Rhythmic Entrainment in Video Games

This thesis contributes to knowledge by taking established research methodologies from the study of musical rhythm and its effect on humans and applying them to the examination of the video game player’s behaviour and experience. Through a multidisciplinary approach it attempts to investigate whether the process of rhythmic entrainment occurs during the act of video game play and the impact that it might have on the player’s behaviours, actions, and subjective experience. In order to explore how games can influence how the player might behave, the concept of rhythm in relation to the design and development of video games is explored. Through the use of level design game developers can create rhythms in the overarching experience, which in combination with the use of music, and its associated rhythms, encourage certain kinds of playstyles and behaviours in the player. Due to the apparent universal and unconscious effect of rhythmic entrainment, music exerts an influence which can lead to a range of benefits in terms of physical and attentional processes. There is also the potential for negative impacts, on the player experience, should the seemingly ubiquitous process of rhythmic entrainment be inhibited or prevented due to conflicts between the rhythms of the level design and that of the accompanying music. The goal of the empirical research discussed within this thesis is to determine whether rhythmic entrainment occurs within the behaviour and the perception of the video game player. This is undertaken in two forms; the first utilised pre-existing game footage and through a process of coding inferred the player’s actions and intentions, while the second utilises a custom developed online game to gather in-game metrics and timings in real time. Overall, the results suggest that in terms of the player behaviour, rhythmic entrainment does not occur, but that the player’s perception of their own actions and in-game events can be influenced by rhythmic entrainment at a perceptual level. Related research outputs: https://eprints.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/id/eprint/11077 (presentation: Rhythmic Entrainment and its Impact on the Video Game Player) https://eprints.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/id/eprint/11078 (presentation: Investigating Rhythmic Entrainment Within Video Games)