Gamer Style: Performance Factors in Gamified Simulation

Abstract

Serious games and gamified simulations are increasingly being used to aid instruction in technical disciplines including the medical field. Assessments of player performance are important in understanding user profiles in order to establish serious games as a reliable, consistent method for increasing skills and competence in all trainees. In this study we used questionnaires, game characteristic metrics and EEG analysis to explore players' performance in a bronchoscopy simulator. We found that players who performed better were younger, made fewer errors, were quicker and differed in spectral profile during game play. Our findings, while speculative, have implications for training regimes in which gamified simulations are employed. We make suggestions for game design and for tailoring training regimes to suit individual learning styles to enhance knowledge acquisition and retention.