Designing Biofeedback Board Games: The Impact of Heart Rate on Player Experience

Research Background and Problem

• What problems or challenges did the authors identify?
  The authors pointed out that while biofeedback technologies (e.g., heart rate) have seen some application in digital games, their potential in board game design remains underexplored. They identified a lack of design frameworks and practical implementations for integrating heart rate into traditional board games, especially in the context of social interaction in multiplayer games.

• Why is this problem important?
  Heart rate, as a form of physiological data, can enhance game interactivity and immersion. Real-time heart rate data not only deepens social interaction among players but also conveys emotional experiences and raises awareness of physical states. In board games, particularly social deception games, this can offer unique dynamic gameplay.

• Research Motivation and Related Work
  Using a Research through Design (RtD) approach, the authors aim to understand how to seamlessly integrate heart rate data in multiplayer settings. Building on existing literature on biofeedback technology and game design, this study seeks to address the gap in applying heart rate data to board games and providing design guidelines.

Solution

• What methods or solutions did the authors propose?
  The authors adopted a three-phase RtD research process:

  1. Exploring game designers' attitudes toward heart rate integration.
  2. Collecting feedback from players and designers through participatory design workshops and generating design concepts.
  3. Rapidly iterating on game prototypes based on findings from the first two phases and collaborating with industry experts to optimize heart rate functionality.

• What are the innovative aspects of this solution?

  • Proposed a new game mechanism that uses heart rate data to enable social deception and interaction, altering the traditional rules of board games.
  • Developed the first heart rate biofeedback-based board game prototype, One Pulse: Treasure Hunter's, along with an underlying technical system fully integrated with real-time heart rate data.

• What are the implementation steps and key technologies used?

  • Used the Polar H10 chest strap as the heart rate data collection device, with API integration for real-time heart rate data transmission and visualization.
  • Designed heart rate as a dynamic variable that can influence game rules, such as increasing difficulty or triggering specific events.
  • Optimized the data display device using 3D printing and employed mobile or desktop displays for testing and demonstration purposes.

Research Outcomes

• What specific outcomes were achieved?

  • Designed three primary heart rate-related features: heart rate synchronization mechanism, stress threshold-triggered failure mechanism, and hidden heart rate data functionality.
  • Created a novel board game prototype and its core gameplay, incorporating heart rate as part of the game dynamics to facilitate social deception and strategic decision-making through physiological state detection.

• What advantages does it have compared to existing solutions?

  • Successfully integrated real-time biofeedback technology into non-digital board games while preserving the core physical interaction experience of board games.
  • Provided various design philosophies, such as balancing mechanics, physiological data visualization, and spatial layout, to improve game fairness and player experience.
  • Conducted an in-depth analysis of the impact of unified and non-unified seating arrangements on game role interactions and social dynamics, offering practical recommendations for board game designers.

• What were the experimental or evaluation results?
  Game testing revealed that real-time heart rate monitoring significantly increased the complexity of social deception:

  • During task phases, players had to balance their physiological state with game objectives, managing to conceal stress while maintaining authenticity.
  • Player interaction dynamics were enriched, and it was observed that using heart rate to infer honesty or deception introduced psychological pressure.

• Limitations and Future Directions

  • Limitations: Heart rate monitoring may lead to unfairness due to natural physiological differences among players and could induce stress or anxiety. The current game prototype requires further refinement in character settings, process optimization, and balance.
  • Future Directions: Investigate more complex game dynamics (e.g., incorporating character traits that influence heart rate or adopting multimodal biofeedback), design adaptive mechanisms to reduce player stress, and explore applications of this technology in educational and therapeutic board games.

Through this study, the authors pioneered the design of biofeedback-based board games, providing board game developers with a practical case of integrating physiological data with game mechanics. This research also offers rich design inspiration and technical support for future game innovations.