Gaming for science: researchers from the University of Graz at Austria's biggest LAN party
The Digital Psychology Lab was represented together with the Neuropsychology & Neuroimaging department at the VulkanLAN 2023 Expo in the Graz exhibition hall.
At Austria's largest LAN party, VulkanLAN 2023, researchers from the University of Graz explained to interested visitors how gaming and research can be combined and what scientific benefits result from this. Manuel Ninaus and his Digital Psychology Lab were represented at VulkanLAN together with the Neuropsychology & Neuroimaging department from the Institute of Psychology. "We showed interested visitors how to control a VR environment using their own brain activation and how their own emotions can be detected using a camera when playing computer games," says Manuel Ninaus. "We often use this method in educational games, for example to better understand emotions during learning. This can play a major role in learning success, especially in game-based learning."
The interest among the more than 900 participants and the numerous day visitors was correspondingly high. The visitors to the stand were enthusiastic about the fact that research into video games and educational games is being conducted in Graz. "The visitors were particularly fascinated by the opportunity to try out our research methods for themselves," says Manuel Ninaus. Many of them spontaneously expressed interest in taking part in future research studies in the field of gaming.
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