Physical or Digital.

What matters most for first person shooters

TRABAJO DE GRADO

Nicholas Max Meals Franco

COLEGIO BILINGÜE RICHMOND

BOGOTÁ, MES
AÑO
Physical or Digital. What matters most for first person shooters
TRABAJO DE GRADO

ESTUDIANTE
Nicholas Max Meals Franco

ASESOR
Fernando Ordoñez

COLEGIO BILINGÜE RICHMOND

BOGOTÁ, MES
AÑO
 TABLA DE CONTENIDO

1 SUMMARY..................................................................................................................11

2 ABSTRACT..................................................................................................................11

3 INTRODUCCIÓN........................................................................................................13

4 PROBLEM STATEMENT...........................................................................................15

4.1 RESEARCH QUESTION......................................................................................15

4.2 OTHER GUIDING QUESTIONS.........................................................................15

5 OBJECTIVES...............................................................................................................16

5.1 GENERAL OBJECTIVE.......................................................................................16

5.2 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES......................................................................................16

6 REFERENTIAL FRAMEWORK.................................................................................17

6.1 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK...........................................................................17

6.1.1 FPS gaming.....................................................................................................17

6.1.2 Ergonomics.....................................................................................................17

6.2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK.........................................................................18

6.2.1 Theoretical ideal mouse weight......................................................................18

6.2.2 Theoretical ideal framerate.............................................................................19

6.2.3 Theoretical benefit of aim training..................................................................20

6.2.4 Theoretical ideal setup for enhanced aiming performance.............................21

7 METHODOLOGY........................................................................................................22

8 DEVELOPMENT.........................................................................................................25

8.1 EXECUTION AND ANALYSIS...........................................................................25

8.2 DISCUSSION........................................................................................................30

9 CONCLUSIONS...........................................................................................................32

10 BIBLIOGRAPHY.........................................................................................................35

11 ANNEXES....................................................................................................................39
 TABLE INDEX

Table 1 Subject spoken skill levels. Source: Own elaboration.............................................25

Table 2 Initial average scores. Source: Own elaboration......................................................25

Table 3 G502 average scores. Source: Own elaboration......................................................26

Table 4 G305 average scores. Source: Own elaboration......................................................26

Table 5 Gpro X average scores. Source: Own elaboration...................................................26

Table 6 30 FPS average scores. Source: Own elaboration...................................................27

Table 7 60 FPS average scores. Source: Own elaboration...................................................27

Table 8 120 FPS average scores. Source: Own elaboration.................................................27

Table 9 Final Average scores. Source: Own elaboration......................................................28

INDEX OF FIGURES

Figure 1 Percentage drops and increases in average score relating to mouse weight. Source:

Own elaboration....................................................................................................................29

Figure 2 Percentage drops and increases in average score relating to framerates. Source:

Own elaboration....................................................................................................................29

Figure 3 Percentage increase/drop comparing initial scores with final scores.....................30

INDEX OF ANNEXES

Table 1 Subject spoken skill levels. Source: Own elaboration.............................................25

Table 2 Initial average scores. Source: Own elaboration......................................................25

Table 3 G502 average scores. Source: Own elaboration......................................................26

Table 4 G305 average scores. Source: Own elaboration......................................................26

Table 5 Gpro X average scores. Source: Own elaboration...................................................26

Table 6 30 FPS average scores. Source: Own elaboration...................................................27

Table 7 60 FPS average scores. Source: Own elaboration...................................................27

Table 8 120 FPS average scores. Source: Own elaboration.................................................27

Table 9 Final Average scores. Source: Own elaboration......................................................28

Figure 1 Percentage drops and increases in average score relating to mouse weight. Source:

Own elaboration. 29

Figure 2 Percentage drops and increases in average score relating to framerates. Source:

Own elaboration....................................................................................................................29

Figure 3 Percentage increase/drop comparing initial scores with final scores.....................30

Annex 1 Excel document containing all the data collected for analysis 39
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
DEDICATION
 ACCEPTANCE NOTE

_________________________________
_________________________________

_________________________________
_________________________________

Jury
_________________________________

Jury
_________________________________
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Advisor

Bogotá, month day of the year

 1 SUMMARY

This project studied how different physical and digital ergonomic advancements

developed for first person shooters influence target acquisition to determine whether the

theory behind these aspects stands. Furthermore, this study seeks to compare these aspects

to figure out if one is more beneficial than the other for an average player. To achieve this,

five subjects selected and asked to undergo various trials in the aim training program

known as Kovaaks. Their scores were obtained after testing how the different aspects

influence aim, specifically in the flicking and tracking aspects of aiming. The results

confirmed that both aspects whether physical or digital showed benefits for performance in

both flicking and tracking, although the best performing aspect was the digital

advancements. Furthermore, all the digital and physical advancements were faithful to the

theoretical background.

Key words – FPS games, Framerate, Ergonomics, Aim training, Mice

2 ABSTRACT

En este proyecto se ha estudiado cómo influyen los diferentes avances ergonómicos

físicos y digitales desarrollados para los shooters en primera persona en la punteria para

determinar si la teoría que sustenta estos aspectos se mantiene. Además, este estudio

pretende comparar estos aspectos para averiguar si uno es más beneficioso que el otro para

un jugador promedio. Para ello, se seleccionaron cinco sujetos y se les pidió que se

sometieran a varias pruebas en el programa de entrenamiento de puntería conocido como

Kovaaks. Sus puntuaciones se obtuvieron después de comprobar cómo influyen los

distintos aspectos en la puntería, concretamente en los aspectos de golpeo y seguimiento de

la puntería. Los resultados confirmaron que ambos aspectos, ya sean físicos o digitales,
mostraban beneficios para el rendimiento tanto en el flicking como en el tracking, aunque

el aspecto que mejor funcionaba era el de los avances digitales. Además, todos los avances

digitales y físicos fueron fieles a los antecedentes teóricos.

Palabras clave - Juegos FPS, Framerate, Ergonomía, Entrenamiento de puntería, Ratones

 3 INTRODUCCIÓN

Ergonomics is the application of psychological and physiological principles to the

engineering and design of products, processes, and systems. The aspect of ergonomics this

paper aims to discuss, is the area related to FPS gaming, specifically the advancements

made to enhance performance in such games. Some of these include aim trainers, improved

analog sticks, lower latency, etc. These can be found in the documents that have been

selected to support this project: The trackball controller: improving the analog stick, which

studied how replacing the right analog stick with a trackball affected the performance of

participants in terms of games; Evaluating the Specificity of Effects of Video Game

Training, that explained how training affects their performance; Body Involvement in

Video Gaming as a Support for Physical and Cognitive Learning. This article questions the

different degrees of bodily involvement in the practice of video games according to the

different types of games and the mechanisms that allow the player to learn the games’

gesture patterns; The impact of mouse weight and connection type on muscle activity and

performance while gaming that studied how mice weight affects performance in FPS

games; Evaluation of Mouse Pads Designed to Enhance Gaming Performance, an

experiment made with mouse pads to determine if they improve performance in games;

Latency of 30 ms Benefits First Person Targeting Tasks More Than Refresh Rate Above 60

Hz that includes an extensive explanation as to why latency is more impactful than refresh

rate; Evaluating The Effects of Aim Lab Training on Filipino Valorant Players' Shooting

Accuracy that had the goal of demonstrating the effectiveness of aim trainers on

professional players; Gaming at Warp Speed: Improving Aiming with Late Warp

demonstrating a different way in which latency can affect performance; Impact of

Ergonomics on Game-Pad Design: Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis. As the title

implies, this article presents how ergonomics have influenced the development of game-

pads; Measuring the impact of game controllers on player experience in FPS games this

final document takes on the complications that using a controller bring into FPS videogame

experience. On the other hand, this text aims to test how these ergonomic advances can

hinder or improve the development of aim in FPS videogames, which could in turn benefit

a wide variety of people who participate in the FPS genres. This is because by defining

whether physical aspects influence aim more than digital aspects or vice versa, players

could facilitate how they choose their peripherals for a more comfortable feel or even a

competitive advantage. To further explain how this could help someone, let’s take for an

example that physical ergonomics are the way to go and that they help improve aim in a

significant manner when compared to the digital aspects; in this case, then people would

now know that getting a better mouse could improve their performance in a more

substantial manner than by when compared to using an aim trainer, and as a result they

could improve their skill in a more efficient manner.

 4 PROBLEM STATEMENT

4.1 RESEARCH QUESTION

How do the physical and digital ergonomic advancements compare regarding the influence

of aim in FPS games of a select few Richmond School students when used frequently?

4.2 OTHER GUIDING QUESTIONS

What are FPS games?

How many aspects influence the aim of people playing first person shooters?

What are the common mouse weights for fps games?

What are the most popular programs to practice aim for FPS games?

How many frames per second are essential for performance in aiming for FPS games?
 5 OBJECTIVES

5.1 GENERAL OBJECTIVE

Understand how physical and digital ergonomic advancements for FPS videogames

influence the performance in aim of a select few Richmond School students.

5.2 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

 Identify what ergonomic advancements are the most practical for testing.

 Recognize the way in which data will be gathered for analysis.

 Find out how mouse weight and latency influences aim.

 Understand how aim training in Kovaak’s helps aim.

 Learn how framerate influences aim

 6 REFERENTIAL FRAMEWORK

6.1 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

6.1.1 FPS gaming

This genre of games has the characteristic of being in the first-person perspective

while also being accompanied by the use of firearms which is why it has the acronym “First

person shooter”. In these types of games, you can find different modes such as capture the

flag and team deathmatch, but since this is the shooter genre the necessity for proper aim is

at an all-time high since these games are very competitive, as demonstrated by the growth

of interest in esports:“eSports is growing around the globe, with more and more individuals

are engaged as players or spectators.”(Hallman, 2017, p.3).This genre has had such an

impact due to its competitiveness to the point where players are asking for better ways to

improve or get a competitive advantage, and as a result, companies have released a variety

of peripherals and programs that are supposed to aid in the art of aiming which include: aim

trainers, gaming mice, gaming monitors, gaming computers, etc.

6.1.2 Ergonomics

It´s common for people to think that ergonomics has something to do with seats or

designs of workspaces, and they would be right but it’s way more since ergonomics applies

to the design of anything regarding people like sports, leisure, health and safety. Knowing

this, people have shown to have a continuous need for comfort in everyday environments

and this has led to beneficial improvements in routine items, items such as chairs,
keyboards and mice. This need for comfort applies perfectly in the context of gaming in

aspects like height of chairs, keyboard feel, and mouse weight. This last aspect has been

known to affect gamers’ performance when playing fps games since people have different

arm strengths. What is light to one person may be heavy for another. And what is just right

for one person, may be too light for another to the point that it makes them lose fine control

over the mouse, resulting in worse performance. The design of mice is a very important

part for a gamer’s experience when playing because to perform in the most optimal way

possible you should feel as comfortable as possible, and just as Eoin Conroy (2022) said,

“Advances in human performance have shifted research attention from individuals towards

understanding the effects that equipment can have on their performance” (p.2) On the other

hand, ergonomics in the context of this research is defined by physical and digital

advancements. When talking about Physical advancements we are referring to any

advancement that has the element of touch such as mousepads, keyboards, mice, chairs, etc.

On the other hand, when we talk about digital ergonomic advancements, we are referring to

any advancements related to software, like latency, framerate, aim trainers, etc.

6.2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

6.2.1 Theoretical ideal mouse weight

Typically when it comes down to choosing a mouse, it is commonly said that it

should depend on personal preference, and while that is technically correct, it still doesn’t

address how it could actually be beneficial to have a lighter mouse rather than a heavier

mouse since with games that require continuous fast movements such as Fortnite, Call of

duty, and Halo, having a lighter mouse means that you can have that wide ranging

movement without having that dragging feeling of a heavier mouse because less force is
needed, which in turn allows for a great balance of speed and control which is essential for

action packed FPS games. This is one of the main reasons as to why you can see many

professional FPS players use the Logitech g pro x superlight which is one of the lightest

mice on the market, weighing in at about 63 grams. So, in a sense, the theory behind mouse

weight is that the lower the weight the better performance for FPS games. This is backed up

by the results Eoin Conroy and his colleagues´ research on how computer mouse mass

affects target acquisition in fps games. The document confirmed that “Results showed that

participants were 4% faster and 9% more accurate with 50g, 60g, and 90g mice compared

to the 100g mouse.” (Conroy, 2022) This confirms how a lighter mouse does bring benefits

for higher performance in aim.

6.2.2 Theoretical ideal framerate

Framerate is what allows us to view the games that we play which is usually

measured in frames per second (FPS); and when the question comes up about what the best

framerate a person could have is? The general answer would be that there really isn’t one, it

just depends on how high you can get it, since the higher framerate your computer can

achieve the more responsive and smooth experience you will have. And if you can have a

more responsive game when compared to others, you will have the competitive advantage,

although one thing that is important to mention is that monitors are only capable of

displaying up to a certain framerate, which means that even though your computer is

capable of producing major framerates, visibly you cap out at your monitor’s refresh rate,

and the highest you can get it these days is up to 360hz, so you can only visibly notice up to

360fps. In a sense, the ideal framerate is the refresh rate of the monitor being used. But
technically the higher your framerate is, the better your performance will be with regards to

target acquisition as supported by the study done by Mark Claypool which says

Framerates as low as 3 fps and even 7 fps are almost un-playable as users cannot

adequately target opponents. In fact, there are performance benefits for user play up

through 60 fps, where a frame rate of 60 fps provides a 7-fold increase in

performance over a frame rate of 3 fps. (2007, p.10)

This further supports the fact that a higher framerate increases the performance a

person can have in their first-person shooter experience.

6.2.3 Theoretical benefit of aim training

According to research conducted by skilled people in the ability of aim such as

Aiimer7, a well-known aim enthusiast, aim training can actually result in enhanced abilities

due to how we as humans can perfect skills with practice. But there is a comment that even

if you train, base skills such as reaction time are genetic, so training can’t improve it.

Similar to what was mentioned previously, Aiimer7, also confirms that since genetics does

play a key role in how skilled a person can be with aiming, training can only place you

above the people who don’t. Furthermore, in a study conducted by Cheselle Jan Roldan

“The results concluded that doing the 6 recommended training on Aim Lab, for a total of 6

minutes every day, before playing Valorant for 1 week led to a significant improvement in

the average damage output generated per round.” (2021) This clearly demonstrates how

consistent training in aim training software, improves the performance of players´ aims
since by having an improved damage output it is inferred that the players had greater

accuracy.

6.2.4 Theoretical ideal setup for enhanced aiming performance.

In a sense, theoretically, the optimal setup for high performance aim requires a high

framerate combined with aim training, and a light mouse.

 7 METHODOLOGY

This study has a quasi-experimental focus since this design allows for the use of

independent and dependent variables without relying on random criteria similar to a true

experiment. Quasi-experimental designs deliberately manipulate at least one independent

variable to observe its effect on one or more dependent variables, only they differ from

"pure" experiments in the degree of certainty that can be placed on the initial equivalence

of the groups. (Sampieri, 2014) The independent variables that are manipulated in this

study are the different mouse weights and the different framerates with the dependent

variable being the subjects’ various scores in Kovaak’s.

Additionally, this study uses a qualitative approach since this method is guided by

significant areas or themes of research. However, instead of clarity about research questions

and hypotheses preceding data collection and analysis (as in most quantitative studies),

qualitative studies can develop questions and hypotheses before, during, and after data

collection and analysis. (Sampieri, 2014)

The object of study for this project is the five different performance variations in aim

as a result of the digital ergonomic aspects (aim training & FPS) and the physical

ergonomic aspects (Mouse weight) These performance boosts will be given in percentage

increases, through the evaluation of average scores in an aim training software known as

Kovaak’s.

Knowing this, the different stages of this study include: First, select five Richmond

School students to participate in a series of trials which involve playing two different
situations in the computer program known as Kovaak’s to measure their performance with

the two major mechanics that surround computer aiming: Flicking and tracking.

Second, they will be asked about their current experience with the FPS genre,

specifically about how experienced they consider themselves to be when regarding their

aim. To further solidify their claims, they will be placed in the theoretically ideal setup to

calculate their average tracking and flicking scores from 5 attempts each.

Third, the subjects will then be handed the heaviest mouse available which is the

Logitech G502, which weighs in at 121 grams. Using this mouse, they will perform the two

situations in Kovaak’s and their average scores will be calculated to figure out how much it

they varied from their initial state. This process will be repeated a total of 3 times for the

different weighted mice, which include: Logitech G502 without the added weights (121g),

the Logitech g305 (99g), and the Logitech G Pro X superlight (63g).

Fourth, the subjects will be given the g pro x superlight for the remaining trials since

this is theoretically the optimal mouse due to is shape and weight, the subjects will then be

asked to repeat the two situations in Kovaak’s, their latency will be set to default and their

frames per second (fps) will be locked at three different values which include: 30fps, 60fps,

and 120fps. Their scores will then be gathered and compared to see how this impacted their

aim.

The fifth stage involves letting them repeat the situations with the ideal setup, to see if

their average scores have increased in comparison to their first encounter. With these

results it is possible to conclude if continuous practice in these types of programs can

actually result in an increased skill level since all of these repetitions are similar to a

training regimen with these types of programs.

The final stage involves gathering the average scores of each stage to compare and

figure out the percentage increases or decreases to finally determine whether the physical

aspects influence more than the digital aspects or vice versa.

 8 DEVELOPMENT

8.1 EXECUTION AND ANALYSIS

As mentioned previously this study seeks to figure out how digital and physical

ergonomic advancements compare when regarding their influence in player performance

when aiming in fps games. To achieve this, different stages had to be completed. For the

first and second stages of this research the five subjects were selected and asked about their

experience with FPS games on PC in order to rank their skill level for accurate analysis of

their performance. These five Richmond school were specifically chosen since they were

known to have some experience with the FPS genre prior to testing, these subjects also had

similar ages ranging from 17-18 so that age would be a factor, additionally these students

lived with rather similar sleep schedules to further isolate the variables down to the physical

and digital ergonomic advancements.

Subject 1 Subject 2 Subject 3 Subject 4 Subject 5

Skill level Competent Proficient Proficient Novice Advanced Beginner

Table 1 Subject spoken skill levels. Source: Own elaboration

Additionally, the subjects were placed into the theoretically ideal setup which

included high framerate and a light mouse. They were then asked to find a sensitivity they

felt comfortable with to perform the tasks in. Once they found their sensitivity, they were

told to complete the two tasks in the aim training program known as Kovaak’s: one for

tracking called “Close Long Strafes Invincible” and one for Flicking known as “Tile

frenzy”. Each of these situations were repeated a total of five times, recording each

repetition’s score (see annexes for complete tables) to then be gathered and turned into

averages.
 Initial Average Flicking Tracking
Subject 1 63.4 8583.2
Subject 2 71.6 7514
Subject 3 68.33 7402.4
Subject 4 59.52 7340.8
Subject 5 57.4 7320
Table 2 Initial average scores. Source: Own elaboration

In the third stage of this study the subjects were then given the different mice and

asked to complete the aforementioned tasks five times per category: Flicking and Tracking.

Their results were then gathered, and their averages were calculated for every mouse

weight. These averages were then transferred onto tables for further analysis.

G502 Flicking Tracking

Subject 1 62.06 7934.4
Subject 2 63.22 6116.4
Subject 3 63.42 6415.2
Subject 4 60.52 8157.6
Subject 5 63.5 7440.8
Table 3 G502 average scores. Source: Own elaboration

G305 Flicking Tracking

Subject 1 65.04 8226
Subject 2 69.1 7837.2
Subject 3 67.72 7434
Subject 4 62.9 7952.4
Subject 5 57.56 8132.4
Table 4 G305 average scores. Source: Own elaboration.

Gpro X Flicking Tracking

Subject 1 66.4 8683.2
Subject 2 74.68 7614
Subject 3 71.22 7502.4
Subject 4 62.66 7441.2
Subject 5 60.5 7416
Table 5 Gpro X average scores. Source: Own elaboration

Once the previous data was gathered, the setup had to be modified to fit the next

stage of this study which involves testing how different framerates affect performance. To

do this, a program known as RTSS was installed onto the computer, since this would allow

to set a frame limiter. After installation of the program the subjects were then asked to

repeat the tasks in Kovaak’s with three different framerates: 120fps, 60fps, and 30fps. Their

individual scores were then gathered and their respective averages were calculated and

recorded.

30 FPS Flicking Tracking

Subject 1 56.06 7934.4
Subject 2 63.72 5961.6
Subject 3 56.06 6361.2
Subject 4 62.74 6512.4
Subject 5 51.34 5709.6
Table 6 30 FPS average scores. Source: Own elaboration

60 FPS Flicking Tracking

Subject 1 63.36 8114.4
Subject 2 64.9 8996.4
Subject 3 69.9 7225.2
Subject 4 64.22 7938
Subject 5 55.78 6768
Table 7 60 FPS average scores. Source: Own elaboration

120 FPS Flicking Tracking

Subject 1 67.2 8689.3
Subject 2 73.55 7625
Subject 3 70.1 7515.4
 Subject 4 61.53 7446.3
Subject 5 59.4 7410
Table 8 120 FPS average scores. Source: Own elaboration

The fifth stage of this study involved placing the subjects in the ideal setup once

again, followed by asking them to repeat the trials once again to see if their results would

improve or get worse when compared to their initial scores. Once doing this, the results

were recorded onto tables and then compared.

Final averages Flicking Tracking

Subject 1 77.2 8699.5
Subject 2 83.55 7634
Subject 3 80.1 7522.2
Subject 4 70.63 7457.6
Subject 5 68.3 7420
Table 9 Final Average scores. Source: Own elaboration

Initial Average Flicking Tracking

Subject 1 63.4 8583.2
Subject 2 71.6 7514
Subject 3 68.33 7402.4
Subject 4 59.52 7340.8
Subject 5 57.4 7320
Table 2 Initial average scores. Source: Own elaboration

For the final stage of this project, all the average scores were gathered and

compared to see their respective percentage increase or decrease that the physical/digital

ergonomic advancements resulted in. To facilitate the analysis of such information, the data

was transcribed onto easy to read graphs.

 Percentage Increases/Drops (Mice)
30.00
24.48
25.00

20.00 18.13
16.95
15.00 12.30
9.44 10.32
10.00
6.99
5.00 3.54

0.00
Subject 1 Subject 2 Subject 3 Subject 4 Subject-0.33
5
-5.00

-10.00 -8.78

-15.00

Flicking Tracking

Figure 1 Percentage drops and increases in average score relating to mouse weight. Source: Own elaboration.

Percntage Increases/Drops (FPS)

35.00

29.78
30.00 27.90
25.04
25.00

19.87
20.00 18.14
15.43 15.70
15.00 14.34

9.51
10.00

5.00

0.00
Subject 1 Subject 2 Subject 3 Subject 4 Subject 5
-1.93
-5.00

Flicking Tracking

Figure 2 Percentage drops and increases in average score relating to framerates. Source: Own elaboration.
 Percentage Increase/drop after training
25.00
21.77

20.00 18.67 18.99

16.69 17.23

15.00

10.00

5.00

1.35 1.60 1.62 1.59 1.37

0.00
Subject 1 Subject 2 Subject 3 Subject 4 Subject 5

Flicking Tracking

Figure 3 Percentage increase/drop comparing initial scores with final scores

8.2 DISCUSSION

To begin, during the first and second phases of this study, the subjects were asked to

personally rank themselves based on their skill level regarding FPS games on PC as seen on

table one. Additionally, their initial average scores were gathered to confirm their claims as

seen on table two and as can be seen, their claims are relatively accurate with the only

exception being subject number four which actually performs at a skill level similar to an

advanced beginner, which meant that, individual scores would be more consistent, thus

leading to more accurate averages.

During phase three, when reviewing the average scores it is possible to notice how in

subjects 1, 2 and 3 for the most part, as the mice get lighter, their performance increases,

which is faithful to the theoretical benefits of using a lighter mouse provided by the

theoretical framework, but in the cases of subjects 4 and 5, their scores for both flicking and
tracking are rather inconsistent which could be a result of their skill level and comfort with

first person shooters. Although, in the case of subject number 4, there is a clear decline in

tracking scores while flicking scores got a slight boost from using lighter mice.

Now, when taking into account the percentages for increases/decreases, there are

evidently various increases in performance through the use of a lighter mouse with the only

decreases found with subjects 4 and 5 with their tracking scores although subject five’s

decrease is negligible, only standing at a low 0.33%. The theory regarding mouse weight

seems to stand so it can be considered as a valid characteristic that influences aim.

In the case of the framerate values acquired during the fourth phase of testing, all

subjects showed substantial increases in their scores except for the single instance with

subject number 4 in which the flicking score showed a 1.93% decrease, which isn’t much

of a decrease but could still be the result of subject number four’s skill or this subject’s

comfort with playing games at lower framerates since this particular subject consistently

plays games on mobile which usually runs at 30fps.

Considering this information, it is valid to say that the theory behind framerate also

stands, since higher framerates allow for better performance, but not just slight

improvements, major ones ranging from 15% all the way to 29%. This shows how

framerate has so far had a more positive impact on performance when compared to mouse

weights.

With the completion of the previous stages of this study, the last thing to do was to

gather the average scores of the subjects using the ideal setup, which resulted in increased

performance in every aspect, although the more significant increases only seemed to
happen in the flicking aspect with percentage increases ranging from 16% to 21%;

meanwhile, the tracking scores only had percentage increases ranging from 1.35% to 1.62%

which is very minimal but understandable since it’s the setup with which the subjects were

the most consistent.

Keeping this in mind, the theoretical benefits of consistent practice with aim training

programs do in fact show since there was definitely an increase to the subjects’ scores, and

while only significant in flicking, there were still increases in tracking. Furthermore, the

theory behind the ideal circumstances for optimal performance in target acquisition is

properly supported by the data collected since by using a high framerate, a light mouse and

consistent training, every subject was able to achieve their highest average scores out of the

entire study.

Lastly, taking into account the different percentage increases and decreases, after

classifying the different aspects that were tested into physical and digital aspects, the best

aspect for a boost in performance was the framerate since it had the highest percentage

increases out of all the different aspects, meaning that the most beneficial aspect for

performance increase was found in the digital ergonomic advancements.

 9 CONCLUSIONS

As the videogame industry grows, more and more players will be attracted towards the

first person shooter genre, thus encouraging competition, which means that it is essential to

understand how to maximize performance, by acknowledging how physical and digital

ergonomics affect target acquisition in fps games.

The evidence is clear: to maximize performance, players should primarily seek to

improve their framerate since as discussed previously, this is the aspect with the highest

percentage increases for average scores for both flicking and tracking, the higher the

framerate the better. Th next best thing players should do should be to try to keep a

consistent training regimen in aim training programs such as kovaaks if they wish to

majorly improve their flicking skills, since as presented previously it provides better results

when compared to having a lighter mouse. Although, having a lighter mouse does bring

better results when it comes down to tracking but the best thing a player can do is to mix all

of these aspects to perform at their best since, for the most part, every aspect brought

performance boost with very minimal decreases in some rare cases.

By studying the effects of digital and physical ergonomic advancements on player

performance, this study established that both of these types of advancements perform rather

similarly and for the most part only bring positive results no matter what aspects a player

may decide to use. Although it is important to apply the theory for every aspect to

maximize results.

Future research of this subject should focus on a larger group since this would allow

for more in depth and accurate results, additionally, the amount of task repetitions done by

the subjects should be increased to allow for more precise averages, furthermore this would
also impact the results of the percentage increase that aim training had, since subjects

would be repeating tasks more frequently which creates better muscle memory for aiming.

Lastly future research should include more digital and physical aspects such as latency

since this would provide players with more options to improve their performance.
 10 BIBLIOGRAPHY

 Boudaoud, B., Knowles, P., Kim, J., & Spjut, J. (2021). Gaming at Warp Speed:

Improving Aiming with Late Warp. Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics

and Interactive Techniques Conference Emerging Technologies.

https://doi.org/10.1145/3450550.3465347

 Besombes, N., & Maillot, P. (2018). Body Involvement in Video Gaming as a

Support for Physical and Cognitive Learning. Games and Culture,

155541201882042. https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412018820426

 Claypool, K.T., Claypool, M. On frame rate and player performance in first person

shooter games. Multimedia Systems 13, 3–17 (2007).

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00530-007-0081-1

 Eoin Conroy, Adam J. Toth, Mark J. Campbell, The effect of computer mouse mass

on target acquisition performance among action video gamers, Applied Ergonomics,

Volume 99, 2022, 103637, ISSN 0003-6870,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2021.103637.

 Gerling, K. M., Klauser, M., & Niesenhaus, J. (2011). Measuring the impact of

game controllers on player experience in FPS games. Proceedings of the 15th

International Academic MindTrek Conference on Envisioning Future Media

Environments - MindTrek ’11. https://doi.org/10.1145/2181037.2181052

 Giovanni, N. D. (2021, January 27). Our mouse control tests: Click latency.

RTINGS.com. Retrieved December 16, 2021, from

https://www.rtings.com/mouse/tests/control/latency
 Games and frames: A strange tale of qoe studies. (n.d.). Retrieved December 16,

2021, from

http://qomex2016.itec.aau.at/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/QoMEX_2016_paper_10

0.pdf

 Hallmann, Kirstin & Giel, Thomas. (2017). ESports - Competitive sports or

recreational activity?. Sport Management Review. 21. 10.1016/j.smr.2017.07.011.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318825273_ESports_-

_Competitive_sports_or_recreational_activity

 Impact of Ergonomics on Game-Pad Design: Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis

- ProQuest. (n.d.). Www.proquest.com. Retrieved September 18, 2021, from

https://www.proquest.com/openview/21aa77faba23c42ca0a40bf69dc05cb6/1?pq-

origsite=gscholar&cbl=51908

 Li, G., Wang, M., Wiesinger, A., Hoeglinger, E., Barr, A., Liu, Y., & Harris, C.

(2019). The impact of mouse weight and connection type on muscle activity and

performance while gaming. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics

Society Annual Meeting, 63(1), 1969–1971.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1071181319631458

 Latency of 30 ms Benefits First Person Targeting Tasks More Than Refresh Rate

Above 60 Hz | Research. (n.d.). Research.nvidia.com. Retrieved September 18,

2021, from https://research.nvidia.com/publication/2019-11_Latency-of-30

 Mark Claypool, Kajal Claypool, and Feissal Damaa "The effects of frame rate and

resolution on users playing first person shooter games", Proc. SPIE 6071,
 Multimedia Computing and Networking 2006, 607101 (16 January 2006);

https://doi.org/10.1117/12.648609

 Natapov, D., & MacKenzie, I. S. (2010). The trackball controller. Proceedings of

the International Academic Conference on the Future of Game Design and

Technology - Futureplay ’10. https://doi.org/10.1145/1920778.1920803

 Powers, K., & Brooks, P. (2013, November 28). Evaluating the Specifi city of

Effects of Video Game Training [Review of Evaluating the Specifi city of Effects of

Video Game Training].

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Patricia-Brooks-4/publication/

261172409_Evaluating_the_Specificity_of_Effects_of_Video_Game_Training/

links/5607fe8f08aeb5718ff9c104/Evaluating-the-Specificity-of-Effects-of-Video-

Game-Training.pdf

 Roldan, Cheselle & Prasetyo, Yogi. (2021). Evaluating The Effects of Aim Lab

Training on Filipino Valorant Players' Shooting Accuracy. 465-470.

10.1109/ICIEA52957.2021.9436822.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351911867_Evaluating_The_Effects_of_

Aim_Lab_Training_on_Filipino_Valorant_Players'_Shooting_Accuracy

 Shengmei Liu, Mark Claypool, Atsuo Kuwahara, Jamie Sherman, and James J

Scovell. 2021. Lower is Better? The Effects of Local Latencies on Competitive

First-Person Shooter Game Players. In Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on

Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI '21). Association for Computing

Machinery, New York, NY, USA, Article 326, 1–12.

https://doi.org/10.1145/3411764.3445245
 Slocum, J., Thompson, S., & Chaparro, B. (2005). Evaluation of Mouse Pads

Designed to Enhance Gaming Performance. Proceedings of the Human Factors and

Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 49(5), 706–710.

https://doi.org/10.1177/154193120504900515

 Spjut, J., Boudaoud, B., & Kim, J. (2021, May 5). A case study of first person

aiming at low latency for Esports. arXiv.org. Retrieved December 16, 2021, from

https://arxiv.org/abs/2105.10498

 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00530-007-0081-1

 https://web.cs.wpi.edu/~claypool/papers/fr-rez/paper.pdf

 https://web.cs.wpi.edu/~claypool/papers/fr/fulltext.pdf

 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003687021002842

 https://www.uca.ac.cr/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Investigacion.pdf
 11 ANNEXES

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pOo0CQvaNxQzoce--B2dtuLxtMoDBFdo/edit?

usp=sharing&ouid=112043760488968587541&rtpof=true&sd=true

Annex 1 Excel document containing all the data collected for analysis