Physiological Measures in Game User Research

The subjective experience of emotions which is usually caused by a specific stimulus either real or virtual typically gets accompanied by physiological and behavioral changes in the body. An essential part of the gaming experience is formed by emotional responses, as physiological responses are not affected by subjective tendencies, considering those physiological responses may contribute to the insights of game user research. In this chapter, the origins of psychophysiological responses will be examined on a theoretical basis along with a review of the psychophysiological measurement methods previously employed in the game studies. We will explore their relationship with emotional responses as well as their correspondence with the self-report based evaluations.