Browsing by Author "Tu, Joseph"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4

Designing Biofeedback Board Games: The Impact of Heart Rate on Player Experience
(Association for Computing Machinery New York, NY, United States, 2025-04-25) Tu, Joseph; Kukshinov, Eugene; Mogavi, Reza Hadi; Wang, Derrick M.; Nacke, Lennart E.
Biofeedback provides a unique opportunity to intensify tabletop gameplay. It permits new play styles through digital integration while keeping the tactile appeal of physical components. However, integrating biofeedback systems, like heart rate (HR), into game design needs to be better understood in the literature and still needs to be explored in practice. To bridge this gap, we employed a Research through Design (RtD) approach. This included (1) gathering insights from enthusiast board game designers (n = 10), (2) conducting two participatory design workshops (n = 20), (3) prototyping game mechanics with experts (n = 5), and (4) developing the game prototype artifact One Pulse: Treasure Hunter’s. We identify practical design implementation for incorporating biofeedback, particularly related to heart rate, into tabletop games. Thus, we contribute to the field by presenting design trade-offs for incorporating HR into board games, offering valuable insights for HCI researchers and game designers.
Support Autonomy: Exploring Player Perspectives on AI-Supported Onboarding in Video Games
(Association for Computing Machinery, 2025-04-25) Choong, Lydia; Cmentowski, Sebastian; Kukshinov, Eugene; Tu, Joseph; Nacke, Lennart E.
Video game onboarding faces the challenge of teaching game mechanics in a fun and engaging way. Artificial intelligence (AI) solutions have become a quick fix to help users understand technology. However, little is known about how AI supports player onboarding in video games. To address this knowledge gap, this research explores player perspectives on AI-supported onboarding. We conducted a qualitative user study (n = 20) to investigate player expectations, attitudes, and concerns about AI-supported learning experiences. Players learn primarily through the lived experience of a game and value personalized guidance during onboarding. Participants emphasized the importance of maintaining control over how AI is used during onboarding and the freedom to choose their support level. Our results suggest that players want future AI-supported onboarding systems to prioritize their agency, encourage active learning, and maintain transparency throughout the learning process. We contribute to game design research by proposing balanced, player-centric AI-supported onboarding experiences in video games.
The great AI witch hunt: Reviewers’ perception and (Mis)conception of generative AI in research writing
(Computers in Human Behavior: Artificial Humans, 2024-10-24) Hadan, Hilda; Derrick, Wang; Mogavi, Reza Hadi; Tu, Joseph; Zhang-Kennedy, Leah; Nacke, Lennart
Generative AI (GenAI) use in research writing is growing fast. However, it is unclear how peer reviewers recognize or misjudge AI-augmented manuscripts. To investigate the impact of AI-augmented writing on peer reviews, we conducted a snippet-based online survey with 17 peer reviewers from top-tier HCI conferences. Our findings indicate that while AI-augmented writing improves readability, language diversity, and informativeness, it often lacks research details and reflective insights from authors. Reviewers consistently struggled to distinguish between human and AI-augmented writing but their judgements remained consistent. They noted the loss of a “human touch” and subjective expressions in AI-augmented writing. Based on our findings, we advocate for reviewer guidelines that promote impartial evaluations of submissions, regardless of any personal biases towards GenAI. The quality of the research itself should remain a priority in reviews, regardless of any preconceived notions about the tools used to create it. We emphasize that researchers must maintain their authorship and control over the writing process, even when using GenAI's assistance.
Visualizing Engagement: The Power of Fun, Interactive, Sketching and Humour in Conference Networking (F.I.S.H.)
(2025-04-25) Tu, Joseph
In today’s fast-paced conference environment, traditional networking methods often fall short of fostering genuine connections. This case study explores innovative strategies for enhancing attendee engagement through the F.I.S.H. framework: Fun, Interactive, Sketching, and Humour. By integrating these elements, attendees can break down barriers, promote creativity, and cultivate a more relaxed atmosphere conducive to meaningful interactions. I discuss the role of sketching as a visual communication medium that encourages collaboration and idea sharing, while humour acts as the chum, attracting participants to the conversation and preventing the social waters from becoming stagnant and keeping awkwardness from hooking anyone. Through two case studies, I highlight the effectiveness of this medium in transforming the conference experience, ultimately leading to richer connections and enhanced networking outcomes. This research encourages the practical application of creative engagement techniques, such as sketching, at conferences. The findings suggest that this approach can significantly improve networking outcomes and foster a more vibrant and innovative community.