Returning to the seaside for another year of game-related talks and conferencing, Vertical Slice will be presenting a talk on the use of biometrics with regard to video games and user experience.

Titled Using Biometrics to Improve Player Experience, the talk will be an hour of fun and fascination and is scheduled for Thursday the 15th of July.

Here is what you can expect to hear about:

Biometrics objectively measures a player’s emotional response to your game, such as fear, excitement and boredom. By using biomedical sensors to capture events directly from the player’s body, insights can be revealed into how gameplay affects the player in the following ways: Excitation, Brain Waves, Muscular Tension, Heart Rate, Behavioural Analysis. Alongside the standard development and playtesting procedures, these techniques can be used to ensure that the design of the game and its desired effects are aligned with the actual experience the player is having. Video footage of biometric playtest sessions are shown, indicating exactly how games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 affect the player’s biometric responses in real-time, with simultaneous broadcasting of the game, the player and the biometric data. Key events are highlighted that have the most significant impact on the player’s experience, objectively showing which specific parts of the game are most evocative for the player, both negatively and positively.