Games that respond to our emotions? (Part 2)

Weekend America has a story about how a device made by EmSense can monitor emotions for use in gaming applications.

“Video games that can tell what you’re feeling and even alter how the game reacts to you based on your emotional state are on the horizon, says Mike Zyda, who heads up the University of Southern California’s video game development program.”…

We’re beginning to see a lot of these devices coming on to the market. They seem to be mostly targeted at gaming applications, which would seem ideal. Measuring physiological markers like heart rate and skin conductance can tell us a lot about arousal/anxiety/engagement levels (i.e. anxiety vs. boredom), but very little about value (i.e. pleasant vs. unpleasant). For games, it’s much easier to assume that arousal levels are on the positive side than for usability or task oriented applications. We play games for recreation, but we use tools to complete tasks that accomplish goals. I’m eager to see these devices applied to a more task-oriented environment, but I’m waiting to see how they will go about measuring value.