First-person Shooter Game Research Articles

Mitigating Cybersickness in Virtual Reality: Impact of Eye–Hand Coordination Tasks, Immersion, and Gaming Skills

Cybersickness remains a significant challenge for virtual reality (VR) applications, particularly in highly immersive environments. This study examined the effects of immersion, task performance, and individual differences on cybersickness symptoms across multiple stages of VR exposure. Forty-seven participants aged 18–45 completed a within-subjects design that involved the Cybersickness in Virtual Reality Questionnaire (CSQ-VR) and the Deary–Liewald Reaction Time (DLRT) task. Cybersickness symptoms were assessed across four stages: before and after VR immersion, and before and after a 12 min rollercoaster ride designed to induce cybersickness. The results showed significant increases in symptoms following the rollercoaster ride, with partial recovery during the post-ride tasks. Eye–hand coordination tasks, performed after the ride and VR immersion, mitigated nausea, as well as vestibular, and oculomotor symptoms, suggesting that task engagement plays a key role in alleviating cybersickness. The key predictors of symptom severity included a susceptibility to motion sickness and gaming experience, particularly proficiency in first-person shooter (FPS) games, which was associated with a reduced cybersickness intensity. While task engagement reduced symptoms in the later stages, particularly nausea and vestibular discomfort, overall cybersickness levels remained elevated post-immersion. These findings underscore the importance of task timing, individual differences, and immersive experience design in developing strategies to mitigate cybersickness and enhance user experiences in VR environments.

YOLO-based object detection performance evaluation for automatic target aimbot in first-person shooter games

First-person shooter (FPS) focuses on first-person perspective action gameplay, with gunfights usually giving the player a choice of weapons, significantly impacting how the player approaches or strategies. General military-themed FPS games have realistic models with actual weapons’ shapes and characteristics. This type of game requires high aiming accuracy while using a mouse on a PC. However, not all players have a fast response time in knowing the surrounding situation. New players may need aid when targeting enemies in the FPS world. One popular yet underhanded method is injecting a program code using a dynamic-link library (DLL) to manipulate memory and asset data from the game. Instead of DLL, we promote a novel approach using the player’s real-time game screen, detecting the person without injecting program code into the game. The you only look once (YOLO) algorithm is used as an object detector model since it can process images in real time for up to 45 frames per second. The proposed object detection has an outstanding performance with 65% accuracy, 98% precision, and 61% recall of 51 tests for each game. YOLO’s fastest detection speed produces an average of 35 FPS on the YOLO tiny variant using a mixed precision (half) graphics processing unit (GPU).

Comprehensive analysis including in-game spending and violent game playing in patients with internet gaming disorder.

Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is receiving increasing attention. In particular, violent gameplay or in-game spending affects the psychiatric conditions and economic difficulties of patients. We conducted regression analysis and path analysis to investigate the associations between a comprehensive list of factors in patients with IGD, including the degree of internet or gaming dependence, developmental problems, family background, severity of depression, sleeping habits, in-game spending, and first-person shooter (FPS) and third-person shooter (TPS) game playing. The participants were 47 Japanese individuals (39 males and 8 females) aged ≤20 years diagnosed with IGD with complete data from the internet addiction test, autism spectrum quotient, Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. All participants were asked whether their parents have divorce history, whether they have siblings, whether they play FPS or TPS games, and whether they engage in in-game spending. Firstly, we compared these factors between males and females; secondly, we conducted regression analysis and path analysis in male patients. As for simple comparison between sex, female patients showed greater severity of IGD and depressive score. In regression analysis of male patients, significant associations were found between FPS or TPS game playing and in-game spending. We also created path diagrams. The results of the comprehensive analyses suggest the possibility that bidirectional synergistic effects could be achieved by gradually reducing both violent game playing and in-game spending. The concept of internet dependence has a wide range of meanings, and for each subtype, it is important to consider the background that led to the dependence to make individualized environmental adjustments and provide psychotherapy.

Дискурсивная специфика компьютерных игр

The present paper refers to the current problem of semiotic signs’ specifics in the context of gaming discourse based on texts from action first-person shooter game Ultrakill developed by Finnish creators. The problem is relevant due to the influence that computer games have on people’s mind – in particular on the minds of the younger generation. Moreover, the study will help to understand the linguistic mechanisms of the impact of video games on players. The study used methods of semantic analysis, semiotic analysis, observation and description techniques. As a result, the research revealed that developers use intertextual units to create patterns that are familiar to the player, but which at the same time have new characteristics. While 66% of all intertext is universally known, obscure allusions play an important role in creating associations for the recipient as well, which proves the importance of intertext in video game discourse. Well-known allusions play a role in creating semantic images in the game, while the lesser known intertext has easy to understand semes that could provoke the player to action in game. The research identified the following types of intertext: allusions to songs, music albums, other games, myths, the Bible and literature. The synthesis of intertext and author’s text in level names gives the player an idea of the upcoming challenges without informing of the level context, and in some cases even intriguing the player. The combination of borrowings and original semiotic units in the names of characters creates images that are familiar to the player, but at the same time, it creates properties that are specific to this particular game. Dialogues are mainly inherent in this genre, but the conversations also have deviations from this genre, which is also done in order to affect the player – the author gives the recipient a familiar behavior pattern in order to replace it afterewards, causing cognitive dissonance to the player. Conclusions are drawn about the discourse mechanisms in video games, how they affect the player and for what purpose the developer uses one or another linguistic technique.

Evaluating reinforcement learning algorithms in first-person shooter games using VizDoom

Evaluating reinforcement learning algorithms in first-person shooter games using VizDoom

Morality in Gaming: Observer Perceptions of Player versus Character Actions

The debate on the impact of violent video games and its influence on players continues despite mixed findings. Using the lens of third person perception research, we explored moral judgments of laypersons, those often at the crux of these public debates. Study 1 investigated whether the player or character is perceived by an outside observer as responsible for moral decisions made within the narrative of a violent video game. Study 2 investigated how those perceptions may impact the observers’ perceptions of the player’s future negative behaviors and personality traits. Study 1 and 2 used a 2 (condition: rescuing vs. harvesting) x 2 (role: player vs. character) mixed ANOVA with role as a repeated measure. We created a brief recording of gameplay leading to a moral decision in Bioshock, an interactive, first-person shooter game, shown to participants. Participants were asked to rate perceived morality of player and character actions. Study 1 showed that participants (N = 51) held the observed player more morally responsible for in-game behaviors than the character within the game. Replicating and advancing Study 1, Study 2 (N = 227) showed support for you are what you eat heuristic, in that observers were more likely to view the negative behaviors of the in-game characters as indicators of negative personality traits of the player. These insights are crucial in the broader societal discourse on the potential link between violent video games and real-world aggression

Performance and Navigation Behavior of using Teleportation in VR First-Person Shooter Games

Teleportation has been adopted as the preferred mode of navigation in many virtual reality (VR) experiences due to its ability to allow users to easily move beyond the limitations of the tracking space while minimizing the risk of inducing VR sickness. Teleportation instantly translates the user’s viewpoint to a user-selected destination and therefore eliminates any optical flow generation that could cause visual-vestibular conflict. Though teleportation is a discrete navigation method unique to the domain of VR, most VR experiences are modeled after 3D experiences found on desktop/console platforms that use continuous locomotion. How the use of teleportation affects the performance and navigation behavior of its users, especially in competitive first-person shooter environments is unknown, yet it could have a significant effect on gameplay design. We conducted a user study (n=21) that compares teleportation versus continuous locomotion using a VR first-person shooter game with other players being simulated using AI agents. We found significant differences in performance, navigation behavior, and how both locomotion methods are perceived by its users. Specifically, using teleportation, players traveled farther, but during combat were found to be more stationary and as a result got hit more frequently. These differences were profound and carry the potential to impact multiplayer games. We discuss possible strategies to balance gameplay.

ARCHIGENIUS - VR MAZE SOLVING USING A* ALGORIHTM

Game is one of the entertainment media that is rapidly growing. On this day, playing games is one way to spare time for refreshing. One of the popular games this year is an action game such as First-Person Shooter (FPS). Besides, the FPS game genre has developed rapidly to make it more interesting for the player. Non-player Character (NPC) has an essential function in artificially and automatically to make a game more immersive and consisting of various kinds. Also, from observation, adding challenges when playing, namely enemy characters, can make a player more enjoyable. Besides, one of modern technology to develop innovations for supporting a game is called virtual reality. So, in this research, the FPS game is built by adding NPC elements with virtual reality technology. Also, the gameplay in this game is a survival maze. Based on the evaluation, this game application can display objects in a virtual reality smoothly, and all feature in this game can display and run effectively. Besides, the respondents also give good feedback for user testing which has average score 4.66 from several users. So, the conclusion from this research is this game can make the FPS game more interesting for users by adding NPC, 3D element, and virtual reality. Keywords - First-person Game, Virtual Reality, Survival Maze, Non-Player Character, virtual maze environment.

Co-activation patterns during viewing of different video game genres

Past research has revealed cognitive improvements resulting from engagement with both traditional action video games and newer action-like video games, such as action real-time strategy games (ARSG). However, the cortical dynamics elicited by different video gaming genres remain unclear. This study explored the temporal dynamics of cortical networks in response to different gaming genres. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were obtained during eye-closed resting and passive viewing of gameplay videos of three genres: life simulation games (LSG), first-person shooter games (FPS), and ARSG. Data analysis used a seed-free Co-Activation Pattern (CAP) based on Regions of Interest (ROIs). When comparing the viewing of action-like video games (FPS and ARSG) to LSG viewing, significant dynamic distinctions were observed in both primary and higher-order networks. Within action-like video games, compared to FPS viewing, ARSG viewing elicited a more pronounced increase in the Fraction of Time and Counts of attentional control-related CAPs, along with an increased Transition Probability from sensorimotor-related CAPs to attentional control-related CAPs. Compared to ARSG viewing, FPS viewing elicited a significant increase in the Fraction of Time of sensorimotor-related CAPs, when gaming experience was considered as a covariate. Thus, different video gaming genres, including distinct action-like video gaming genres, elicited unique dynamic patterns in whole-brain CAPs, potentially influencing the development of various cognitive processes.

Experimenter bias: exploring the interaction between participant’s and investigator’s gender/sex in VR

This study explores the effect of the experimenter’s gender/sex and its interaction with the participant’s gender/sex as potential contributors to the replicability crisis, particularly in the man-gendered domain of VR. 75 young men and women from Western France were randomly evaluated by either a man or a woman during a 13-min immersion in a first-person shooter game. Self-administered questionnaires were used to measure variables commonly assessed during VR experiments (sense of presence, cybersickness, video game experience, flow). MANOVAs, ANOVAs and post-hoc comparisons were used. Results indicate that men and women differ in their reports of cybersickness and video game experience when rated by men, whereas they report similar measures when rated by women. These findings are interpreted as consequences of the psychosocial stress triggered by the interaction between the two genders/sexes, as well as the gender conformity effect induced, particularly in women, by the presence of a man in a masculine domain. Corroborating this interpretation, the subjective measure of flow, which is not linked to video games and/or computers, does not seem to be affected by this experimental effect. Methodological precautions are highlighted, notably the brief systematic description of the experimenter, and future exploratory and confirmatory studies are outlined.Graphical abstract

Reinforcement Learning as an Approach to Train Multiplayer First-Person Shooter Game Agents

Artificial Intelligence bots are extensively used in multiplayer First-Person Shooter (FPS) games. By using Machine Learning techniques, we can improve their performance and bring them to human skill levels. In this work, we focused on comparing and combining two Reinforcement Learning training architectures, Curriculum Learning and Behaviour Cloning, applied to an FPS developed in the Unity Engine. We have created four teams of three agents each: one team for Curriculum Learning, one for Behaviour Cloning, and another two for two different methods of combining Curriculum Learning and Behaviour Cloning. After completing the training, each agent was matched to battle against another agent of a different team until each pairing had five wins or ten time-outs. In the end, results showed that the agents trained with Curriculum Learning achieved better performance than the ones trained with Behaviour Cloning by a matter of 23.67% more average victories in one case. In terms of the combination attempts, not only did the agents trained with both devised methods had problems during training, but they also achieved insufficient results in the battle, with an average of 0 wins.

The Fittest Wins: A Multistage Framework Achieving New SOTA in ViZDoom Competition

This paper offers an integrated solution for First-Person Shooter (FPS) games to train agents with adaptive strategies. Solving such complex decision tasks requires generalization ability and adaptive strategies. We develop a framework using a novel Adaptive Strategic Control (ASC) algorithm combined with advanced techniques like the hindsight experience replay (HER), multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL), and league training. The approach adopts a multi-stage learning scheme, consisting of learning a goal-conditioned navigation policy, then transferring to learn sophisticated shooting skills by playing against a league of players, and finally learning adaptive strategies. Our agent achieves the SOTA result in past ViZDoom AI Competitions, surpassing previous top-ranked agents (never seen during training) by a large margin. We provide comprehensive analysis and experiments to elaborate the effect of each component in affecting the agent performance and demonstrate that the proposed and adopted techniques are essential to achieve superior performance in ViZDoom Competition and potentially valuable for general end-to-end FPS games.

‘Remember the Maine!:’ The Spanish–American War Invades the Parlor

Long before role-playing games or the popular first-person shooter games such as Hell Let Loose and Pavlov VR, people reenacted wars and global conflicts through tabletop board games, puzzles, and card games. Prior to World War II, no American conflicts were highlighted more in board and card games than the Spanish–American War and its offshoot, the Philippine– American War. Game designers joined other cultural producers such as journalists, novelists, and artists in crafting images of the battlefield for home front audiences. Between 1898 and 1902, the toy industry produced a multitude of games and puzzles focused on famous battles, military figures, and patriotism, informing both the public’s contemporary and historical understanding of these conflicts. Through an analysis of late nineteenth and early twentieth-century games depicting the Spanish–American and Philippine–American Wars, I argue that cultural producers used a variety of images, game-types, and instructions to lionize key military leaders, facilitate vicarious participation in the conflicts, and unify citizens on the questions about the wars and their consequences.

The application of artificial intelligence in the game field

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, its application in the field of games is increasingly widespread. At present, the application of artificial intelligence in games has become a research hotspot. This article mainly explores the application of AI in various types of games such as first person shooter (FPS), Role playing Games (RPGs), Strategy, and analyzes their advantages and disadvantages based on the category of the game. Specifically, this article explores the application of AI in FPS games, focusing on how AI controls the behavior and strategies of enemies to provide players with challenging and realistic experiences. In the context of RPGs, the paper analyzes AI's impact on intelligent decision-making and interaction with non-playable characters (NPCs). Intelligent NPCs create a more authentic and immersive interaction between players and game characters. In the case of strategy games, AI enhances the strategic and challenging aspects, offering a more layered and dynamic gaming experience, and pushing players' decision-making abilities and strategic thinking. Additionally, the article discusses the limitations and challenges of AI in games. This paper summarizes and prospects the application of AI in the field of games.

High-skilled first-person shooting game players have specific frontal lobe activity: Power spectrum analysis in an electroencephalogram study

First-person shooting (FPS) games are among the most famous video games worldwide. However, cortical activities in environments related to real FPS games have not been studied. This study aimed to determine differences in cortical activity between low- and high-skilled FPS game players using 160-channel electroencephalography. Nine high-skilled FPS game players (official ranks: above the top 10%) and eight low-skilled FPS game players (official ranks: lower than the top 20%) were recruited for the experiment. The task was set for five different conditions using the AimLab program, which was used for the FPS game players’ training. Additionally, we recorded the brain activity in the resting condition before and after the task, in which the participants closed their eyes and relaxed. The reaction time and accuracy (the number of hit-and-miss targets) were calculated to evaluate the task performance. The results showed that high-skilled FPS game players have fast reaction times and high accuracy during tasks. High-skilled FPS game players had higher cortical activity in the frontal cortex than low-skilled FPS game players during each task. In low-skilled players, cortical activity level and performance level were associated. These results suggest that high cortical activity levels were critical to achieving high performance in FPS games.

The application of artificial intelligence in FPS Games

It has been a long time since games and artificial intelligence(AI) influenced each other. However, when it comes to the area of the application of AI in games most people talk about chess games. AI also plays an important role in First-person shooter games. First-person shooter games, also known as FPS games, provide abundant testing environments for developing and testing artificial intelligence algorithms too, and the advances in artificial intelligence have allowed the game industry to produce better FPS games. This essay is a iterature review that summarizes why and how people apply AI in FPS games, in both players aspect and the game industry aspect. This essay briefly introduce the current research status, analyzes current challenges, and predicts future research directions by studying the application of artificial intelligence in FPS games as well as introduce the application of artificial intelligence in FPS games, explore the application of artificial intelligence in the gaming industry and its impact on FPS game development, and provide reference information for relevant research work.

Review of artificial neural networks in first-person shooter games

More and more games have entered the market as computer processing power has improved, drawing in a sizable fan base. As a result, the video game industry has seen a rise in both revenue and the breadth of its product offering. Whether or not a game can generate enough revenue is dependent on a number of factors, including the game's ability to attract players, the quality of its gameplay, and the experience it provides to those that play it. This paper through methods of literature review and analysis will review the target detection, image recognition, and other artificial intelligence-related technology used in games, as well as provide suggestions for future development and a summary of the current state of the field.

New usage of telemetry for anti-cheating in FPS game

First-person shooter games are experiencing a surge in popularity. As more players join, advanced AI-based cheats have emerged. These cheats simulate human gameplay, sending mouse inputs, making them hard to detect and counter. Therefore, this research presents a novel approach that utilizes telemetry data analysis to identify and counteract cheating in FPS games. The main objective of this study is to develop an innovative anti-cheating system that can effectively detect and prevent players from exploiting AI-based cheats to gain unfair advantages. To achieve this, extensive telemetry data is collected during gameplay. The data contains the real-time cursor position when the player is playing the game. Besides, Machine learning and deep algorithms are applied to analyse the telemetry data and distinguish between human player behaviour and AI-driven cheating patterns. Decision Tree, Random Forest, LSTM, and CNN are applied for this research. And in the final evaluation, CNNs accuracy reached around 80% which proves it is a possible mode to be used for this problem. The significance of this research lies in its contribution against cheating in FPS games, particularly those exploiting AI technologies to gain unfair advantage. The proposed telemetry-based approach offers a solution to safeguard competitive gaming and insight into the game company based on this novel way for further experiments.

Game Theory and Game Mechanics Design

This paper focuses on the significance of game balance in games and explores the application of game theory concepts for designing and analyzing balanced gameplay. When analyzing instances of games, the paper initially presents the renowned prisoner’s dilemma, a prominent problem in game theory, and delves into diverse strategies along with their corresponding advantages, thereby enabling readers to appreciate the captivating essence of game theory. After that, the paper respectively mentions two individual cases from two different forms of games. The well-known game Rock-Paper-Scissors is a simple strategy game. FPS (First Person Shooter) game is a sort of video game that is a complex strategy game. In analyzing this type of game, the paper draws images to show the imbalance in the game. In the end, the article puts forward the prospect that game theory can contribute to game design. The approach adopted in this study integrates existing research in game theory with practical insights from game design, without delving into extensive theoretical derivations or complex formulas.

Military Entertainment After 9/11: A Case Study on Call of Duty Modern Warfare Franchise

The Call of Duty franchises are renowned for being the best-selling first-person shooter games globally and boast the highest number of concurrent players worldwide. The franchise has significantly impacted the creation of war narratives, particularly about heroism and values exported from the United States. Notably, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (CoD: MW) was the first series to exhibit the characteristics and iconography of a modern war film. This study examines the narrative themes and structural components of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series since 9/11. The interaction of the 'dangerous frontier' has not been directly discussed in Call of Duty narratives, as a result of the combination of Bush's defense policy, economic globalization, and neoliberalism in the post-9/11 era. The study revealed that the game design and narrative of Call of Duty Modern Warfare relies on a dichotomy of "dangerous borders," where audiovisual technology, storytelling, and cultural symbols are employed to starkly distinguish between advanced attributes within the borders and barbaric mapping outside of them. The game also disseminates values of just war which are based on the American Exceptionalism Theory. Meanwhile, recent research has revealed a stronger correlation between narrative changes within the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare franchise over the past five years and recruitment advertising with war entertainment, and that this dynamic has reduced the impact of narrative styles within the media in the post-9/11 era.