ABSTRACT
Cross-cultural investigations are ideally carried out in the most realistic environments suitable for the type and complexity of the research being conducted. However, it is not always possible to collect the volume and variety of data needed for in-depth analysis in this arena. Three-dimensional immersive simulations offer an opportunity for researchers to create complex environments and realistic user interactions in a manner that reveals culturally relevant information. These simulations allow for the efficient collection of quantitative data and replication of experimental conditions necessary for statistical comparisons to be conducted. We describe a 3D immersive game engine and scenario creation toolkit, RealWorld, that can be used to create realistic and varied cultural interactions as stimuli for research studies. Work to date has demonstrated the use of this toolkit for construction of both training simulations and serious games, each with sufficient cross-cultural depth to serve as a test bed for investigators in this area. Additionally, because of the toolkit features in the immersive system, researchers can themselves change aspects of the scenarios and games to answer specific cultural decision-making research questions. This is a flexibility not found in other cultural simulation software. We have also created the ability to embed decision-making tasks inside the gaming environment, thus allowing for additional scoring and data collection opportunities based on the scenes and interactions encountered. Through our current
efforts, we have enabled this immersive toolkit to serve as an experimental platform for neuroscience and psychophysiology researchers through construction of our “NeuroBridge” data interface. This interface enables the software to log relevant in-game events, user interactions and other salient data in real-time with millisecond resolution, and stream the data for correlation with neurophysiological and psychophysiological data. Finally, the “NeuroBridge” is two-way and has been designed to facilitate adaptive feedback to influence in game or scenario events based on the real-time state of the user or player. Taken together, all of these features allow for a realistic, compelling and immersive cross-cultural experience for the player that still addresses the needs and requirements of the researcher.
