  Gameplay research about experiential phenomena is a challenging undertaking,
given the variety of experiences that gamers encounter when playing and which
currently do not have a formal taxonomy, such as flow, immersion, boredom, and
fun. These informal terms require a scientific explanation. Ludologists also
acknowledge the need to understand cognition, emotion, and goal- oriented
behavior of players from a psychological perspective by establishing rigorous
methodologies. This paper builds upon and extends prior work in an area for
which we would like to coin the term "affective ludology." The area is
concerned with the affective measurement of player-game interaction. The
experimental study reported here investigated different traits of gameplay
experience using subjective (i.e., questionnaires) and objective (i.e.,
psychophysiological) measures. Participants played three Half-Life 2 game level
design modifications while measures such as electromyography (EMG),
electrodermal activity (EDA) were taken and questionnaire responses were
collected. A level designed for combat-oriented flow experience demonstrated
significant high-arousal positive affect emotions. This method shows that
emotional patterns emerge from different level designs, which has great
potential for providing real-time emotional profiles of gameplay that may be
generated together with self- reported subjective player experience
descriptions.
