Before playing, gamers must wait for the game to load. While the effects of waiting on user quality of experience is well-studied for some domains, the effects of wait times on game players is not known, nor is the impact of computer system components, such as the processor or graphics card, on game loading times. We present results from a user study that evaluates the impact of game loading time on quality of experience using a custom tool that simulates game loading and collects player ratings. Analysis of the results shows game loading time has a pronounced effect on player quality of experience, but differs based on the individual game time and game load content. Results from our subsequent measurement experiment show the potential to reduce game load times through hardware upgrades – type of processor and graphics card have significant effects on game load times, but type of storage device less so.

For gamers, high frame rates are important for a smooth visual display and good quality of experience (QoE). However, high frame rates alone are not enough as variations in the frame display times can degrade QoE even as the average frame rate remains high. While the impact of steady frame rates on player QoE is fairly well-studied, the effects of frame rate variation is not. This paper presents a 33-person user study that evaluates the impact of frame rate variation on users playing three different computer games. Analysis of the results shows average frame rate alone is a poor predictor of QoE, and frame rate variation has a significant impact on player QoE. While the standard deviation of frame times is promising as a general predictor for QoE, frame time standard deviation may not be accurate for all individual games. However, 95% frame rate floor -– the bottom 5% of frame rates the player experiences –- appears to be an effective predictor of both QoE overall and for the individual games tested.

Video game play is among the most popular forms of entertainment in the world and eSports is a multi-billion dollar industry. Esports gamers, and competitive gamers more broadly, want fast game systems to maximize their chances of winning. In general, the faster the game system, the lower the latency between a player’s action and the intended outcome. But how much small reductions in local latencies benefit competitive players is not known. This paper presents results from a 43-person user study that evaluates the impact of system latencies for high-end gaming systems (below 125 ms) on experienced Counter-strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) players. Analysis of the results show pronounced benefits to CS:GO player performance (accuracy and score) for even small reductions in latency, with subjective opinions on Quality of Experience following suit.

Esports gamers, and competitive gamers more broadly, want low network latency to maximize their chances of winning - in general, the lower the network latency, the less time between a player's action and the intended outcome. But how much small reductions in network latency benefit competitive players is not known. This paper presents results from a 25person user study that evaluates the impact of network latency on experienced Counter-strike: Global Offensive players. Analysis of the results shows pronounced benefits to player performance (accuracy and score) for even small reductions in network latency, with subjective opinions on Quality of Experience (QoE) following suit. Latency compensation - a software technique to mitigate the effects of latency - significantly improves player performance and QoE.

This paper explores whether it is effective to use real-time on-screen guidance to help users take better photos with mobile devices. Using a three-camera array, we developed a photo-taking interface that provides real-time feedback on how to position the subject-of-interest according to a photography composition rule: rule-of-thirds. We conduct a user study to compare the aesthetic quality of photos taken with our real-time guidance interface against a static gridline interface common to existing digital cameras. Expert photographers and Mechanical Turk workers rate the aesthetic quality of these pairs of photos. Results indicate the photos taken with our real-time guidance interface have significantly higher aesthetics scores. This study shows the potential in using camera array, computational photography, and real-time guidance interface to help non-expert users take better photos.