This project explored whether a short breathing exercise embedded directly into a video game can help players regulate frustration during play. To study this, I developed Master Blaster, a custom 2D platformer built in Unity. The game challenges players to climb upward through a level using movement and recoil-based shooting mechanics. Because falling can cause players to lose progress, the game creates natural moments of frustration while still remaining playable and fair.
A dynamic triggering system was implemented to detect moments where players lost a substantial amount of progress. At these moments, participants either received a brief guided breathing exercise based on cyclic sighing, or continued playing as part of a control condition. The breathing exercise was presented inside the game using a visual breathing guide, making the intervention part of the gameplay experience rather than a separate activity.
The study examined whether this embedded intervention influenced momentary frustration, affective state, psychological need satisfaction and frustration, player experience, and gameplay performance. The results showed that frustration increased during gameplay, suggesting that the game successfully created the intended emotional challenge. Around intervention moments, both groups showed a decrease in frustration, but this decrease was significantly larger for players who completed the breathing exercise. However, this short-term effect did not translate into lower overall frustration, improved player experience, or better performance.
Overall, the project shows that brief guided breathing can support short-term recovery after frustrating gameplay events, while also highlighting the challenges of designing emotion regulation interventions that have broader effects across a full gameplay session.