Blending Science And Practice: A Collaborative Approach For Evaluating The Value Of Heart Rate Measurement

We report on our collaboration between the user research team of Ubisoft Blue Byte (UBB) Dusseldorf and the Entertainment Computing Research Group (ECG) of the University of Duisburg-Essen. Based on a shared interest in exploring the use of biometrics for evaluating the player experience, we opted for heart rate (HR) monitoring in order to gain initial experience with general requirements for psychophysiological methods. We conducted two subsequent studies: the first at the university to evaluate the method in general, the second at UBB to gain insights into the particular requirements of playtests in practice. This two-stage process was chosen to reduce resource requirements on the company's side and to refine the procedure before testing it in the field. Experiences with guidelines to use biometrics are shared and discussed regarding opportunities for collaboration between academics and practitioners.