INFLUENCING EMOTIONS TASK
For this task, we are asked :
- To select a PS4 game which none of us in the group have ever played before.
- To research further the following models :
- Yerkes-Dodson Law
-Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow Model
To explain through the use of the models on how the game has successfully helped to increase our performance, whether it was able to create a state of flow and to what extent did it damage our performance.
For this task, we decided to play GOD OF WAR
GAME DETAILS:
GAME: God of War
Developers: SIE Santa Monica Studio
Publishers: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Director: Cory Barlog
Producers: Elizabeth Dahm Wang, Sean Llewellyn, Chad Cox, Eric Fong
Designer: Derek Daniels
Programmer: Florian Strauss
Writer: Matt Sophos, Richard Zangrande Gaubert, Cory Barlog
Composer: Bear McCreary
Platform: PlayStation 4
Released: April 20, 2018
Genre: Action-adventure, hack and slash
Mode: Single-player
GAMEPLAY
God of War is a great game that displays an impressive detailed and lush world built with a level of detail that makes it so entertaining and engaging to explore. It is a third-person action-adventure video game, also a narrative where the player control character Kratos in combo-based combat and puzzle game element with his son Atreus. The beginning of the story or series start of the death of her wife, she requests that her ashes be spread at the mountain highest peak. Doing this, Kratos need to cut the tree where her wife put a protection force field for them from danger to fulfil the journey. Using a magical axe as his weapon that can be infused with elemental magic. The axe can be thrown and aim to enemies for the long attack also object to trigger damage and freeze object for puzzle solving and can be summoned back. It has light and heavy attack. The shield can be used during combat battle. Hand to hand combat also available for enemies that are immune to the axe combat. Rage ability with hand to hand combat only, during rage the combat greatly damage the enemies than the axe. Throughout the gameplay, the are chest that contains an enchantment for armour, the weapon also money to upgrade the weapon and armour in future. Some of the chests need to unlock by solving a puzzle. Improving Health can be found laying a floor in green colour orbs, also when killing the enemies its dropped. Red colour orbs to increase the rage parameter. Need to full the parameter to get the rage ability.
CONTROL
MAP - Middle pad to open and view the location of the player, The map shows the realm the player has been visited
AIM - L2 for aiming objects or enemies to allow the player to throw an axe
BLOCK/PARRY - L1 for Blocking and counterattack enemies move, by bringing out his shield to take attacks, if holding L1, Runic Attacks will be made available
ARROW Type - Up Arrow fo change Atreus arrow
SHEATHE/UNSHEATHE - Right arrow for equip or unequip the weapon
QUICK TURN - Down arrow for quick change the player direction
MOVE - Use L to move around
SPRINT - press L3 for sprint
CAMERA - Use R for change and move the camera direction
LOCK-ON - Press R3 for lock-on enemies when battling
SON ACTION - Square button command Atreus to use the arrow in battle at wherever or whoever you're looking at it. or trigger some action. Need cooldown after 3 arrow
AXE RECALL - triangle button to command the axe to launch and back to the player
INTERACT - square button to interact such as pick up orbs, money, open chest, climbing and jumping
EVADE - x button for evade attack from enemies, by roll and strife away from attacks
LIGHT ATTACK - R1 will unleash weak strikes from Kratos' hands or weapon
HEAVY ATTACK - R2 will unleash stronger strikes, and slower, attacks from Kratos' hands or weapon
SPARTAN RAGE - L3 and R3 to available the rage mode/ability
PAUSE/MENU - Press middle pad to open the menu and pause the game
Character Design ( Visual, Graphics, Interface)
GRAPHICS/VISUALS
From the smallest detail to the most towering of beasts, God of war elevates real-time visuals to new heights while pushing the PS4 hardware to its absolute limits.
As the camera pulls in from the first scene, the sweat and wrinkles on the characters' faces.The pores across Kratos weathered skin, the veins running across his hands, as well as the details on his beard. Animation and camerawork all in harmony to deliver an impact with each and every strike. At the beginning of the scene, Kratos's clothing appears lifelike and moves and jostles with every swing when he uses his axes to cut the tress. All the characters and are well textured and shaded.
God of war focuses on distant camera placement rarely allowing the player to closely observe but the camera never cuts and is always situated just behind his shoulder. God of War focuses on presenting each of the characters with the utmost detail. Leather cloth and fur all appears realistic and sitting naturally within the world. Hair and beards looking very realistic with excellent shading.
Animation plays an important role in game, everything from tossing an axe at the head of the large enemies causing him to stumble, sweeping up the undead with vicious attacks leads a sense of weight and momentum to the game. The game give excellent animation and in game animation clothing and dangling bits also receive their own attention to the detail with realistic physics applied to each of them as you run through the world. Even the sound design in God of War was great. The sound of the axe returning to Kratos's hand after being thrown was so immersive and well done, It really felt the “weight” of it. God of War is a very impressive achievement.
USER INTERFACE
The Pause Menu
Throughout the journey, Atreus logs observations into his journal. Press the Options button to pause the game and access the journal, where you can view the following tabs. Tap the Touchpad at any time to display the map.
The Yerkes-Dodson Law
The Yerkes-Dodson Law was first described in 1908 by psychologist Robert Yerkes and John Dillingham Dodson, They suggest that there is a relationship between performance and arousal. Where Increased arousal can help improve performance, but only up to a certain point. At the point when arousal becomes excessive, performance diminishes.
They discovered the law by using electrical shocks and mice as their experiment, during the testing with mild electrical could be used to motivate rats to complete a maze, but when the electrical shocks became too strong, the rats would scurry around in random directions to escape.
Increasing stress = improved performance
More stress = decreasing performance
Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow Model
Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow Model is first introduced by psychologist Mihaly Csíkszentmihályi. The model shows the emotional or mental states that we're likely to experience when trying to complete a task, depending on the perceived difficulty of the challenge and our perceptions of our skill levels. These mental states include anxiety, apathy, arousal, boredom, control, relaxation, and worry.
Low skill + low challenge = Apathy
High skill + high challenge = Flow
Low skill + high challenge = Anxiety
Medium skill + low challenge = Boredom
High skill + low challenge = Relaxation
Medium skill + high challenge = Arousal
Low skill + medium challenge = Worry
High skill + medium challenge = Control
Here is the component that can influence and affect the flows in video games. Not all of these components need to be present
-We are up to the activity
-We are able to concentrate on the activity.
-The activity and player have clear goals.
-Doing the activity is rewarding
-The activity has direct feedback.
-We feel that we are able to control the activity.
-Our worries and concerns disappear. Loss of concussions
-Our subjective experience of time is altered where the challenge is constantly adapted to the player’s skill
Applying theories :
The Yerkes-Dodson Law & Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow Model :
From the beginning of the game, it started slow with the calm storyline and introducing the characters and tutorial and how to play. It created low arousal/stress during that time and the excitement to play the game is there. After few scenes, Kratos and his son met the enemies and they started battling the enemies thus the arousal/stress gets increased, and the performance is the optimal point to defeat the enemies. It also occurs during the puzzle challenge , to unlock the chest.
It is quite challenging when combat, we both died multiple times during the battle with the big enemy and it made both of us stress. As well as, during battle with “The Stranger”, and we decided to give up. At that moment, the arousal/stress is high and the performance getting low due to discouragement . but we decided to cool down and play again, with improved performance. The arousal/stress is in the optimal point.
Low Arousal, Weak Performance.
Low Skill Level, Low Challenge Level
At the beginning of the game, we are still curious and lost on how to control and the expectation of the game play is low. As the navigation is given through and we go further into the first stage of the game, we are then familiar with the controls and characters and this peaks our interest to continue playing the game and ready to get the challenge. The motivation is due to the excellent visuals for instance the characters and background of the game as well as the step by step guided navigation by the narrators in the game. Slight and faint hint is given at certain areas. Narrators guide us how to jump, navigate the environment, interact with NPCs and how to defeat the enemies.
Optimal Arousal, Optimal Performance
High Skill Level, High Challenge Level (Optimal)
Once we get the comfortable with the controls, camera movement and the environment, this is the Optimum arousal level where we can navigate ourselves through the game and comfortable with the surroundings and challenges we faced in the game play. This is where we manage to defeat the enemies easily and interact with the NPCs for the next challenge in the game play.
High Arousal, Weak Performance
Low Skill Level, High Challenge Level (High Arousal)
However, as we go further, we started to have difficulty in one of the task where the there is a large enemy and we couldn't figure out how to defeat it. We had to try multiple time to get make him stumble. As the challenge gets tougher, we met one of the strongest enemies "The stranger" and we had to be more focus on the controller and action of the enemies to kill him. We had to try multiple times to defeat the enemy. Our pressure started to build up and we slowly starting to lose interest with the game. Despite the curiosity of the game play, we stopped playing and decided to end the game. This is where we hit the High Arousal Level, where we did not manage to complete the task, our pressure builds up and started to tense and lose focus. It is safe to say that the complexity of the task is influencing the build up pressure resulting our lost interest in continuing the game.
