Impact of Dynamic Serious Game Environments on Multimodal Physiological Signals: A Multivariate Swarm-Prey Approach

Serious Games (SGs) have introduced a paradigm shift within the healthcare domain as complementary therapeutic and diagnostic tools for mental, cognitive, and physical rehabilitation, gaining increasing recognition for their interactive, engaging, and personalized nature. Despite their growing use, the precise mechanisms through which SGs elements modulate physiological responses remain largely unexplored. Using the BIRAFFE-2 dataset, we analyze multimodal physiological signals obtained from 103 players participating in three dynamic SGs by adopting a swarm-prey multivariate analysis to extract oscillatory components from SG elements that could modulate physiological changes. By proposing a 1-to-1 bidirectional mapping framework of SG to physiological space, we reveal a mechanics-dependent modulation of physiological signals. Our approach paves the way for personalized SG interventions, optimizing the design of SG mechanics that are more likely to enhance therapeutic efficacy and achieve preferable outcomes.Clinical relevance- By integrating innovative perspectives in affect-sensitive SG environments and adopting a mechanics-level approach, we foresee key SG elements that elicit distinct physiological modulations that hold promise to broaden the clinical understanding of patients' intrinsic manifestations of SG-based interventions.