BODEGA: Embodiment in collaborative serious games for soft skills training: impact study on engagement and alignment in gradual multimodal situations

Summary

Serious games are often designed without a deep reflection on the impact of the modalities proposed to participants to exchange, either on the perception of others or on communication skills. The BODEGA project aims to study the influence of embodiment on participants’ social behaviours and engagement in a collaborative game designed to measure and/or develop soft skills. By comparing four interaction situations that vary the modalities through which participants can interact (chat, voice only, webcam) as well as the face-to-face / at distance aspect, we will observe the effects on the participants' engagement and on the interactional alignment processes in the interactions produced. The project is strongly interdisciplinary, between social sciences and computer sciences, and involves the SKILDER company, designer of the collaborative game, closely associated with the project in all its stages. The application field is engineering students at the end of their studies in order to make them aware of soft skills and their importance in collaboration. The project will result in particular in recommendations on the thoughtful implementation of embodiment in serious games according to the socio-relational skills to be developed or the type of social interaction to be favoured.

Collaborators

Audrey Serna (LIRIS lab, INSA Lyon), Mathieu Quignard (CNRS, ICAR lab)

PhD student

Anthony Basille (September 2021-2024): Analysis of engagement and impact on embodiment in a collaborative serious game