Don’t Hit The Wall, Just Squeeze The Ball: How Tangible Interactive Devices Can Help Manage Frustration In Online Games

Paper Title

Don’t Hit The Wall, Just Squeeze The Ball: How Tangible Interactive Devices Can Help Manage Frustration In Online Games

Publication Info

• Topic area: Frustration management in online gaming through tangible interactive devices.
• Keywords: frustration, online games, tangible interaction, emotion regulation, distraction, self-generated touch, toxicity prevention, stress management, fidgeting, interactive systems.

Background and Problem

• Problem / challenge: Frustration in online games often leads to negative behaviors such as rage quitting, toxic interactions, and diminished enjoyment. Current intervention systems are primarily reactive, focusing on punishing toxic behavior after it occurs, with little emphasis on proactive frustration management.
• Significance: Addressing frustration proactively could prevent toxic behaviors, enhance player well-being, and improve the overall gaming experience.
• Motivation and related work: Prior work highlights frustration as a precursor to toxicity and the importance of emotion regulation in gaming. However, there is a lack of proactive systems that leverage distraction, self-generated touch, and coping strategies to manage frustration during gameplay.

Solution

• Proposed approach: Frustration Buddy, a tangible, interactive stress ball designed to help players manage frustration through distraction and self-generated touch.
• Novelty:
  1. Combines distraction (light and sound signals) and self-generated touch for frustration management.
  2. Integrates emotion regulation techniques into a tangible device for gaming contexts.
  3. Provides exploratory insights into player attitudes and design considerations for such systems.
  4. Proposes a proactive approach to prevent toxicity by addressing frustration early.
• Procedure and key techniques:
  • Designed as a squeezable, dodecahedron-shaped stress ball with integrated LEDs, a speaker, and a gyroscope.
  • Offers four interaction modes: passive fidgeting, soothing light animations, distraction with flashing lights/sounds, and a mini-game requiring user engagement.
  • Developed iteratively with feedback from researchers, staff, and gamers to optimize durability, comfort, and functionality.
  • Evaluated through semi-structured interviews with nine gamers to gather insights on frustration, attitudes toward the device, and design preferences.

Results

• Concrete findings:
  • Participants experience frustration frequently, often due to poor personal or team performance.
  • Frustration leads to behaviors like rage quitting, lashing out, or physical actions of anger.
  • Participants were generally positive about Frustration Buddy and its potential to help manage frustration.
• Advantage over baselines:
  • Provides a proactive tool for frustration management, unlike existing reactive systems that focus on punishment.
  • Combines tactile interaction and distraction to offer a healthier outlet for frustration.
• Experiments / evaluation:
  • Conducted semi-structured interviews with nine participants (aged 18–34, average 25.8 years) who regularly play online games.
  • Explored causes of frustration, current coping strategies, and attitudes toward Frustration Buddy.
  • Identified preferences for soothing light signals over blinking lights and a general dislike for sound signals in gaming environments.
• Limitations and future work:
  • Study did not evaluate Frustration Buddy in real gameplay scenarios.
  • Prototype design (size, material, stiffness) may not suit all users.
  • Small sample size (n=9) limits generalizability.
  • Future work includes integrating Frustration Buddy into a commercial game, testing in dynamic gaming environments, and studying its impact on reducing toxic behaviors.

Summary

This paper introduces Frustration Buddy, a tangible, interactive stress ball designed to help players manage frustration during online gaming. By leveraging distraction and self-generated touch, the device aims to prevent frustration from escalating into toxic behaviors. Semi-structured interviews with nine gamers revealed that frustration is a common issue, and participants were generally positive about the device's potential, though concerns about timing, signal modalities, and customization were noted. While further evaluation in real-world gaming contexts is needed, this work highlights the potential of proactive, tangible systems for emotion regulation in gaming environments.