Scientific Heroes: Multiplayer Online

Battle Arenas Foster Players

Hypothetico-Deductive Reasoning
Abstract
Carlos Mauricio Castao Daz Prof. Dr. Heinrich Hussmann Based on in-game behaviour, eye tracking data, and
First Author Third Author cued retrospective reports, the present study aims to
Ludwig-Maximilians Universitt Universitt Mnchen, LFE evaluate how commercial video games, specifically
Mnchen Medieninformatik Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas can foster hypothetico-
Leopoldstr. 44. 605. Amalienstr. 17. A507. deductive reasoning in everyday life contexts. At the
80802 Munich, Germany. 80333 Munich, Germany. same time, it aims to locate in-game behaviour
Mauricio.diaz@psy.lmu.de Heinrich.hussmann@ifi.lmu.de patterns serving as indicators of hypothetico-deductive
traits. The studies take place in a simulated-naturalistic
Prof. Dr. Birgit Dorner Prof. Dr. Jan-Willem Strijbos environment using both an exploratory and a
Second Author Fourth Author microgenetic design.
Katholische Ludwig-Maximilians Universitt
Stiftungsfachhochschule Mnchen Mnchen Keywords
Preysingstr. 83. H207. Leopoldstr. 13. 3411. Video Games; Cognition; Reasoning; Multiplayer Online
D-81667 Munich, Germany. 80802 Munich, Germany. Battle Arenas.
Birgit.dorner@ksfh.de Jan-willem.strijbos@psy.lmu.de
ACM Classification Keywords
K.8.0. Games; J.4. Psychology.
_______________________________________________________________
Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for
personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are Introduction
not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that The present is an ongoing interdisciplinary work linking
copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights
for third-party components of this work must be honored. For all other the fields of Psychology, Game Studies, and Learning
uses, contact the owner/author(s). Copyright is held by the Sciences, aiming to understand the how hypothetico-
author/owner(s).
CHI PLAY 2015, October 57, 2015, London, United Kingdom. deductive reasoning (understood as the process of
ACM 978-1-4503-3466-2/15/10. generating and falsifying hypotheses [18]) can be
http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2793107.2810313
fostered by commercial games. This study focuses on
one specific genre of video game: Multiplayer Online

481
Battle Arenas (MOBAs), for being nowadays an
expanding field while being considered not only games
but a type of sport (eSport) [17].
Rationale
Information technologies have become the centre of
the contemporary society, changing the way we engage
with our surroundings, socialise, and play [22] [13]. In
the same way, our everyday life contexts have changed
to facilitate our interactions mediated by the
information technologies.
During the last two decades, an increasing number of
research works focused on the influence of video games
in the everyday life. Anthropological [8], cultural [10],
social [1], learning [9], and psychological studies [4]
aim to understand different facets of the video game
phenomenon, like the creation of communities, literacy,
learning, and development of cognitive skills.
Although some studies focus on the relationships
between psychology and the effects of video games,
most of these studies have focused on clinical problems
such as violence [11] and addiction [14]. Other studies
in psychology and education inquire about the extent in
which some games can be designed or used in the
classroom to teach specific skills or content of courses
[7]. Only a few studies focus on the development of
skill acquisition, particularly using commercial video
games [2]. The present research explores this last part,
as there have not been many studies tackling the
cognitive skills developed by commercial game players
(particularly in natural environments) and eSports
players.
Methodology
The study makes use of both exploratory [21] and
microgenetic [20] research designs while employing
mixed methods analysis. Game recordings, eye tracking
data [16], in-game communication, and cued
retrospective reports [12] are used as a means to
analyse the different reasoning processes of the players
in a simulated-natural environment. The simulated-
natural environment is an environment designed to be
in-between a natural environment and a laboratory
setting. Therefore, players can feel like playing a
normal game at home (or with friends, like in
tournaments or LAN parties) while in a laboratory
setting (i.e. wearing eye trackers) [15].
The exploratory design is made with expert ranked
players (experts) in two different MOBAs, League of
Legends [19] and Defence of the Ancients 2 [24]. Under
this condition, couples of players are asked to play
three ranked games (5v5) against humans, and three
cooperative matches against easy bots (computer
controlled characters) in a 2v2 custom game. This
approach allows detecting and extrapolating different
play patterns and cognitive skills used by the players.
At the same time, it allows to compare the progress of
the novices with the experts.
The microgenetic design is carried out with video
gamers who have never played MOBAs (novices).
Under this condition, couples of players are asked to
play ten hours of cooperative games against easy bots
in a 2v2 custom game. The ten hours of play are
divided in six days. During four days, the players play
for two hours. The last two hours of play consist of two
differed evaluation sessions playing the game under the
482
last condition they played. If the players advance
quickly in their learning curve, the beginner condition is
replaced with the intermediate condition in which the
players have to play against intermediate-difficult bots.
This is done to maintain the Zone of Proximal
Development active [23]. This approach allows
depicting the learning curve and the development of
cognitive schemata and skills of the players over the
course of time.
For the study, hypothetico-deductive reasoning was
parameterised using two approaches. The first is a
linguistic approach used during the in-game talk and
the interviews. This approach uses verbal cues as I
thought, I guessed, it is probable, it is likely, and so
on, to detect hypothetic behaviour. The deductive
behaviour was parameterised as falsation of
hypotheses. The second approach makes use of the
verbal findings and triangulates it with behavioural and
biometric cues so that the hypothetico-deductive
behaviour can be inferred without the need for verbal
cues.
The triangulation of research designs allows exploring
how the abilities of experts are presented (particularly
hypothetico-deductive reasoning abilities). This enables
detecting and tracking them in other groups such as
the novices, therefore allowing spotting changes and
comparing development between novices and experts.
Finally, the simulated-natural environment research
allows for a more ecologically valid approach to study
of the development of skills, matches, and group
communication by overcoming the artificiality of the
laboratory environments and the intrusiveness of field
research [5].
Proposal
The aim of this research goes along the lines of works
done before, for instance by Bartle [3] and Canossa [6].
Nevertheless, the research focus is not player types but
the players cognitive processes, specifically
hypothetico-deductive reasoning. To achieve this aim,
the data gathered will be triangulated to detect in-
game behavioural patterns (persona behaviour), which
indicates the presence of hypothetico-deductive
reasoning at a certain point of the game. For this
purpose, a model allowing tying together the behaviour
of the personas with the cognitive processes of the
player will be created.
Reach
This research aims to understand better how people
develop hypothetico-deductive reasoning in an
everyday context (video gaming). Thus contributing not
only to a better understanding on how video games
impact people cognitively in their everyday life and
contexts, but also learning the skills required and
developed by expert players of MOBAs. Furthermore,
this research can shed light on two different
perspectives: (1) understanding and improving learning
in informal contexts, and (2) inquire about the
cognitive skills required for professional MOBA players
in order to succeed.
Preliminary results
For the exploratory study with experts, the following
preliminary results have emerged after the data was
first pre-processed.
Expert players make hypotheses all the time
during the gameplay, both in conscious and
unconscious ways. Hypotheses can be of different
483
types: opponent behaviour, opponent intentions,
opponent location, and the probability of the occurrence
of a specific event.
Players test their hypothesis by trying to acquire
more information (e.g. looking at the enemys
inventory), but most of the times they assume their
beliefs to be true and act based on this.
Map awareness, hiding information, misleading the
enemy, and gaining visualisation of the map are key
elements for hypothesis and strategy generation.
Participants informed that the simulated-natural
environment did not feel like home, but it did not feel
like a laboratory. Instead, they pointed it felt like a LAN
party or a tournament setting.
For the microgenetic study with novices, the following
patterns have been detected after the data was first
pre-processed.
Novice players do not make high-level hypotheses.
Their hypotheses are mostly based on patterns
gathered from the bots opponent.
Players create strategies by imitating the bots
behaviour.
Players look for a winning strategy, and once they
find it, this becomes stable and inflexible.
Conclusions and further research
Although the study is still in progress, the current
methodology has shown great potential to understand
the use and development of cognitive skills in a holistic
way. Being game studies a relative new field of study,
exploratory designs host great potential to understand
certain phenomena in an open way before finding
relationships with other theories.
Further on, it is expected to expand the research so
that cognitive models and patterns can be drawn from
the data gathered.
Acknowledgements
This research is being carried with the support of the
Elite Network of Bavaria (ENB), The Munich Center of
the Learning Sciences (MCLS), and the Catholic School
of Applied Sciences (KSFH).
References
[1] Abrudan, E. and Prundaru, G. Social
Representations and Ideologies in Digital Games.
Journal of Media Research 5, (2009), 3141.
[2] Baniqued, P., Lee, H., Voss, M., et al. Selling
points: What cognitive abilities are tapped by
casual video games? Acta psychologica 142, 1
(2013), 7486.
[3] Bartle, R. Hearts, clubs, diamonds, spades:
players who suit MUDs. 2013.
http://www.mud.co.uk/richard/hcds.htm.
[4] Blumberg, F., Altschuler, E., Almonte, D., and
Mileaf, M. The Impact of Recreational Video Game
Play on Childrens and Adolescents Cognition. In
Blumberg and Fisch, eds., Digital Games: A
Context for Cognitive Development. New
Directions for Child and Adolescent Development.
2013, 4150.
[5] Bryman, A. Social Research Methods. Oxford
University Press, USA, 2012.
[6] Canossa, A. Play-Persona: Modelling Player
Behaviour in Computer Games. 2009.
http://www.dcdr.dk/dk/materiale/dokumenter/ph
d-afhandling-alessandro-canossa.pdf.
[7] Facer, K., Joiner, R., Stanton, D., Reid, J., Hull,
R., and Kirk, D. Savannah: mobile gaming and
484
 learning? Journal of Computer Assisted Learning
20, (2004), 399409.
[8] Folkerts, J. Playing Games as an Art Experience:
How Videogames Produce Meaning Through
Narrative and Play. Emerging Practices in
Cyberculture and Social Networking, (2010), 99
117.
[9] Galarneau, L.L. Authentic Learning Experiences
Through Play: Games, Simulations and the
Construction of Knowledge. Social Science
Research Network (2005).
[10] Gee, J. Why are video games good for learning.
(2007).
[11] Gentile, D., Lynch, P., Ruh Linder, J., and Walsh,
D. The Effects of Violent Video Game Habits on
Adolescent Hostility, Aggressive Behaviors, and
School Performance. Journal of Adolescence 27,
(2004), 522.
[12] Van Gog, T., Paas, F., van Merrinboer, J., and
Witte, P. Uncovering the problem-solving
process: cued retrospective reporting versus
concurrent and retrospective reporting. Journal of
Experimental Psychology: Applied 11, 4 (2005),
2037244.
[13] Huizinga, J. Homo Ludens. A study of the play
element in culture. Martino Publishing,
Connecticut, USA, 1950.
[14] Khang, H., Kim, J., and Kim, Y. Self-traits and
motivations as antecedents of digital media flow
and addiction: The Internet, mobile phones, and
video games. Computers in Human Behavior 29,
(2013), 24162424.
[15] Lieberoth, A. and Roepstorff, A. Mixed methods in
game research. Playing on streghts and
countering weaknesses. In P. Lankoski and S.
Bjrk, eds., Game Research Methods. ETC Press,
2015, 271290.
[16] Poole, A. and Ball, L. Eye Tracking in Human-
Computer Interaction and Usability Research:
Current Status and Future Prospects. In
Encyclopedia of human computer interaction.
Idea Group, Pensilvania, 2005, 211219.
[17] Popper, B. Field of streams: how Twitch made
video games a spectator sport. The Verge, 2013.
http://www.theverge.com/2013/9/30/4719766/t
witch-raises-20-million-esports-market-booming.
[18] Popper, K. The logic of scientific discovery.
Routledge Classics, New York, 1959.
[19] Riot Games. League of Legends. Riot Games,
2009.
[20] Siegler, R. and Crowley, K. The microgenetic
method: a direct means for studying cognitive
development. American Psychologist 46, 6
(1991), 606620.
[21] Stebbins, R. Exploratory research in the social
sciences. Sage Publications, Inc., United States of
America, 2001.
[22] Steinkuehler, C. Cognition and literacy in
massively multiplayer online games. In Handbook
of research on new literacies. Lawrence Erlbaum
Associate, New York, USA, 2008, 611634.
[23] Sun, C.-T., Wang, D.-Y., and Chan, H.-L. How
digital scaffolds in games direct problem-solving
behaviors. Computers & Education 57, 3 (2011),
21182125.
[24] Valve Corporation. Dota 2. Valve Corporation,
2013.
485