Crowd-based Study of Gameplay Impairments and Player Performance in DOTA 2
Matthias Hirth, Kathrin Borchert, Fabian Allendorf, Florian Metzger, Tobias Hoßfeld · 2019
Network-induced QoS impairments can directly affect one's satisfaction with a video game. Most studies on this topic have been performed in dedicated lab environments with a limited number of participants, often due to geographic restrictions. In this work, we present a crowdsourcing-based approach to objectively assess the impact of game impairments on the player performance at a large scale outside of a traditional lab environment. We illustrate how game modifications can be used in this context. Our preliminary results --- that delay negatively affects the player performance --- are in line with existing lab results. While the presented method shows promise, we also identify some challenges and limitations, like the limited influence on the number of voluntary participants.