Kinematic markers of skill in first-person shooter video games

Abstract

Video games present a unique opportunity to study motor skill. First-person shooter (FPS) games have particular utility because they require visually-guided hand movements that are similar to widely studied planar reaching tasks. However, there is a need to ensure the tasks are equivalent if FPS games are to yield their potential as a powerful scientific tool for investigating sensorimotor control. Specifically, research is needed to ensure that differences in visual feedback of a movement do not affect motor learning between the two contexts. In traditional tasks, a movement will translate a cursor across a static background, whereas FPS games use movements to pan and tilt the view of the environment. To this end, we designed an online experiment where participants used their mouse or trackpad to shoot targets in both contexts. Kinematic analysis showed player movements were nearly identical between conditions, with highly correlated spatial and temporal metrics. This similarity suggests a shared internal model based on comparing predicted and observed displacement vectors, rather than primary sensory feedback. A second experiment, modelled on FPS-style aim-trainer games, found movements exhibited classic invariant features described within the sensorimotor literature. We found that two measures of mouse control, the mean and variability in distance of the primary sub-movement, were key predictors of overall task success. More broadly, these results show that FPS games offer a novel, engaging, and compelling environment to study sensorimotor skill, providing the same precise kinematic metrics as traditional planar reaching tasks. Significance statementSensorimotor control underpins human behaviour and is a predictor of education, health, and socioemotional wellbeing. First-person shooter (FPS) games hold promise for studying sensorimotor control at scale, but the visual feedback provided differs from traditional laboratory tasks. There is a need to ensure they provide measures that relate to traditional tasks. We designed an experiment where the visual contingency of movements could be varied whilst participants shot targets. Participants movements were similar between contexts, suggesting the use of a common internal model despite the sensory differences. A second experiment observed canonical learning patterns with practice and found two measures of mouse control strongly predicted overall performance. Our results highlight the opportunity offered by FPS games to study situated skilled behaviour.