be!the!base!for!further!research!in!the!following!chapter.!

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Gamer&Types&

Although!with!varying!precision!and!credibility,!many!studies!support!that!gamers!do!in! fact!have!

many!improved!skills!and!attributes,!as!opposed!to!nongamers.!In!fact,!so!much!so!that!it!seems!

unfair,!or!even!useless,!comparing!gamers!and!nongamers!in!the!field!of!efficient!problem!solving,!

as!it!has!become!clear!that!too!many!studies!suggest!that!gamers!are!advantageous!in!the!primary!

fields!we!expect!having!a!considerably!important!role!in!solving!problems!efficiently,!such!as!task

switching!and!reaction!times.!Furthermore,!it!can!be!argued!that!nongamers!are!extremely!rare,!

since!almost!everyone!can!be!considered!some!degree!of!gamer,!whether!it!be!hardcore,!casual!or!even!hardcore!casual.!Even!those!who!used!to!play!games,!but!are!now!too!busy,!might!still!have!

considerably!improved!abilities,!according!to!research!by!(Bavelier,!2011).!

!

For!these!reasons,! it!has!become!unattractive! for!us!to!research!differences!in! efficiency!between!

gamers!and!nongamers.!Prior!research!has!simply!already!concluded!that!gamers!outperform!non


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et$al.,!2011).!

In!other!words,!video!games!come!in!such!great!variety!in!style!and!quality,!that!it!is!considered!

inappropriate! to! assess! all! styles! and! genres! under! one! term.! Most! recent! studies,! in! particular!

y

m

colored!field.!In

stead!one!should!seek!to!divide!the!field!into!smaller,!more!accurate!groups!of!gamers,!such!as!the!

Bavelier!Lab!focusing!mainly!on!gamers!who!play!action!video!games.!

!

Seeing!as!it!is!acknowledged!that!different!types!of!games!have!different!effects!on!their!respective!

players,!and!that!certain!games!attract!certain!types!of!players,!another!question!arises:!how&do&

the&player=types&differ&in&efficiency&when&problem&solving?!

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Different&Player&Types&

To!help!us!differentiate!between!the!different!types!of!games!and!their!respective!players,!we!must!

look!into!how!to!distinguish!one!type!from!the!other.!This!following!section!will!dive!into!the!differ

ent!player!types!as!according!to!some!of!the!academicians!within!gaming!research.!

%

Richard!Allan!Bartle,!British!writer,!professor!and!game!researcher!published!in!2003!a!book!called!

worlds,!such!as!Massively!Multiplayer!Online!Role!Playing!Games!(MMORPGs).!In!this!book!he!pre

sents!four!different!player!types,!based!on!several!hundred!bulletinboard!postings!by!highly!expe

they!played!(Bartle,!1996;!Bartle,!2003).!!The!four!player!types!included!following;!achievers,!so

cializers,!explorers!and!kille

official!test!connected!to!it,!that!enables!one!to!place!oneself!in!the!spectrum!of!the!four!types!of!

players,! however,!as! Jon!Radoff! mentions!in! his! presentation! about! gameplay!motivations! at! the!

1

e

thinking,!and!Radoff!himself!has!in!fact!developed!his!own!modernized!model,!based!on!the!works!

of!Bartle,!which!he!argues!can!be!applied!in!any!type!of!game,!and!more!importantly!throughout!

lives!outside!of!gaming!(Radoff,!2011b).!!

This!is!particularly!interesting!in!relation!to!our!project,!more!specifically!considering!what!we!dis

cussed!earlier!in!the!section!Gamers&vs.&Non=gamers

""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""1"MUD:"MultiLUser"Dungeon/Dimension/Domain,"a"multiplayer"realLtime"game"world,"where"several"users"are"loL

L"Wikipedia"


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that!the!special!skills!that!gamers!may!obtain!might!not!be!caused!by!gaming,!but!simply!that!these!

people!already!have!the!types!of!abilities!required!to!excel!at!these!games!(Boot,!2011).!!

!

!

!

!

!chart!is!twodimensional,!and!with!two!axes;!the!x!axis!being!the!

amount!of!players,!the!y!axis!being!the!kind!of!feedback!the!player!desires,!ranging!from!more!qualitative!to!more!quantitative!(Figure!1.2).!An!example!of!Qualitative!goals!in!relation!to!gaming!could!

be!Immersion,!such!as!a!storyline!in!development,!whereas!an!example!of!Quantitative$goals!could!

be!an!Achievement,!such!as!defeating!the!final!boss!and!getting!100%!completion,!or!getting!the!rar

est! item! (Radoff,! 2011b).! The! chart! is! based! on! what! Radoff! explains! as! player! motivations! in!

games,!so! rather!than!plotting!specific!gaming!personality!traits,!the!chart!is! depicting!the!prefer

ences!of!the!player,!or!in!other!words,!why!the!player!is!motivated!to!play!the!game.!

What!makes!this!specific!chart!relevant!for!this!study,!is!the!desirable!ability!to!place!test!subjects!

within!the!chart,!based!on!their!respective!feedback!motivations,!thereby!categorizing!each!partici

pant! into! a! certain! group!of! players,!making! it!possible! to!differentiate! between! these!at! a! later!

point.!

In!order!to!place!each!test!subject!on!the!Radoff!chart,!it!is!important!to!look!into!the!traits!of!each!

type,!as!we!will!need!to!design!the!questions!so!that!they!are!in!accordance!with!the!motivations!of!

each!player!type.!Furthermore,!it!is!necessary!to!define!the!types!of!player!motivation!for!this!re

search,!as!these!could!otherwise!be!interpreted!in!several!ways.!Jon!(Radoff,!2011b)!has!done!exact


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ly!that,!and!for!the!sake!of!consistency!between!the!types!of!player!motivation!and!the!placement!

on!the!chart,!the!official!definitions!and!descriptions!will!be!used.!!

The!following!descriptions!of!the!player!motivation!types!are!based!on! the!official!descriptions!of!

2011b).!

$is$the$sense$of$forming$an$emotional$connection$to$a$game$by$making$the$player$

feel$that$s/he$is$actually$a$part$of$ it.$ It$is$satisfied$by$the$unraveling$of$ storylines,$explorable$

content,$individualization$and$things$such$as$a$rich$environment$or$character$personalities.!

Cooperation$is$when$players$interact$with$each$other$in$a$non:competitive$way,$such$as$team:

ing$up$to$solve$problems$too$hard$to$do$alone,$leading$and$forming$groups,$helping$each$other$

with$information$or$gifts,$or$getting$to$know$other$players.!

Achievement$is$the$sense$of$progress,$measurable$in$ways$such$as$collecting$or$owning$things,$

gaining$ levels$ or$ badges,$ or$ earning$prestige.$ Another$ sense$ of$ achievement$ could$ be$when$

friends$notice$that$you$have$gained$a$level,$and$congratulate$you$for$it.!

Competition$ o:

ciated$with$beating$other$real:life$people.$If$you$beat$something,$you$know$it$and$they$know$it.$

It$can$be$reinforced$by$things$such$as$ leaderboards,$competitions,$or$acquiring$scarce$virtual$

!

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! (Radoff,!J.,!2011b)!

What!can!immediately!be!noticed!about!these!descriptions!is!that!they,!in!pairs,!share!the!desired!

feedback!type.!The!Immersion!and!Cooperation!motivations,!both!desire!more!qualitative!feedback,!

such!as!emotional!connections,!information!and!relationships,!whereas!the!motivations!for!Cooperation!and! Achievement! desire! more!quantitative! feedback,!such! as! things! and! values! that!can! be!

i

cial!chart!of!player!motivations!(Figure!1.2!;!Radoff,!J.,!2011a),!that!shows!visually!how!the!types!

share!placement!on!the!two!axes.!However,!as!can!be!noticed,!the!types!of!motivations!are!not!bina

ry,!meaning!either!one!or!the!other.!It!should!be!understood!that!the!types!are!connected,!and!that!

the!placement!on!the!axes!show!what!motivations!the!player!is!leaning!towards!the!most.!For!in

stance!if!one!was!placed!in!the!upper!left!quadrant!of!the!chart,!that!would!not!imply!that!one!is!de

players.!

As!seen!in!Figure!1.2!(the!Radoff!chart),!the!player!types!positioned!opposite!of!one!another!on!di

agonals! (Immersion/Competition! and! Cooperation/Achievement)! have! nothing! in! common! in!

terms!of!motivation!in!playing!a!game,!differing!both!in!the!number!of!players!they!like!to!play!with!

and!in!the!desired!type!of!feedback.!On!the!other!hand,!if!we!take!two!adjacent!groups!of!players!

they!will!differ!in!only!one!aspect,!while!on!the!other!axis,!the!placement!is!the!same.!For!example,!

ent/Competition,! have!

the!same!range!of!values!on!the!yaxis,!meaning!the!type!of!desired!feedback,!only!differing!from!


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each!other! on! the!xaxis,!while!Immersion/Achievement!and! Cooperation/Competition!share! the!

same!range!of!values!on!the!xaxis,!but!differ!on!the!yaxis.!In!the!example,!the!shared!ranges!of!val

ues!on!the!yaxis!should!be!understood!as!still!being!placement!on!axes,!and!not!binary!categories,!

meaning!the!placement!on!the!yaxis!can!still!differ!even!if!the!players!are!very!close!to!each!other.!

This!means!that!choosing!two!adjacent!groups!to!test!on!might!give!a! better!delimitation!on!what!

motivational!aspects!affect!efficiency!in!problem!solving,!as!it!is!obviously!easier!to!compare!results!having!only!one!variable!instead!of!two!(in!this!case!having!to!only!compare!the!participants!across!

one!axis,!instead!of!two).!!

Furthermore,! it! is! possible! that! findings! on! one! pair! of! adjacent! groups! ,! for! instance! Immer

sion/Achievement,!might!suggest!similar!conditions!to! the!adjacent!pair,!in! this!case!Cooperation

Competition,!as!these!comparisons!take!the!same!axis!as!a!variable!!the!feedback!type.!To!elabo

rate;! hypothetically! speaking,! if! it! was!found!out! that!people! located! in! the!Immersion!quadrant!

have!a!higher!tendency!of!executing!a!specific!action,!as!opposed!to!those!in!the!Achievement!quad

rant!who!might!not!do!it!as!much,!it!is!possible!that!the!same!tendencies!can!be!seen!in!respectively!

the!Cooperation!quadrant!vs.!the!Competition!quadrant,!in!this!case!those!in!the!Cooperation!quad

rant!having!a!higher!tendency!of!executing!said!specific!action,!over!those!in!the!Competition!quad

of!logical!and!statistical!common!knowledge,!this!should!indeed!be!true,!allowing!for!comparison!in!

pairs!with!only!one!variable!(nondiagonal!pairs!on!the!chart).!!

If! one! would! choose! to!compare! two! adjacent!! groups!on! the! xaxis,! Immersion! Cooperation!or!

Achievement/Competition,! it! would!involve!having!to! design! two! different! gaming! environments!

for! testing;! a! multiplayer! game,! which! would! be! advantageous! for! the! Cooperation/Competition!

types,! and! a! singleplayer! game,! which! would! be! advantageous! for! the! Immersion/Achievement!

types!of!players.!In!the!case!of!this!research,!this!would!not!be!a!convenient!solution,!as!we!do!not!

have!the!resources!to!create!two!totally!different!games.!Furthermore,!measuring!efficiency!is!radically!harder!in!a!multiplayer!environment,!as!the!problem!solving!(as!well!as!efficiency),!is!depend

ent!on!the!other!players,!their!relationship,!their!ability!to!cooperate/compete,!etc.,!creating!far!too!

many!variables!for!this!research!project!to!comprehend!within!the!given!limitations.!

On!the!other!hand!if!we!choose!to!test!on!groups!adjacent!on!the!yaxis,!it!is!only!necessary!to!de

sign! one! singleplayer! game,! only! altering! the! type! of! feedback! gotten! from! playing! it.! In! other!

words,!it!provides!the!opportunity!to!create!the!same!game!only!in!a!different!package,!meaning!

that!the!games!have!the!same!tasks/puzzles/problems,!but!they!are!dressed!in!two!different!ways!!

one!that!will!satisfy!the!qualitative!feedback!desire!for!Immersion/Cooperation!player!motivations,!

and!one!that!will!satisfy!the!quantitative!feedback!desires!of!the!Achievement/Competition!player!

motivations.!However,!there!is!a!solution!that!is!equally!nonbiased,!but!less!costly!in!resources!!

does!not!give!feedback!favoring!either!of!the!two!groups,!it!is!possible!to!test!between!these!with

words,!if!one!were!to!design!two!variants!of!the!same!game,!both!variants!would!have!to!be!equally!

satisfying!to!the!desired!feedback!types!!which!can!be!very!hard!to!accomplish!without!going!into!

extensive!pretesting.!This!taken!into!consideration,! it!is! deemed!an! attractive!solution!to!design!a!


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problem!solving!game!that!favors!neither!players!with!desire!for!qualitative!feedback,!nor!players!

with!desire!for!quantitative!feedback,!thereby!minimizing!the!bias!of!favoring!one!group!over!the!

other.!

In!other!words,!we!can!from!this!section!conclude!that&we&will&compare&players&that&are&more&

motivated& by& qualitative& feedback&with& players& that& are&more&motivated& by& quantitative&feedback,!in!a&game&that&favors&neither&of&the&player&motivation&types.&

!

Problem&solving&in&a&game&environment&

In!the!previous!chapters!we!gained!insight!in!how!certain!video!games!can!help!people!acquire!real!

world!skills,!and!we!disc!

In!this!part!of!the!investigation!we!will!look!a!bit!more!into!the!gaming.!We!will!investigate!what!

happens!during!the!process!of!problem!solving!when!playing!games.!This!will!help!us!gain!an!in

sight!into!what!exactly!to!look!for!when!evaluating!efficiency!when!problem!solving.!

The&Process&of&Problem&Solving&

To!start!off,!we!will!look!into!the!steps!the!user!goes!through!when!solving!a!problem!in!a!game!en

vironment.! It! is! based! on! the! concepts! of! agency,! aporias! and! epiphanies! by! Kristine! Jrgensen!

(2003),!associate!professor!at!the!University!of!Bergen.!Jrgensen!describes!the!process!as!follow

ing;!the!first!step!being!agency.!Agency!is!an!action!that!is!intentional,!meaningful/consciously!tak

en!and! has! a! certain! effect,! although!the! effect! can! be!unexpected.! ! An!agency! is!in! other!words!

about!the!action!that!the!agent!(a!conscious!individual,!in!this!case,!the!problem!solver)!takes!and!

the!reason!behind!it.!However,!in!order!to!solve!the!problem,!the!agent!has!to!be!aware!of!the!prob

lem,!which!can!be!understood!as!an!aporia.!According!to!the!author,!an!aporia!is!when!the!user!be

comes!aware!of!an!obstacle!that!has!to!be!overcome.!Once!the!problem!is!known,!the!user!will!look!to!find!a!solution,!in!other!words,!the!user!will!come!up!with!a!strategy.!When!strategizing,!the!user!

might!become!aware!of!the!solution!to!the!problem,!which!Jrgensen!(2003)!defines!as!the!epipha

ny.!The!epiphany!is!often!a!sudden!and!unexpected!solution!to!the!aporias,!although!in!some!cases,!

epiphanies!will!be!based!on!previous!experience!of!similar!situations.!!

Those!are!the!basic!steps!of!problem!solving!in!a!game!environment,!but!in!order!to!fully!under

stand!these!steps,!we!will!dive!further!into!the!matter.!!

The!first!step!is!encountering!the!aporia,!the!stage!where!the!user!becomes!aware!of!the!problem.!

Once!the!problem!is!realized,!the!user!will!look!to!develop!a! strategy.!The!way!the!strategy!comes!

about!can!be!affected!by!many!things,!such!as!prior!knowledge!of!objects,!enemies,!environment,!interface,!and!even!similar!experiences!in!the!past.!Once!the!strategy!is!planned,!the!intentional!ac

tion! (agency)!takes! place,! potentially!leading! to! the! epiphany.! If!the! agency! fails,! the! player! will!

backtrack,!reevaluate!strategies,!and!try!again.!As!Jrgensen!(2003)!states,!a!failed!agency!can!be!

affected!by!many!factors,!such!as!the!user!misunderstanding!the!aporia,!a!wrong!epiphany,!a!bad!

stretegy,!etc.!!


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Going!back!and!forth!between!agency!and!epiphany!will!be!a!continuous!process!until!the!user!ei

ther!solves!the!problem,!or!quits!the!game.!!

!

These!basic!steps!of!problem!solving!will!be!the!base!for!further!research!into!the!matter.!!

To! sum! up,! problem! solving! is! handled! in! four! basic!steps,! Aporia!! Strategizing!! Agency!!

Epiphany.!Below!is!a!graphic!visualization!of!the!process:!

!

!

!

!

Figure&1.3:$The$four:step$process$of$solving$problems$in$video$games!

This!fourstep!process!could!very!well!be!related!to!what!is!called!executive!functions.!Executive!

functions!are!a!relatively!new!field!in!neuropsychology,!only!being!the!focus!of!widespread!investi

gations!for!the!past!20!years!or!so!(Gurd,!J.,!et$al,!2010).!!

In!general,!the!term!executive!functions!refer!to!a!wide!range!of!adaptive!abilities,!such!as!creative!

and!abstract!thinking,!introspection,!and!strategizing!and!execution!of!plans!to!get!what!is!desired!

(Gurd,!J.,!et$ale

step! process! of! problem! solving! in! a! game! environment.!!

e

et$al,!1997),!that!prob

lem!solving!is!a!macroconstruct!of!executive!functions.!The!macroconstruct!consists!of!four!phases,!

r


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Figure&1.4!Problem$solving$stages$

ing!this!to!the!concept!of!Aporia,!Strategizing,!Agency,!and!Epiphany!(Jrgensen,!2003),!it!is!clear!

that!the!similarities!are!considerable.!!

Diving!further!into!the!similarities!we!note!that!the!first!step!of!the!

macroconstruct! (Zelazo,! et$ al, ! 1997)! is! problem& representation,!

where!the!problem!is!introduced,!and!the!problem!solver!can!draw!on! past! experiences,! prior! knowledge! and! insights,! all! part! of! the!

spectrum! of! executive! functions! (McCloskey,! G.,! 2011),! in! order! to!

initialize!the!the!next!step.!Planning!then!requires!use!of!the!execu

tive! functions! of! planning/prioritization,! task! initiation,! working!

memory!and!organizational!strategies!to!be!able!to!effectively!set!up!a!

blueprint!for!the!execution!of!it.!When! executing,!the!problem!solver!

must! then! rely! on! the! executive! functions! of! switch,! multitasking,!

management!of!time,!flexibility,!attention!and!goal!persistence!to! see!

the! execution! through.! In! the! final! step,! evaluation,! the! executive!

function! of! metacognition,! which! is! the! ability! to! observe! how! you!

problem!solve,!and!the!evaluation!and!monitoring!of!outcome!of!the!

execution,!is!in!operation.!!

!

To!sum! up!we! can! conclude! that! the! ability! to!solve! problems!is! directly!linked!to! the! executive!

functions.!We!found!out!the!four!steps!of!problem!solving!through!the!works!of!respectively!Jrgen

sen!(2003)!and!(Zelazo,1997);!problem!representation!(aporia),!planning!(strategizing),!execution!

(agency),!and!evaluation!(epiphany).!! In!relation!to!the!purpose!of!the!research,!it!has!become!ap

parent!that!efficiency!is!primarily!linked!to!the!strategizing!phase,!as!it!is!there!that!all!actions!are!

planned! for!later! execution.! It! is! the!efficiency!of!this!process!that! will!define!the!overall!perfor

mance!of! the!participant,!as!an! inefficient!strategy!will,!when!executed,!lead!to!an! inefficient!solu

tion.!Due!to!this!we!will!from!now!on!focus!on!the!strategy!development!and!the!execution!of!the!

strategy!(thereby!determining! the!successfulness!of! the!strategy),!rather!than!the! entire! problem!

solving!process.!!

!

What!is!interesting!about!the!problem!solving!techniques!is!relating!them!to!the!player!motivations.!

It! is! interesting! to! find! out! if! the! two! groups,! the! players! that! prefer! respectively! qualitative! or!

quantitative! feedback,! differ! in! efficient! strategy! development.! Perhaps! some! type! of! feedback!

shows!to!be!better!for!achieving!efficient!problem!solving.!This!is!interesting!to!find!out,!as!one!can!

imagine!a!couple!of!uses!for!such!things.!For!example,!if!one!was!to!make!an!existing!team!solve!a!

problem,! their! desired! feedback!motivations! could! be! analyzed,!and! the!given! feedback! adjusted!

accordingly.!Another!possible!scenario!is!targeting!specific!problems!for!their!according!player!type!

if!one!was!to!make!a!puzzle!game.!These!thoughts!drive!an!interest!in!further!exploring!the!differ

ences!in! efficiency! when!strategizing! between! the!players! that! prefer! respectively! qualitative! or!

quantitative!feedback.!


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Delimitations&!

efficiency!is! closely!connected!to! the!executive!functions.!Executive!functions!is! essentially!a! wide!

range!of!cues/engagement!that!executes!the!respective!cognitive!abilities.!We!found!out!through!

the!investigation!of!previous!studies!that!these!executive!functions!can!be!vastly!improved!through!

the!use!of!video!games,!resulting!in!improved!time!management,!attention,!switch!focus,!and!multi

tasking.! From! these! improvements! in! cognitive! abilities,! we! concluded! that! experienced!gamers!

have!an!obvious!advantage!over!nongamers!in!the!field!of!efficient!problem!solving,!thus!rendering!

the!initial!problem!a!redundant!study.!We!developed!the!hypothesis!that!different!games!improve!

r

further!research!into!the!player

as!this!is!applicable!both!inside!and!outside!of!gaming!(E.G.!in!worklife,!as!opposed!to!the!same!of!

when!problem!solving! between! the!two!different! types!of! feedback;!qualitative!and! quantitative.!

Furthermore,!we!learned!through!research!of!the!process!of! problem!solving!that!the!efficiency!is!closely!related!to!the!strategydevelopment!phase,!moving!the!focus!from!efficient!overall!problem!

solving!to!efficient!strategy!development.!

So!if!the!player!types!in!pairs!have!a!the!desire!for!a!certain!type!of!feedback!in!common,!which!type!

of!feedback!motivates!efficient!strategy!development!the!most?!It!can!be!assumed!that!the!different!

playermotivations! (playertypes)! become! attracted! to! the! genres! that! fulfill! their! respective! de

sires,!so!it!is!possible!that!efficient!strategy!development!is!linked!to!the!type!of!feedback!as!motiva

tion.!Furthermore,!possible!uses!for! whatever!results!are! acquired!revealed!a! useful!purpose!that!

the! results! of! this! research! could! drive,! thus! leading! to! the! Final& Problem& Statement:&

!"How%does%efficiency%in%strategy%development%when%problem%solving%differ%between%the%players%

with% respectively% qualitative% and% quantitative% feedback%motivations% in%a% digital% game% envi0

ronment%implemented%with%the%use%of%a%physical%interface?"%

%!

!

! &


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Analysis&"

!


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The!general!purpose!of!the!analysis!is!to!set!requirements!that!can!guide!the!design!and!implemen

tation!process.!In!this!chapter!we!will!identify!and!analyze!the!requirements!necessary!in!order!to!

answer! the! final! problem! statement,! meaning! that! we! will! seek! to! define! efficiency! by! breaking!

down!and!defining!the!different!processes!that!determines!this,!along!with!an!analysis!of!what!pa

rameters!of!efficiency!to!measure.!The!chapter!will!also!investigate!and!analyze!how!to!properly!

design!a!problem!solving!environment!in!a!game!that!can!allow!the!capturing!of!data!that!can!be!used!to!measure!efficiency.!Lastly!the!chapter!will!argue!and!set!requirements!for!the!physical!in

terface!being!used.!!!

!

Efficient&Problem&Solving&

As!mentioned!in!the!final!problem!statement,!this!research!is!based!on!potential!differences!in!effi

ciency!when!solving!problems.!In!order!to!find!out!the!differences,!and!thereby!what!parts!of!the!

performance!to!measure,!it!is! necessary!to!investigate!exactly!what!efficiency!is,!what!mental!pro

cesses!determine!the!efficiency,!and!thereby!define!efficiency!for!this!research.!This!will!be!done!by!

ability!to!engage!in!purposeful,!organized,!strategic,!goaldirected!behavior,!in!other!words!problem!

solving!(McCloskey,!G.,!2011).!

!McCloskey!describes!them!as!following:!

"Executive$functions$are$not$the$mental$processes$we$use$to$perceive,$feel,$think$and$act,$but$

rather$are$the$processes$that$direct$or$cue$the$engagement$and$use$of$the$mental$processes$

i:

ties,$but$interact$with$them$in$a$way$that$results$in$efficient$and$effective$performance$and$

production$..."!

$$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ (McCloskey,!G.,!2011)!

c

and! engagement! to! these! processes,! resulting! in! efficient! and! effective! performances.!

Below!is!a!few!excerpts!from!the!list!of!abilities!that!McCloskey!states!executive!functions!as! cues!

and!directors!of!(McCloskey,!G.,!2011).!Keywords!relevant!to!this!report!are!marked!in!bold:!

1 Directing! the! efficient! use! of,! and! alternation! between,! pattern! and! detail! processing!

when!to!switch!between!the!two)!

2 Monitoring!and!regulating! speed!of!information!processing;!finding!the!right!combination!of!speed!and!accuracy!for!optimal&performance&of&an&activity!

3 Monitoring!and!correcting&task&performance!for!accuracy!and!efficiency!


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4 Directing!the!efficient!use!of!fluid!reasoning2!resources!5 Directing! and! focusing! attentional! processes,! screening& out& interference& and& distrac=

tions,!and!sustaining!attention!

6 Demonstrating!flexibility!to!consider!the!need!for!changes!and!the! capacity!for!shifting&of&cognitive&resources!to!focus!on!new!demands!or!to!respond!to!new!conditions!or!new!in

formation! ! ! ! ! ! ! (McCloskey,!G.,!2011)!

It!is! clear!from! the! list!that!executive!functions! have!a! great!deal!to! do!with!efficiency.! The! first!

point!on!the!list![1]!suggests!that!it!might!be!interesting!to!challenge!the!test!subject!with!multiple!

!game!of!chess,!where!the!main!goal!is!to!take!down!the!king,!

but!you!would!have!to!get!past!all!the!other!pieces!first.!

Another!notable!point!on!the!list!is!the!second!from!the!top!!finding!the!best!combination!of!speed!and!accuracy!for!optimal!performance!of!an!activity![2].!This!particular!point!is!interesting,!as!it!

states!that!the!right!combination!of!accuracy!and!speed!will!lead!to!optimal!performance,!or!in!oth

er!words,!the!speed!and!accuracy!factors!will!determine!the!efficiency.!But!there!are!more!factors!!

point!three! is! about! monitoring!and! correcting! task!performance!for! accuracy!and!efficiency! [3],!

problems![4],!and!point!five!regards!screening!out!interference!and!distractions![5].!!

As! the! primary! point! of! this! report! is! about!efficiency,! it!is! important! to! define! it,! and! all! these!

points! can! help! us! define! efficiency! in! relation! to! the! final! problem! statement.! Going! back! to!

we!can!conclude!from!points![2],![3],![4],![5]!and![6],!that!efficiency!can!be!deter

mined!by!factors!like! time!and!effort.!This!is!seen!for!instance!in!point![2],!which!is!stating!that!the!optimal!performance!(most!efficient!performance)!is!dependent!on!the!speed!and!accuracy.!Speed!

is!in!this!case!how!fast!one!can!solve!a!problem!! time,!but!it!is!dependent!on!the!accuracy,!meaning!

if!one!has!come!up!with!an!ineffective!strategy!(inaccurate!strategy),!it!will!affect!the!overall!speed!

of!the!problem!solving!process.!Therefore!we!can!simultaneously!deduce!that!the!accuracy!of!the!

strategy!development!can!be!determined!by!the!number!of!tries!before!a!successful!strategy!is!exe

cuted!(the!more!tries!!the!less!accurate!the!strategy).!Furthermore,!from!points![5]!and![6]!we!can!

see!that!the!ability!to!focus!the!cognitive!resources!on!what!is!important,!screening!out!interference!

and!distractions,!is!related!to!the!accuracy.!To!elaborate;!if!one!chooses!to!focus!resources!on!a!dis

traction,!the!accuracy!of!the!performance!is!diminished,!potentially!leading!to!an!ineffective!strate

gy!and! thus!the! number! of!tries! increases! !effort.! It! is!apparent!from! this! that! efficient!problem!solving!is!dependent!on!the!efficiency!of!the!strategy!development.!To!further!understand!this!mat

ter,!and!to!help!us!set!up!a!definition!of!efficiency,!it!is!relevant!to!investigate!the!strategy!develop

ment!phase!in!problem!solving.!

""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""2"Fluid"Reasoning:"ms"that"canL

not"be"performed"by"relying"exclusively"on"previously"learned"habits,"schemas,"and"scripts"(McGrew,"K.,"2013)."


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Development&of&Strategies&when&Problem&Solving&

There!are!several!different!strategies!to!go!about!when!solving!a!problem.!Kendra!Cherry!(Cherry,!

K.,! 2013),! whose! primary! research! is! into! educational! psychology,! has! defined! several! types! of!

strategizing! methods.!We! will!in! this! section! describe!these! as!

speed&and&

accuracy,!deduced!from!the!list!of!executive!functions!by!McCloskey!(McCloskey,!G.,!2011).!

The!first! method!is! the! socalled!algorithmic! procedure,! which,! according!to! Kendra! Cherry,! will!

guarantee!a!solution.!An!example!of!such!method!is!a!mathematical!formula!!

work!every!time!(Cherry,!K.,!2013).!However,!in!relation!to!a!nonmath!problem!it!is!far!from!often!

that!the!problem!solver!will!know!all!factors!of/related!to!the!problem!and!the!environment!sur

rounding!it.!Using!the! algorithmic! procedure! would! require!knowledge!and! understanding!about!

elements!that!are!hard!to!pin!down!for!the!average!person,!such!as!wind!speed,!weight,!density,!etc.,!

and!how!these!factors!will!affect!everything,!thus!leaving!this!method!practical!in!few!situations,!as!

it!can!be!extensively!timeconsuming.!From!this,!it!can!be!assumed!that!in!situations!where!this!can!

be!applied,!the! most! efficient! way! of! using! this! method! would! be!measurable! with! the! factor! of!speed,!or!in!other!words:!time.!

The!second!method!that!the!author!describes!is!the! heuristic!method.!It!is!supposedly!based!on!ex

perience,!or!in!other!words,!common!sense.!The!main!strength!of!this!method!is!the!ability!to!make!

complex!problems!appear!simpler,!as!it!utilizes!outruling!of!perceived!ineffective!solutions!(Cher

ry,!K.,!2013).!As!opposed!to!the! algorithmic!method,!this!method!does!not!ensure!a!correct!answer,!

and!can!lead!to!several!iterative!tries,!suggesting!that!with!this!method,!the!most!efficient!use!is!

with!the!least!amount!of!tries!! related!to!what!we!defined!as!effort!from!the!list!of!executive!func

tions!by!McCloskey!(McCloskey,!G.,!2011).!

Somewhat!similar!to!the!heuristic!procedure!is!the!trial:and:error!method!(Cherry,!K.,!2013).!This!proves!to!be!very!useful!if!there!is!a!limited!number!of!possible!solutions.!As!the!name!implies,!the!

solution!will!be!found!by!trying!out!each!possible!solution,!and!gradually!ruling!them!out!when!they!

prove!to!be!ineffective!(Cherry,!K.,!2013).!This!can!however!be!a! lengthy!process!if!the!field!is!not!

narrowed!down!beforehand,!although!it!can!alternatively!be!used!as!a! method!of!narrowing!down!

the!field.!Efficient!usage!of!this!method!would!logically!be!defined!as!the!lowest!amount!of!itera

tions!(or!tries),!and!fastest!time!of!completion.!

The!final!method!Kendra!Cherry!mentions!is! insight.!This!is!a!process!that!is!typically!happening!

outside!our!awareness.!It!often!occurs!suddenly!if!the!problem!is!similar!to!something!the!user!has!

already!experienced!in!the!past,!thus!allowing!the!user!to!discard!known!ineffective!solutions!and!

go!straight!for!a!working!solution.!

These!methods!do!however!not!ensure!a!flawless!process,!as!it!can!take!long!time!and!several!tries!

before!the!solution!is!found.!The!author!states!that!it!is!the!different!mental!obstacles!that!can!cause!

a!slowdown!in!efficiency!when!problem!solving.!Some!of!these!obstacles!can!be:!

Functional$fixedness,!meaning!the!problemsolver!can!only!see!the!problem!in!a!customary!way,!and!

therefore!lacks!the!overall!overview!of!the!problem.!Another!mental!obstacle!can!be!misleading!in


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formation,!which!can!easily!occur!when!a!problem!is!very!complex.!The!ability!to!differentiate!data!

that!is!useful!for!solving!the!problem,!from!misleading!data!is!important.!If!the!problemsolver!ini

tially!assumes!that!something!is!wrong/the!incorrect!way!of!doing!something,!a!mental!constraint!

is! automatically! disregarding! that! specific! method! from! the! strategizing! when! trying! to! solve! a!

problem.!For!instance,!if!the!problemsolver!assumes!that!object!A!is!a!useless!object!for!the!partic

ular!problem,!it!will!stay!out!of!the!planning!process!when!strategizing,!thus!only!leading!to!solutions!without!object!A,!whereas!in!reality!object!A!is!needed!in!order!to!solve!the!problem,!and!in!

this!case,!the!mental!obstacle!(the!assumption)!prevents!the!final!solution!from!becoming!evident!

to! the! problemsolver.! Another! mental! obstacle! is! what! the! Kendra! Cherry! (2013)! labels! as! the!

mental$set.!It!can!evidently!be!both!an!advantage!and!a!disadvantage!to!the!situation.!The!advanta

geous! part! is! that! it! works! like! the! heuristic! method,! basing! solutions! on! prior! experience! and!

known!solutions!to!similar!problems,!making!it!useful!for!problem!solving!in!some!cases.!However,!

such!a!mental!set!can!also!hinder!the!solution!from!becoming!apparent,!as!the!problemsolver!can!

develop!a!tendency!to!only!use!prior!solutions,!thus!making!it!difficult!to!think!of!alternative!ways!

of!solving!the!problem.!

From!these!methods!we!note!that!there!are!two!primary!factors!that!determine!the!efficiency!of!

p

tions!of!the!four!strategizing!methods,!from!which!we! can!understand!the!best!efficiency!as!when!

one!of!the!four!methods!is!done!best/optimal.!What!can!also!be!immediately!noticed!is!that!Kendra!

m!

the!list!of!executive!functions!by!McCloskey!(McCloskey,!G.,!2011).!Both!are!based!on!the!factors!

time$and!effort,!suggesting! that!our! definition!of!efficiency!should!definitely! include!these!factors,!

making! it! viable! not! only! for! this! particular! study,! rather,! it! seems! to! be!an! accepted! definition!

throughout!the!works!of!Kendra!Cherry!(2013)!as!well,!making!her!theory!of!strategizing!relevant!

to!this!research.!!

When!determining!what!to!measure!when!evaluating!efficient!strategy!development!we!can!now!

take!into!account!what!we!recently!learned!about!the!process!of!strategizing.!To!sum!up,!there!are!

several!methods!of!strategizing,!however,!in!general!most!build!on!previous!experience!or!common!

knowledge!and!uses!an!iterative!process!in!which!the!problemsolver!evaluates!and!discards!inef

fective!tries!each!try!in!order!to!realize!the!actual!solution!(Cherry,!K.,!2013).!

So!when!measuring!efficiency!in!strategy!development,!it!will!be!based!on!two!factors;! time&and!

effort.! Based! on! what! we! have! learned! from! respectively! Kendra! Cherry! (2013)! and! George!

McCloskey!(2011),! time!will!be!based!on!the!overall!time!it!takes!the!test!subject!to!complete!the!

stage! (solve!the! problem),! and!effort! will! be!the! amount! of! iterations! the! test! subject! has! been!

through!before!thocess!of!problem!solving!in!the!investigations,!we!can!conclude!that!the!time!value!must!be!meas

ured! from! the! initial! point! of!problem$representation,! as!the! strategizing! process! initiates! in! this!

phase.!!

When!speaking!of!efficiency,!it!can!be!logically!assumed!that!the!lowest!amount!of!the!two!factors!

would!equal!the!highest!efficiency.!However,!it!would!be!close!to!impossible!to!determine!the!most!

efficient! way! of! completing! a! stage! in! a! game,!as! every!possible!solution! would! have! to!be! first!


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thought!of,!then!evaluated!and!compared!with!other!solutions.!Obviously,!this!method!does!not!take!

!would!

have!ever!thought!of).!For!this!simple!reason,!it!is!necessary!to!utilize!another!method!of!measuring!

i

ciency,!but!with!the!results!of!all!the!other!participants,!efficiency!will!be!determined!by!the!mini

mum! and! maximum! values! in!time! and! effort! of!the!participants.!All! these!factors! taken!into!account,!we!will!define!the!degree!of!efficiency!for!the!performance!of!the!participant!as!following:!!

!

omparison%of%the%usage%of%resources%(time%and%effort)%for%the%performance,%in%re0

!

!!

measuring!the!

time!and!effort!used!in!order!to!solve!the!problem,!and!comparing!it!between!the!test!subjects.!

Looking!at!the!definition!of!efficiency!in!relation!to!the!four!methods!of!strategizing,!we!can!already!

hypothesize!a!bit;!since!the!algorithmic!method!takes!all!known!factors!into!consideration!before!

acting,!we!suspect!that!test!subjects!that!has!a!high!time!value!and!a!low!effort!value!in!their!per

formance!data!can!potentially!indicate!the!use!of!the!algorithmic!method!of!strategizing.!If!the!test!

subject!has!a!high!value!in!both!time!and!effort,!it!can!potentially!indicate!the!use!of!the! trial$and$

error!method.!This!is!obviously!dependent!on!the!luckfactor,!meaning!that!it!is!possible!for!the!test!

n! by! randomly! performing! actions.! The! heuristic!

method!seems!to!be!the!optimal!method,!where!it!is!available.!It!is!of!course!a!requirement!to!have!

useful!experience!in!the!case!of!such!method,!but!when!these!conditions!are!met,!it!can!be!assumed!

that!test!subjects!using!this!method!will!have!low!values!in!both!time!and!effort.!The!perfect,!although!not!as!likely,!method!would!naturally!be! insight,!as!this!method!draws!upon!experience!of!a!

b

lem,!meaning!even!lower!values!in!time!and!effort.!

Now!we!know!exactly!what!aspects!of!the!performance!we!must!measure!in!order!to!evaluate!effi

ciency!in!strategy!development.!To!sum!up,!it!has!been!concluded!that!the!efficiency!of!the!perfor

mance!will!be!evaluated!as!the!product!of!time!and!effort.!Furthermore!there!has!been!some!hy

pothesizing!as! to!what!results!one! might!expect!from!this!research!based!on!the!definition!of! effi

ciency!and!what!was!learned!about!the!different!methods!of!strategizing.!In!the!Methods!chapter!it!

will!find!out!how!to!collect!this!data,!and!store!it!in!a!sensible!way!that!allows!for!easy!analysis!and!

comparison!of!the!results.!

!

!

!

! !


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!

How&to&Design&the&Game&

Now!we!know!exactly!what!aspects!of!the! performance!we!must!capture!in! order!to! evaluate!effi

ciency.!In!this!section!we!will!look!into!how!to!design!a!game!environment!that!can!be!used!to!facili

tate!such!factors,!but!first,!it!is!necessary!to!look!into!how!to!keep!a!player!motivated,!thereby!making!the!player!want!to!play!the!game!and!not!lose!interest.!Interest!and!motivation!are!important!

factors!when!testing,!as!if!these!factors!are!absent!in!the!test!subject,!it!can!be!assumed!that!the!

chances!of!said!subject!to!perform!efficiently!are!slim,!for!the!reason!that!in!such!cases,!the!test!sub

jects!may!not!see!any!reasons!to!care!about!the!game,!nor!the!performance,!thereby!biasing!the!re

sults.!Furthermore,!it!is!important!to!create!an!aporia!(a!problem)!for!the!user!in!order!to!set!the!

stage! for! strategy! development,! and! make! the! player! interested! in! solving! the! problem.!

!

The&Flow&Theory&

Mr.! Csikszentmihalyi,!an! acknowledged! psychology! professor,! and! the!man! behind! the!theory! of!

flow,!states!that!our!nervous!system!is!capable!of!containing!only!110!bits!of!information!a!second!

(Csikszentmihalyi,!2004).!When!you!are!involved!in!an!activity,!you!do!not!have!enough!attention!to!

monitor!how!the!body!feels,!meaning!existence!is!basically!temporarily!suspended.!This!process!is!

what!flow!is!about.$Through!his!talk!on!TedTalk,!Csikszentmihalyi!set!up!a!7!point!list!describing,!

how!it!feels!to!be!in!flow:!

1 Completely!involved!in!what!we!are!doing!!focused!concentrated.!2 A!sense!of!ecstasy!!of!being!outside!everyday!reality.!3 Great!inner!clarity!!knowing!what!needs!to!be!done,!and!how!well!we!are!doing.!4 Knowing!that!the!activity!is!doable!!that!our!skills!are!adequate!to!the!task.!5 A!sense!of!serenity!!no!worries!about!oneself,!and!a!feeling!of!growing!beyond!the!bounda

ries!of!the!ego.!

6 Timelessness!!thoroughly!focused!on!the!present,!hours!seem!to!pass!by!in!minutes.!7 Instrinsic!motivation!!whatever!produces!flow!becomes!its!own!reward.!!!

(Csikszentmihalyi,!2004)!

These!7!points!can!also!be!summed!up!into!a!single!sentence.!Csikszentmihalyi!describes!it!as:! the$

state$in$which$people$are$so$involved$in$an$activity$that$nothing$else$$seems$to$matter;$the$experience$

itself$is$so$enjoyable$that$people$will$do$it$even$at$great$cost,$for$the$sheer$sake$of$doing$it.$(Dietz,$

$

!


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Furthermore,!Csikszentmihalyi!states!that!the!following!is!the!most!important!factors!when!gener

ating!flow!in!a!gaming!environment:!

Clear!goals!with!responsive!feedback! Merging!of!action!and!awareness!so!that!the!player!has!complete!focused!concentration!on!

the!task!at!hand!accompanied!by!a!loss!of!self!awareness!and!the!passage!of!time!!

The!sense!of!control!and!confidence!Even!though!the!flow!theory!is!a!psychological!theory,!it!is!today!often!embraced!by!game!develop

ers.!To!achieve!the!flow!state!in!a!gaming!environment!it!is!important!to!find!the!balance!between!

skill! and! challenge! (Csikszentmihalyi,! 2004).! If! not! balanced! properly! the! game! either! triggers!

boredom!as!a!cause!of!being!too!easy,!or!it!will!trigger!anxiety!because!it! is!too!challenging.!!So!in!

other!words,!it!is!important!to!challenge!the!player,!but!not!to!an!extent!where!the!challenges!are!so!

hard!that!the!player!gives!up,!neither!so!easy!that!the!challenges!are!simply!too!boring.!

!

!

&Figure&2.1:$The$flow$theory$of$Csikszenmihalyi$(2004)!

!

!

!


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As!it!can!be!understood,!the!flow!theory!is!very!important!for!keeping!the!user!engaged!in!a!game.!

This!is!particularly!relevant!to!this!study,!as!we!want!the!players!to!be!properly!motivated!when!

solving!the!problems,!in!order!to!achieve!results!based!on!optimal!performances.!In!other!words,!if!

the!players!are!not!motivated!when!playing!the!game,!it!can!be!assumed!that!their!performance!will!

be!affected!to!a!point!where!the!results!gathered!will!be!inaccurate!and!biased.!To!repeat!from!ear

lier;!if!the!problem!to!solve!is!too!easy,!the!player!will!be!bored,!and!therefore!not!engage!properly,!thus!not!provide!enough!resolution!for!gathering!data!for!the!comparison!of!the!player!motivations.!

Likewise,!If!the!game!is!too!hard,!the!user!might!give!up,!leading!to!another!case!of!biased!results.!

Furthermore,!it!is!obviously!important!to!inform!the!test!subjects!of!the!goal!of!the!game,!as!it!can!

be!assumed!that!if!the!participants!are!unaware!of!the!goal!of!the!game,!or!they!will!not!consider!

this! when! performing.! However,! they! should! not! be! informed! of! what! parameters! their! perfor

mance!is! evaluated!on,!as!this!could!affect!the!results,!making!the!participants!try!harder!because!

they!know!they!are!tested!on!it.!

From!the!interest!in!keeping!the!player!interested!and!motivated,!based!on!the!theory!of! creating!

flow!in!games,!we!can!set!up!a!few!requirements!for!the!game.!

There!must!be!clear&goals&and&responsive&feedback.! The!user!should!always!feel&in&control!of!the!game.! The!challenges! must! adhere! with! the! theory! of! flow;! neither! too! easy! or! too! difficult! to!

solve.!

Furthermore!the!test!subject!must!be!informed!of!the&goal&of&the&game!in!order!to!clarify!that!they!

should!try!to!solve!problems!efficiently.!

With!these!requirements!we!have!a!few!guidelines!for!achieving!a!gaming!experience!that!keeps!the!

player! interested! and! motivated,! thus! diminishing! the! bias.! In! other! words,! the! requirements!

should!be!interpreted!in!the!following!way!when!implemented!!the!player!must!be!informed!of!the!goal!of!the!game!!being!efficient.!Furthermore,!the!means!of!controlling!the!game!should!not!hinder!

the!optimal!performance,!meaning!the!player!must!not!feel!out!of!control!at!any!time.!This!can!be!

achieved!by!making!an!interface!that!is!easy!to!use,!and!has!logical!mapping!regarding!functions.!

The!feedback!must!be!responsive,!as!we!are!to!measure!time!and!effort,!thus!we!must!prioritize!

that!there!is!not!latency!and!the!user!should!immediately!see!what!s/he!has!done.!

The!following!section!will!investigate!how!to!create!a!problem!solving!game,!based!on!the!experi

ence!of!professionals,!as!well!as!existing!problem!solving!games!on!the!market.!

!

!

! &


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Designing&Problem&Solving&Environments&

Seeing!as! we!are!creating!a! problem!solving!game!for!evaluating!efficiency,!it! is!important!to!look!

into!how!to!create!such!problem!solving!environments.!However,!before!we!can!get!to!designing,!

!

In!the!investigations!we!discussed!the!process!of!problem!solving,!concluding!that!it!consists!of!four!overall!steps;!problem!representation,!strategizing,!execution!of! strategy,!and!evaluation!and!

correction.!Seeing!as!this!is!the!process!of!problem!solving,!it!is!of!course!necessary!to!have!what

ever! challenges! we!present!the! test!subjects! to! adhere! to! these! steps,! otherwise! it! will! not! be!a!

proper!problem.!Furthermore,!in!the!section! Development&of&Strategies&when&Problem&Solving ,!

we!found!the!four!main!methods!of!strategizing,!as!according!to!Kendra!Cherry!(2013),!and!to!di

minish!biased!results,!it!is!important!to!allow!the!use!of!every!method!in!each!problem.!Otherwise!

we!would!run!into!a!situation!where!some!participants!who!are!very!experienced!with!a!certain!

strategizing!method!would!be!unable!to!use!this!method,!making!the!results!for!this!participant!in

accurate!to!reality.!In!other!words,!when!the!game!is!designed,!each!problem/stage!must!adhere!to!

the!following!requirements:!

Each!problem/stage!must!fulfill!the!process!of!problem!solving.! Each!problem/stage!must!allow!all!four!methods!of!strategizing,!as!they!are!described!in!the!

section!Development&of&Strategies&when&Problem&Solving.!

Now!that!it!is!defined!what!it!takes!for!a!game!to!be!a! problem!solving!game,!we!can!look!into!the!

works!of!experienced!professionals,!in!order!to!aid!us!in!creating!a!framework!for!designing!prob

lems!that!fulfill!the!previously!set!requirements!from!the!problem!solving!process.!

Problem!solving!is!a!phenomenon!that!can!manifest!itself!in!various!game!genres.!Perhaps,!most!

ng!for!this!re

search,!as!the!aim!is!to!create!a!neutral!problem!solving!environment,!favoring!neither!players!with!qualitative,!nor!quantitative!feedback!motivations.!!

Robert! Bates,! an!american! game! designer!and!author! of!several!books! on!game!design! has! been!

speaking! at! conferences! about! this! very! subject! several! times,! and! in! an! interesting! proceeding!

from!the!Game!Developers!Conference,!GDC,!1997,!Bates!talks!about!different!styles!of!puzzles!that!

are! used! in! computer! games! (Bates,! 1997).!The! talk! gives! a! valuable! insight! into! what! different!

kinds!of!puzzles!exist!and!how!such!puzzles!can!be!designed!successfully.!Throughout!the!rest!of!

requirements!of!being!a!problem!that!are!stated!earlier.!!

Seeing!as!we!are!designing!a!problem!solving!game!to!facilitate!the!capturing!of!efficiency!in!strate

gy!development!is!it!important!that!the!puzzles!are!not!complicated!to!a!degree!where!the!user!los

es!hope.!This!can!be!supported!by!what!we!learned!in!the!section!about!flow.!Some!of!the!puzzles!

that!Bates!mentions!are!for!complicated!fullfeature!puzzlesolving!games.!These!puzzle!categories!

3,!other!human!players!and!history!and!context!of!the!games,!and!these!are!therefore!

""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""3"Non"Playable"Characters:"Computer"controlled"characters"inside"of"a"computer"game"


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considered!puzzle!categories!outside!the!interest!of!this!research,!as!they!would!require!much!more!

content!than!what!is!necessary,!and!what!can!be!achieved!with!the!resources!available!for!this!re

search.!!With!the!discarding!of!these,!we!are!left!with!more!basic,!but!nonetheless!important!puzzle!

styles,!allowing!for!the!creation!of!a!simple,!yet!effective!environment!to!conduct!tests!in.!!

The!following!paragraph!will!concern!itself!with!the!puzzles!that!are!usable!for!this!research!paper,!!

!As!the!name!implies,!the!core!function!of!this!puzzle!category!is!letting!

the!puzzlesolver,!the!player,!use!his!ingenuity!to!overcome!obstacles!and!solve!problems!by!build

ing!the!means!to!do!so.!Bates!explains!an!example!of!making!a!baby!stop!crying.!The!player!might!

initially!try!to!tie!some!sticks!together,!producing!a!pacifier!that!might!help!the!baby!stop!crying!or!

he!might!build!a!cradle!as!well.!But!this!challenge!of!making!the!baby!stop!crying!is!also!the!weak

ness!of!building$puzzle.$Since!the!designer!might!build!the!puzzles,!while!not!having!in!mind!that!the!

player!might!not!think!like!him,!and!thus!the!player!might!not!approach!the!puzzle!with!the!same!

mentality!as!the!designer.!This!means!that!the!designer!must!bear!in!mind!that!the!player!must!be!

nudged!towards!the!intended!solution!of!the!puzzle!as!to!extincting!the!flow!of!the!player!(Bates,!1997).!!

Excluded&Middle& & Preparing& the&Way:&These! puzzles! revolve! setting! up! dependable!

!requiring!the!player!to!recognize!that!one!particular!action!sets!a!

chain!of!events!in!motion!that!will!culminate!in!the!desired!action!taking!place.!An!example!could!be!

that!doing!A!results!in!B!and!doing!C!results!in!D,!so!if!the!puzzle!requires!A!following!D!happening!

the!player!should!hopefully!work!out!that!B! followed!by!C!produced!the!desired!outcome.!The!de

sign!of!preparing$the$way$is!when!the!logical!chain!is!expanded!for!a!more!difficult!challenge!for!the!

player.!The!same!weakness!of! !come!to!play!when!designing!Excluded$Middle$&$

Preparing$the$Way$puzzles,!that!being!that!the!designer!should!be!cautious!when!designing!the!puz

this!could!be!aiding!the!player!with!hints!on!how!the!puzzle!should!be!solved!(Bates,!1997).!

An!example!of!the!combination!of!the! and!!is!

the!game!Armadillo!Run,!which!is!an!independent!production!of!game!developer!Peter!Stock!(Mat

thew,!2006).!On!the!official!homepage!of!the!game,!Stock!describes!the!game!as!following:!!

:based$puzzle$game.$You$have$to$build$structures$with$the$purpose$

of$getting$an$armadillo$to$a$certain$point$in$space.$There$is$a$selection$of$building$materials,$

each$with$different$properties,$which$can$be$combined$to$form$almost$anything.$The$realistic$

!

(Armadillo$Run,$2009)!

ame!is!about!getting!an!ob

ject!from!A!to!B!using!a!selection!of!various!of!building!materials!that!can!be!configured!as!the!play

er!sees!fit.!The!goal!of!the!game!is!transporting!a!tiny!basketball!from!one!point!in!space!to!another.!

This!is!achieved!by!constraining!various!materials!to!a!number!of!static!points!in!the!environment,!

and!by!combining!various!objects!and!materials!into!a! contraption!that!let!the!basketball!traverse!


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from!the!start!point!to!the!finish!point,!you!can!let!the!basketball!go!and!if!it!ends!up!at!the!finish!

point,! and! stays! there! for! a! certain! amount! of! time,! the! level!is! completed.! The! excluded$middle$$

comes!into!play! with! the! feature! of!each!level!being! designed!for! the! player! to!use! various! pre

determined!fixed! additions,!such! as! slingshots,! static! objects,!catapults! and!rockets! that! must!be!

used!in!order!to!solve!the!level.!!is!then!used!to!connect!the!predetermined!addi

tions!with!a!4like!structure!that!allows!the!Armadillo!to!be!guided!to!the!goal.!!

What!is!relevant!for!us!when!it!comes!to!this!exact!game!is!its!simple!yet!powerful!problem!solving!

mechanics.!Even!though!the!objective!is!only!to!get!a!ball!from!point!A!to!point!B,!but!when!keeping!

the!ways!of!problem!solving!open!and!only!limited!by!the!players!imagination!we!will!hopefully!be!

able!to! unlock!the! creative!potential!of! our!testing!candidates,! and!by!this!acquire!valuable!data!

about!their!behaviour.!

!

!

Figure&2.2:$A$screenshot$from$the$game$Armadillo$Run$(ArmadilloRun,$2009)!

!

""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""4"A"Rube"Goldberg"machine,"contraption,"invention,"device,"or"apparatus"is"a"deliberately"overLengineered"or"overL

done"machine"that"performs"a"very"simple"task"in"a"very"complex"fashion,"usually"including"a"chain"reaction"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_reactionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_reactionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_reactionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_reactionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine


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! Sequence&Puzzles:!Sequence!is!key!when!it!comes!to!this!kind!of!puzzle.!They!rely!on!a!task!

being! done!in! just!the! right! order.! Mostly! they!are! comedic! as!the!players!usually! are!presented!

with!a!simple!means!of!achieving!a!simple!goal.!When!the!user!then!performs!that!action!however,!

something!suddenly!pops!up!and!prevents!it.!The!puzzle!then!resets!and!the!player!must!figure!out!

a!way!to!perform!the!sequence!again,!in!the!right!order.!

An!example!of!a!combination!of!excluded$middle!and!sequential$

Games!(bartbonte.com,!N.D).!The!player!is!presented!with!a!blank!ball,!and!gets!a!number!of!tools!at!

look!like!in!the!end.!What!is!missing!and!what!the!player!needs!to!figure!out!is!how!to!get!from!the!

blank!ball!to!the!end!product.!In!other!words,!how!to!get!the!default!ball!to!look!like!the!finished!

ball!on!the!picture.!All!actions!has!to!be!applied!in!the!correct!sequence!for!the!task!to!be!consid

ered!done.!The!levels!are!designed!in!such!a!way!that!the!actions!has!to!be!performed!in!the!correct!

sequence,!as!some!actions!are!irreversible,!and!will!result!in!the!player!losing!a!ball.!The!number!of!

levels!a!player!will!visit!is!strictly!limited!by!the!number!of!mistakes!he!makes!in!the!progress,!since!

the!amount!of!balls!given!to!the!player!is!fixed.!The!mechanic!of!trying!to!figure!out!the!sequence!is!

what!makes!this!game!so!addictive!and!thus!making!it!one!of!the!finest!examples!there!is.!!

!

!

Figure&2.3:!Screenshot$taken$of$of$Factory$Balls$2$from$(bartbonte.com,$N.D)!

!

!

!


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!

Figure&2.4:!Screenshot$of$the$first$level$in$Super$Stacker$2!

!

Super!stacker!2!is!a!puzzle!game!from!2009!which!can!be!found!on!the!website!(kongregate.com,!

N.D).!It!is!the!most!played!puzzle!game!on!the!site!with!over!6.6!million!plays.!The!game!is!based!around!physics!and!balance!and!the!objective!is!to!place!all!your!objects!without!any!of!them!falling!

out!of!the!screen.!In!the!first!40! levels!you!get!predetermined!blocks!for!every!level,!meaning!you!

will!always!get!the!same!blocks!in!the!same!order!for!each!level.!This!means!that!there!often!are!

specific!solutions!the!game!is!looking!for!and!only!those!solutions!will!let!you!win!the!game.!Once!

the!40!levels!are!solved!e

ly!random.!You!can!now!attempt!to!beat!all!the!40!levels!again,!but!with!random!blocks.!This!makes!

the!game!a!whole!lot!harder!and!you!have!to!think!about!how!you!place!the!blocks,!because!this!

time!around!the!final!solution!to!each!level!will!be!completely!random.!If!we!are!to!relate!this!to!

e

!puzzles!rely!on!things!being!done!in!the!right!or

der,!which!is!the!case!of!Super!Stacker!in!the!first!40!levels.!The!solution!is!often!based!on!a!struc

ture!which!is!hinted!through!the!title!of!the!level.!When!relating!the!game!to!building!puzzles!the!

objective!is!to!solve!a!problem!by!building.!In!the!case!of!Super!Stacker!2!the!obstacle!to!overcome!

is!that!you!should!place!all!the!shapes!without!them!losing!equilibrium!and!falling.!So!your!ingenui

ty!will! be!challenged!since!you! will! need! to!build/stack! in! a! clever! way,! especially! in! the! bonus!

mode,!as!there!is!no!specific!way!to!solve!the!actual!problem.!If!we!were!to!use!this!game!for!testing!

efficiency,!we!would!be!able!to!measure!how!well!a!person!does!in!order!to!place!the!blocks.!We!


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could!assign!the!participant!predetermined!shapes,!and!measure!how!many!tries!are!needed!before!

the!participant!has!beat!the!level.!Another!option!could!be!assigning!the!participant!random!blocks,!

which!could!add!another!level!of!challenges,!however,!this!would!lead!to!bias,!as!each!participant!

would!play!different!levels.!This!is!not!an!attractive!solution,!as!it!can!be!argued!that!some!partici

pants!would!play!levels!that!are!considerably!harder!than!other!participants.!!

!

Delimitation&of&puzzle=types&

Having!reviewed!the!different!puzzle!categories!and!evaluated!which!of!them!has!properties!that!

are!suited!for!our!form!of!test,!we!have!concluded!that!the! sequential$puzzles!would!be!most!fitting!

for!the!purposes!of!this!research.!The!advantages!of!the!sequential!puzzle,!over!the!two!other!kinds,!

is!that!it!offers!an!opportunity!for!us!to!meticulously!measure!and!log &data!of!actions!and!events!

that!the!player!sets!in!motion,!inside!the!game.!In!other!words,!these!things!can!be!translated!into!

the!parameters!that!define!efficiency;!Time!and!Effort.!This!specific!puzzle!type!is!build!around!the!

player!trying!out!different!sequences!searching!for!the!right!one,!meaning!that!the!player!can!be!

expected!to!have!to!perform!several!tries!before!finding!the!right!sequential!combination!for!solving!the!puzzle,!dependent!of!the!method!of!strategizing.!Speaking!of!methods!of!strategizing,!this!

particular! puzzle! type!has! been!evaluated! useful,!as! it! fulfills!the!requirements! we! deduced!with!

thoughts!on!The&Process&of&Problem&Solving!by!Kristine!Jrgensen!(2003)!by!having!all!the!prop

erties!of!a!problem!as!it!is!described!by!the!author,!as!well!as!the!Development&of&Strategies&when&

Problem&Solving!by!Kendra!Cherry!(2013),!by!allowing!all!four!methods!of!strategizing.!Further

more,!with!the!same!fulfilling!of!requirements,!we!also!believe!that!the!excluded$middle$puzzle$can!

within! start! and! finish!

where!the!player!has!to!figure!out!the!correct!approach.!Furthermore,!these!two!puzzletypes!relate!

i

tion!of!efficiency!in!the!Analysis!chapter,!as!these!types!of!puzzles!require!several!steps!to!achieve!one!global!problem.!With!such!thoughts,!we!can!conclude!that!the&game&for&testing&for&efficient&

strategy&development&will&be&a&combination&of&sequence%and&excluded%middle&puzzles.!

With!the!puzzle!types!determined,!it!is!possible!to!hypothesize!a!bit.!Even!though!the!game!must!be!

developed!so!that!it!does!not!favor!neither!players!with!qualitative,!nor!quantitative!feedback!moti

vations,! it! is! possible! that! the! quantitatively!motivated! players! will! outperform! the!qualitatively!

motivated! players.! The! reasoning! behind!this! hypothesis! is! the! theory! that!the! players! who! are!

more!motivated! by! quantitative!feedback!supposedly! have!traits! like!enjoying!challenges! for!the!

sake!of!the!challenge,! d

vantages!or!selffulfillment),!and!generally!more!selfcentered!motivations!(Radoff,! J.,!2011b)!that!

assuring!of!skills!and!accomplishment.! On! the! other! hand,! players! who! are! more! motivated! by! qualitative! feedback! are! ex

pected!to!not!perform!as!well!as!their!quantitative!counterparts,!disliking!most!of!the!quantitative!

traits,!such!as!grinding!and!other!storyless!feedback!types.!

!


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Now!that!we!have!found!out!what!elements!our!game!for!testing!efficiency!should!include,!we!can!

move!on!to!developing!a!physical!interface!for!facilitating!the!game.!

The&Physical&Interface&

There!are!many!advantages!in! using!a!physical!interface!in!this!research.!Physical!interfaces!offer!

the!user!an!intuitive!understanding!of! complex!control!mechanism!within!humancomputer!interaction!if!correctly!(Piper,!B.!et!al.!2002).!In!other!words,!we!can!precisely!capture!all!actions!of!each!

test!subject,!which!is!useful!for!analyzing!and!comparing!the!performances,!making!a!sensorbased!

physical!interface!a! very!attractive!solution.!However,!before!we! investigate!relevant!sensor!tech

nology,!it!is!necessary!to!consider!general!design!methods!for!the!product.!during!this!chapter!are!

going!to!look!into!Donald!Normans!design!principles.!Donald!Norman,!academic!in!the!field!of!cog

!in!which!he!discusses!a!number!of!good!and!bad!designs!in!objects!that!

we!use!every!day.!He!is!renowned!for!his!design!principles!of!Affordances,!Constraints!and!Feed

back,!and!in!this!section!we!will!go!in!depth!with!these,!based!on!his!book.!!

!

General&Design&Principles&for&the&Physical&Interface&

When!testing!differences!between!two!groups!of!people,!it!is!important!to!minimize!the!bias.!If!one!

testing!group!has!a!clear!advantage!in!a!task!over!the!other,!the!results!are!immensely!biased,!and!

can!not!be!used!for!anything!other!than!proof!that!this!group!is!advantageous!to!the!other!under!the!

set!conditions.!In!other!words!!when!being!evaluated!on!a!task,!the!means!of!performing!this!task!

must!not!hinder!the!performance!capabilities!of!one!group!over!the!other,!unless!the!purpose!of!the!

test!is!about!which!group!is!better!at!this!specific!tool.!It!is!important!to!ensure!that!the!two!test!

groups!have!equal!chances!of!doing!their!best!or!most!natural!performance,!in!order!to!minimize!

bias.!Furthermore,!as!it!can!be!assumed!that!some!games!require!the!use!of!a!specific!controller,!making! tests! subjects! that! are! familiar! and! experienced! with! this! controller! advantageous! over!

those!who!are!not,!we!must!create!an!interface!that!is!intuitive,!with!the!purpose!of!diminishing!this!

bias.!From!this!we!can!settle!on!a! requirement!for!the!design!of!the!interface:!The%interface%must%

be%an%intuitive%controller.%!

In!order!to!create!such!an!interface,!it!must!be!easy!to!use,!and!with!a!very!moderate!learning!curve.!

In!the!world!of!physical!interfaces,!this!field!is!covered!by!terms!like!Affordances,!Constraints!and!

Feedback.!

!

Visibility%%

Visibility!is!making!sure!the!user!knows!how!and!where!to!interact!with!the!object.!Donald!Norman!

(1988)!states!that!if!there!is! low!visibility!of!the!controls!of!the!interface,!people!have!a!hard!time!

figuring!out!how!to!use!the!it.!He!gives!an!example!of!a!phone!with!15!visible!controls,!where!13!of!

them!are!buttons.!The!phone!has!a!total!of!27!actions,!of!which!none!of!the!participants!knew!how!

to!use!all!of!them.!Norman!explains!that!the!problem!with!the!phone!was!that!some!functions!re

quired!the!user!to!use!more!than!one!control!in!a!specific!order.!Donald!Norman!compares!this!to!a!


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car!he!brought!where!there!was!over!100!different!controls!and!77!of!the!controls!controlled!the!

stereo,!the!windows/sunroof!and!the!navigation!system,!but!after!he!have!had!a!short!introduction!

to!how!the!car!worked!by!the!car!dealer,!Donald!Norman!knew!somewhat!how!he!was!gonna!use!

the!controls,!simply!because!the!controls!did!one!thing!and!one!thing!only!!this!is!good!design!ac

cording!to!Donald!Norman!(1988).!He!stresses!the!importance!of!visible,!natural!relationships!be

tween!the!controls!and!the!interface.!The!system!is!understandable,!meaning!the!relation!between!

can!do!but!not!all!are!visible,!it!is!clear!how!there!is!no!relation!between!the!actions!the!user!has!to!

do!and!the!results!to!be!accomplished.!Insufficient!feedback!from!the!phone!makes!the!user!unsure!

whether!t

Documents

Efficiency & Player Motivations