Effects of player–video game interaction on the mental effort of older adults with the use of electroencephalography and NASA-TLX

While player–video game interaction appears to affect older adults in gaming, there is limited knowledge regarding the cognitive demands associated with the anticipation of performing a button press, specifically focusing on the input and game elements relation (I/E relation) in game environments. The study aims to investigate the effects of lateral and rotational displacement amplitudes of game elements, triggered by a single button-press, on the cognitive effort of older adults. Both subjective and objective measurement methods were employed to assess these effects. A total of 48 older adults participated in three casual video game tasks encompassing lateral and rotational displacements at varying I/E relations (low, medium, and high). Results obtained from the NASA Task Load Index and electroencephalography (EEG) measurements revealed significant differences between the I/E relations. Specifically, the subjective rating of cognitive demand among older players was significantly impacted by a small rotation angle associated with a button press, leading to increased mental, physical, and temporal demands, along with decreased performance. Surprisingly, the analysis of EEG data, particularly the theta-alpha ratio, revealed significant interaction effects of I/E relations, button press type, and game type on the cognitive demand required during gameplay. These findings offer practical implications and point towards future avenues for developing player-video game interactions that are more cognitively friendly for older players in gaming environments. © 2024 Elsevier B.V.