Thoughtful gamer: where intention becomes action

Abstract

This project investigates how “static” and “dynamic” gameplay styles differentially affect a player’s cognitive state, as indicated by electroencephalography (EEG) signals. Two Unity-based games were developed: a fast-paced “Survival Arena Action Game (SAAG) ” that is dynamic, and a memory card-matching task that is static. EEG data from a Muse 2 headset were used to compute a beta-to-alpha (β/α) ratio as an indicator of attentional load. Results show greater and more variable β/α ratios in the dynamic game, reflecting increased cognitive shifting and real-time decision-making. Conversely, the static game produced steadier β/α values, suggesting sustained but less fluctuating mental effort. Sequence analysis provided partial evidence that playing the dynamic game first can prime performance in the static task, although overall β/α declined in second-session play due to potential fatigue. Interestingly, subjective reports of enjoyment did not always align with objective measures of engagement, indicating a complex relationship between perceived difficulty and neural activation. While limited by small sample and consumer-grade EEG hardware, these findings support the feasibility of real-time neurofeedback for quantifying cognitive demands, laying the groundwork for deeper exploration of game-based cognitive training and adaptive gameplay. Future work will expand the sample size and refine the analysis to validate these trends.