The Electrodermal Activity of Player Experience in Virtual Reality Games: An Extended Evaluation of the Phasic Component

Diego Navarro, Valeria Garro, Veronica Sundstedt

Abstract: Thanks to its effectiveness, electrodermal activity (EDA) has been previously included as an evaluation metric, within analyses of user experience. In this study, the phasic component of participants’ EDA data is examined in relation to their reported experiences when playing a set of virtual reality games, that featured the HTC Vive and Leap Motion controllers for input. Two models are used in the analysis of the phasic component: a deconvolution model and a convex optimization model. Despite having significant differences in their player experiences, results indicate that there are not many significant differences in the phasic component data. Even if some weak correlations were found, the majority of results show no linear correlations between the phasic component data and the reported experience variables. This shows that the phasic component of EDA data should be further investigated in conjunction with other psychophysiological signals because it has only recently demonstrated a weak link with player experience.