Difference in gaze control ability between low and high skill players of a real-time strategy game in esports

High-skilled first-person shooting game players have specific frontal lobe activity: Power spectrum analysis in an electroencephalogram study

First-person shooting (FPS) games are among the most famous video games worldwide. However, cortical activities in environments related to real FPS games have not been studied. This study aimed to determine differences in cortical activity between low- and high-skilled FPS game players using 160-channel electroencephalography. Nine high-skilled FPS game players (official ranks: above the top 10%) and eight low-skilled FPS game players (official ranks: lower than the top 20%) were recruited for the experiment. The task was set for five different conditions using the AimLab program, which was used for the FPS game players' training. Additionally, we recorded the brain activity in the resting condition before and after the task, in which the participants closed their eyes and relaxed. The reaction time and accuracy (the number of hit-and-miss targets) were calculated to evaluate the task performance. The results showed that high-skilled FPS game players have fast reaction times and high accuracy during tasks. High-skilled FPS game players had higher cortical activity in the frontal cortex than low-skilled FPS game players during each task. In low-skilled players, cortical activity level and performance level were associated. These results suggest that high cortical activity levels were critical to achieving high performance in FPS games.

Esports experts have a wide gaze distribution and short gaze fixation duration: A focus on League of Legends players

This study investigated the specific gaze control ability of expert players and low-skill players of League of Legends (LoL). Eleven expert and nine low-skill players were divided according to their official ranking. Then, the gaze movement of each participant when performing each task (e.g., easy task and moderate task) while competing against a computer artificial intelligence system was recorded. Experts were found to have a significantly wide horizontal gaze distribution. Additionally, experts had a consistently short gaze fixation duration during the moderate task. These results suggest that a wide horizontal gaze distribution allows experts to obtain information from a wider area. Additionally, the consistently short fixation duration of the experts indicated that they need only a short period to assess information, which is advantageous because large amounts of information need to be processed within a limited time while playing. This specific gaze control ability could be an important factor that contributes to the superior performance of expert LoL players.

Global visual attention SPAN in different video game genres

Video games, specifically action video games, have been demonstrated to be a useful tool in improving certain visual aspects in the general population. Visual attention span, the ability to simultaneously process multiple distinct visual elements during a single fixation, has been shown to improve among action video game players. The goal of this study was to verify that visual attention span is better not only in action video games, but also in other video game genres such as sports simulators or role-playing games. A total of 41 participants, aged 18 to 40 years old, were asked about the type of video games they were playing, name and genre, and the frequency of play. Visual attention span was assessed in all participants. Participants were divided into 4 groups according to the genre of video game they played. The total percentage of letter identification in the visual attention span was not significantly different between groups. A significant difference was found in the sixth position letter, and the right hemifield performance between groups, especially in sports simulators and action video game participants who showed a better performance. The action video game group showed a significant correlation between visual attention span performance and weekly hours played. Playing regularly different genres other than action video games can contribute to raise visual attention resources.

The effect of playing e-sports games on young people's desire to engage in physical activity: Mediating effects of social presence perception and virtual sports experience

E-sports game experiences can help enhance young peoples' willingness to participate in sports and fitness. However, e-sports game studies have mostly focused on users' violent tendencies and aggressive behaviors, and less attention has been paid to the positive effects on young peoples' sports health. The purpose of this study is to provide reasonable guidance young people away from sedentary, addictive and other negative behaviors and to promote active sports and healthy exercise and development. Following the random sampling criteria, questionnaires were distributed to Chinese young people aged 14 to 24 through gaming communities as well as social media platforms, and 1608 valid questionnaires were obtained after eliminating invalid ones. The influence mechanism of e-sports game experience on young peoples' intention to participate in sports and fitness was examined empirically by using factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The e-gaming scenes (β = 0.399, p<0.01), virtual sports experience (β = 0.257, p<0.01), and social presence (β = 0.258 p<0.01) each had a significant positive effect on young peoples' intention to participate in sports and fitness; virtual sports experience [OR]0.099, 95%: CI 0.077-0.121 and social presence[OR]0.052, 95%: CI 0.035-0.071, were known to have mediating utility in the e-gaming scenario's influence on young peoples' intention to participate in sports and fitness. Using the significant features of sports video games such as entertainment and simulation to awaken the interest and willingness to participate in young people sports is an innovative way to accelerate the development of mass sports.