Studying computer game learning experience through eye tracking

Abstract

The use of computer games has been a popular but controversial issue. Dickey (2005) points out that instructional technologists are prepared to borrow techniques from various fields of media such as film, television and comics. Computer games, however, are ignored in terms of advancing new methods for instructional models despite a body of research on computer games and the availability of edutainment material in market. Pagulayan, Keeker, Wixon, Romero and Fuller (2003) suggest that ‘the relationship between theories of game design and traditional HCI evaluation methods have yet to be defined but definitely yields an exciting future’. Recently, a few pioneering studies have investigated the use of computer games with eye tracking technology. Sennersten (2004), for example, studied eye movements in an action game tutorial, Kenny, Koesling, Delenay, McLoone and Ward (2005) investigated eye gaze data from a firstperson shooter game. Eye tracking studies can be either top-down or bottom-up. Topdown studies are based on cognitive theories whereas bottom-up approaches analyse the data without having any prior theories relating eye movements to cognitive activity (Ramloll, Trepagnier, Sebrechts & Beedasy, 2004).