Volume 24, Issue 4 (Winter 2023)                   Advances in Cognitive Sciences 2023, 24(4): 59-73 | Back to browse issues page


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Jahromi Z S, Koleini Mamaghani N, Sadeghi Naeini H. Investigating the effect of smartphone games on emotions: An approach to Kansei Engineering System. Advances in Cognitive Sciences 2023; 24 (4) :59-73
URL: http://icssjournal.ir/article-1-1420-en.html
1- MA in Cognitive Sciences, Department of Creative Design, Institute of Cognitive Sciences, Pardis, Iran
2- Associate Professor, School of Architecture and Environmental Design, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran
Abstract:   (700 Views)
Introduction
Smartphones provide countless opportunities for users to eliminate negative emotional states and have more enjoyable experiences by interacting with others and digital content. Today game designers are looking for ways to improve the user experience to enhance players' experience by improving their connections with a game. On the other hand, modern education has taken a new approach through the conceptual combination of video games. Unquestionably, many educational games need more fun and interactive aspects of a video game. Depending on several factors, players can experience emotions such as joy, anxiety, satisfaction, fear, or disappointment while playing. Indeed, two crucial questions game designers need to ask themselves are why people play games and what motivates them. It can be said that the main reason for the game for people is that "video games are now considered a human experience".
In different style games, the player is informed individually about affairs, events, and processes that force them to take actions such as forecasting, planning, and vital decisions. Finally, prudent management is if the answers are accurate, correct, and intelligent; researchers have shown that such games significantly affect selective attention, working memory, spatial visualization, reaction time, and even processing speed. For all the reasons mentioned, in this study, an attempt has been made to examine the type of interest of people in different game styles to help game developers.
Kansei Engineering System
Kansei is a Japanese word that originated from the heart of Japanese culture and is a kind of psychological feeling or product of imagination that has no direct equivalent in the vocabulary of other languages. The term is actually derived from Japanese culture, which is closely related to the characteristics of this culture. The concept of Kansei is very much related to the concept of personal feelings. In this research, an attempt is made to help game developers design games that interest users by using the Kansei engineering system.
Methods
Research questionnaire
In this research, the Kansei engineering system was used to evaluate products. At first, different styles of mobile games were studied. According to a study on a variety of smartphone games, the results obtained on the styles of these game categories are action, words, puzzles, simulation, driving, hobby, strategy, sports, and music. Then, based on the opinions of activities in designing game design, one or two games were selected from each group. The semantic differentiation method (5 scales) was used to prepare the questionnaire. For this purpose, first, the words and vocabulary related to the scope of the games were collected; out of about 70 words, 15 words, "boredom, pleasure, excitement, cheerfulness, fun, fear, stress, addiction, violence, empowerment, despair, futility, peace, challenge and usefulness" were selected. This study was conducted on five group: 11 to 15 years, 16 to 19 years, 20 to 25 years, 26 to 35 years, and 36 years and above. Using a simple non-probability sampling method, 32, 31, 31, 25, and 24 people answered the questionnaire for each age group, respectively. Sixteen games were included in the online questionnaire, along with Kansei words. Also, at the beginning of each game, users were asked to fill in the options for that game if they were familiar with it. After analyzing the results of the questionnaire, the correlation coefficient was used for clustering Kansei words. Words that were close in correlation coefficient were numerically related to each other, regardless of the semantic relationship. In the next step, each table of words that had different correlation coefficients with different words was located in such a way that they had the highest correlation coefficient with the previous or next cluster.
Results
The score of each Kansei word in different games for each age group was analyzed. Kansei's words for the game of Call of Duty had the highest score among all the games in all groups. In the age group of 26 to 35 years, the cooking fever score was also at the level of the Call of Duty game. In the age group of 11 to 15 years, the Amirza game had the lowest score, and most words in this game had a score of less than 2. In the age group of 16 to 19 years and 20 to 25 years, Angela scored the lowest, and most of the words in this game scored less than 2 and 2.5, respectively. In the age group of 26 to 35 years and 36 years and above, cooking fever scored the lowest, and most words in this game scored less than 3 and 2.5, respectively.
For the age group of 11 to 15 years, clusters of 5, 8, 9, and 10 have correlation coefficients higher than 0.8. Similarly, for the age group of 16 to 19 years, clusters 2 and 7 have correlation coefficients higher than 0.9, and clusters 4 and 8 have correlation coefficients higher than 0.8. For the age group of 20 to 25 years, cluster 7 has a correlation coefficient higher than 0.9, and clusters 4 and 8 have a correlation coefficient higher than 0.8. For the age group of 26 to 35 years, cluster 7 has a correlation coefficient higher than 0.8, and clusters 4 and 8 have correlation coefficients higher than 0.8. For the age group 36 years and above, clusters 3, 9, and 11 have correlation coefficients higher than 0.8, and clusters 6 and 10 have correlation coefficients higher than 0.8.
The highest score in each cluster, in the age group of 11 to 15 years, the game of Sudoku was the most frequent among all clusters. In the age groups of 16 to 19 years, 20 to 25 years, and 36 years and above, the game Call of Duty was the most frequent among all clusters, and in the age groups of 26 to 35 years, Angela's game was the most frequent among all clusters. Finally, in the age group of 36 years and above, in addition to Call of Duty, Clash Royale and Street Racing games were more frequent among the clusters.
Conclusion
Smartphone games with features such as interactivity and a simulation platform have attracted a large number of audiences in various age groups and have a significant place in people's leisure time. This study tried to identify users' feelings towards different game styles using the Kansei engineering system and extract the features considered by different age groups and use them in designing games. In all groups, the word entertainment had the highest score, while the word fear, violence, and despair scored the lowest. Call of Duty was also prevalent among all age groups due to factors such as graphics, social interactions, sound effects, narrative structure, 3D images, and realism. It can be concluded that in designing any style of play and for any age, creating a sense of the natural world for individuals will be a critical success. Furthermore, paying attention people’s to the mental and emotional states, according to their age, will be very effective in designing the game. In addition, it is recommended that future studies can be conducted on various gaming platforms (e.g., PCs, Tablets, and the like) besides examining different game designs neurologically.
Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines
The researchers obtained informed consent from the participants. The method implemented in this research was a survey, and all procedures followed ethical principles.
Author’s contribution
The participation of all authors, including the main and secondary researchers, in correcting and revising the article was 100%.
Funding
This article has not received any financial support from any institution.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to thank the professors who helped us to conduct this research. The authors would also like to thank all volunteers who participated in this study.
Conflict of Interest
Hereby, the authors of this article declare and clarify that there is no conflict of interest.
 
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Type of Study: Research |
Received: 2022/05/5 | Accepted: 2022/10/19 | Published: 2023/02/19

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