Flanker shooting game; model-based design of biofeedback games

The paradigm of biofeedback is emerging in diverse domains such as relaxation, gaming, psychotherapy, and diagnosis. Whereas the relaxation and gaming applications are designed with some attention for the aesthetics of the interaction, the applications of psychotherapy and diagnosis are driven by medical needs and technical opportunities only. Both groups of applications suffer from a growing complexity and a bewildering space of opportunities and design possibilities. Many biofeedback games have already been developed in earlier projects and by commercial companies. In this paper we discuss how a model-based approach can facilitate the design and evaluation of such games. We present a framework in which the aesthetic, the medical and the technical aspects come together in a balanced way. By means of application we address the question how a traditional test from psychology can be improved by using aspects from game design without affecting the quality of the test and therapy.