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Valve's Mike Ambinder explores how the company is making use of biofeedback to both explore new avenues of gameplay and improve in-house playtesting processes.

December 21, 2018

1 Min Read

In this GDC 2011 talk, Valve's Mike Ambinder explores how the company is making use of biofeedback (the measurement, display, analysis modification, manipulation, and response of psychological signals) to both explore new avenues of gameplay and improve in-house playtesting processes.

Using Valve's own Portal 2, Left 4 Dead 2, and Alien Swarm as examples, Ambinder explains how the studio measured players' skin conductance response, heart rate, and eye movements to design titles that effectively toy with player's psychological limits.

It was an insightful talk that's definitely still worth watching, so developers shouldn't miss the opportunity to do so now that it's freely available on the official GDC YouTube channel!

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its accompanying YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC or VRDC already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.

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