Journal of Digital Life 2021, 1, 7

Technical Article

A fundamental examination of the attentional function in
the rhythm game
Saori Kihara 1 and Goichi Hagiwara 1*
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Department of Human Science, Kyushu Sangyo University, 2-3-1- Matsukadai, Higashi-ku, fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka, 813-8503, Japan

Abstract
This study aimed to clarify the effect of the rhythm game "Osu!" on attentional function and its factors.
Participants wore an electroencephalograph and played "Osu!” for 10 minutes (four games), and the Trail Making
Test was performed before and after the games. As a result of the analysis focused on the frequency of the games,
only the "high frequency group" showed an effect on attentional function. From the results, it can be inferred thatrhythm games can improve attentional function and can function as a training tool for game users. The results alsosuggest that rhythm games can be used as a health-promoting tool owing to their ability to improve attentionalfunction.
Keywords: rhythm game; esports ; Osu! ; attentional function.

1. Introduction
In recent years, esports have become popular worldwide. According to a study by Newzoo (2020), the global esports market
increased by $181.1 million between 2018 and 2019. The total number of people who watched esports videos increased by
48 million between 2018 and 2019. Moreover, esports was adopted as a demonstration sport for the first time at the 18th
Asian Games held in 2018. Since then, it has been decided that esports shall be an official medal event at the Asian Games
to be held in 2022. Moreover, in Japan, the Japan eSports Union (JeSU) was established in 2018 to provide an environmentfor the development of esports.
The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry is focusing on the esports market as a new growth area in thecontent sector. They suggest that esports have various social implications beyond their economic effects on the surrounding
markets and industries. As such, the ministry intends to promote research in the fields of medicine and education torevitalize esports. Based on the above, the esports market will continue to grow in the future. Therefore, it is consequential
to conduct empirical research.
Several professional esports players state that they play rhythm games before practice or competition to improve their
physical and mental skills. For example, Tylar Ninjya Blaevins, a popular professional esports player who plays theshooting game “FORTNITE,” plays the rhythm game “Osu!” as a warm-up before starting the game (Business Insider
Australia, 2019). “Osu!” is a simple and straightforward, free online music game. To play the game, one uses a mouse or
pen-tab to click or drag markers that appear on the screen at the right moment in time with the music or beat, and then spin
the spinner on the screen. Bégel et al. (2017) conducted a review to examine the effects of rhythm games. They mentionedthat training with rhythm games may lead to improved cognitive function. Hagiwara et al. (2020a) studied 10 male college
students who played games for one hour a day, five days a week or more, including the game “Osu!”. They reported that
attentional function was significantly improved after playing “Osu!”. However, this study was conducted on gamers intheir twenties, and the effect of “Osu!” on attentional function has not been tested on participants outside of this age group.
Therefore, this study aimed to study the effect of “Osu!” on the attention function and its factors to verify the effect ofplaying the game on attention function for the public at large. By examining the effects of rhythm games on cognitive
Received: 6 September 2021, Revised; 21 October 2021, Accepted: 8 December 2021, Published: 17 December 2021
* Correspondence: hagi-g@ip.kyusan-u.ac.jp
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A fundamental examination of the attentional function in the rhythm game
Kihara, S. and Hagiwara, G.
functions for various generations other than game players, we can show the applicability of games and expect them to be
used for purposes other than entertainment.
2. Methods
2.1. ParticipantsParticipants included 16 healthy adult males in their 20s to 50s (mean age 39.75±11.45). The contents of the experimentand the risks associated with the measurement were explained to participants, and their written and verbal consent wasobtained before the experiment was conducted with full consideration of their physical condition.
2.2. Procedure
Participants were asked to complete questionnaires identifying their demographics, game frequency, experience of playing“Osu!” and mood before taking a two-dimensional mood scale. They wore an electroencephalogram (EEG) for 2 min.
Subsequently, they performed the Trail Making Test (TMT) to assess the processing speed of the criterion and played “Osu!”for 10 min (four games). After finishing the game, they immediately performed TMT and filled their posttest mood on thescale of the questionnaire.
2.3. Attentional function assessment index
This study used the TMT to assess attentional function, which was divided into two parts: Part A and Part B. Part A consistedof 25 numbers, while part B consisted of 13 numbers and 12 English letters. Part A connected numbers 1 to 25 randomly
placed on a paper to measure the time taken to complete the procedure. Part B connected numbers and letters randomly
placed on a paper in turn and measured the time required to reach 13. The objective was to keep the pencil on the paperand connect the line as quickly as possible. If the participant made a mistake in the middle of the test, he/she must point it
out immediately and correct it. In that case, the stopwatch was not stopped, and the time when the participant finishedconnecting the lines was recorded as the measured value.
Takaoka and Ogata (2009) suggested that TMT Part A performance reflects attentional selectivity, while Part B performancereflects convertibility and allocative performance. It requires several other functions such as recognition of numbers andletters, visual exploration, speed of joint movements of the eyes and hands, speed of information processing, flexibility ofmental activity, and motor functions. In this study, we used the Japanese version of the Trail Making Test (TMT-J) Part B(Ishida & Yoshida, 2014), which is available on personal computers (PC) and tablet devices.
2.4. Evaluation of biological attentional function
This study used an electroencephalograph to measure attentional function. EEG is an electrical signal produced to process
information obtained from sensory organs. Conventional EEG measurements can measure EEG signals from multiple sites,
but it takes more than 30 min to wear. Moreover, because of the effect of tightening on the scalp, research using a simple
electroencephalograph has become mainstream, except for precise verification research at the medical level. In this study,
we used a simple electroencephalograph to measure Fp1 (left frontal lobe), as defined by the international 10-20 method.
The left frontal lobe is considered an appropriate area for obtaining the human psychological state because it has less noisedue to head hair (Sakamoto et al., 2006). In this study, a band-shaped simple electroencephalograph (NeuroSky, Tokyo,Japan) that uses an EEG signal acquisition chip, and a Sports KANSEI (Littlesoftware Inc, Tokyo, Japan), an applicationthat records acquired EEG data on a smartphone and converts it into sensitivity values, were used. The potential differences
obtained from the reference electrodes on the forehead of the left frontal lobe (Fp1) and the left earlobe were amplified bythe circuitry in the instrument, then numerically processed and HANNING was windowed at 512 samples/s. The EEG data
were subjected to fast Fourier transform (FFT) and power spectrum analysis. The sum of the power of each frequency band
was calculated from the obtained data, and the percentage of the total power was calculated subsequently. The calculation
method was based on Hagiwara et al. (2020b), and the analysis was performed based on the following formula:2.5. Analysis
To assess attentional function, the mean value of the time spent performing the TMT was calculated and analyzed using at-test. The EEG was converted into a numerical value indicated by 0-100 for the incidence of the low-beta wave band usinga Sports KANSEI. From the data, the mean value during TMT execution was calculated and analyzed using t-tests. This
study was analyzed by focusing on “age” and “game frequency.” IBM SPSS Statistics (version 26.0) was used for theanalysis.

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A fundamental examination of the attentional function in the rhythm game
Kihara, S. and Hagiwara, G.
3. Results
3.1. Attentional function
There was no significant difference between the mean values of the TMT execution time (sec) of the 16 participants before
and after playing “Osu!.” There were no significant differences between the groups (before: M=41.13, after: M=42.83). In
addition, the analysis of the low-beta band obtained from the EEG showed no significant difference. The percentage of thelow-beta band decreased after playing “Osu!” (before: M=29.64, after: M=27.84).
3.2 Attentional function by age group
In the Figure 1, the horizontal axis shows the age of the participant and the vertical axis shows the difference in execution
time between the first and the second TMT. The higher the value on the vertical axis, the faster the TMT execution time
and the higher the percentage of the low-beta band. This result shows that there is no correlation between TMT execution
time and age; however, older people may have a faster TMT execution time than young people. There was also a small
correlation between EEG and age during TMT, indicating that older people showed less change in the low-beta band than
younger people.

Figure 1 Differences in execution time and low-beta band between first and second TMT by age

3.3 Attentional function by game play frequency
The participants regarding game frequency were classified into three groups: "high frequency group" who play games
every day, "medium frequency group" who play games occasionally, and "low frequency group" who do not play games atall. Although the number of participants varied, the high frequency group had a faster TMT execution time (before:M=33.80, after: M=31.30) than the medium frequency (before: M=41.99, after: M=46.41) and low frequency groups(before: M=44.60, after: M=51.40). In addition, the frequency of TMT execution became faster in the high frequency group.
On the other hand, the TMT execution time of the medium frequency group and the low frequency group became slower.
4. Discussion
This study aimed to determine the effects and factors affecting attentional function on adult males in their 20s to 50s, andfound that, on average, there was a decrease in attentional function after playing "Osu!" in terms of TMT execution timeand percentage of low beta bands. Hagiwara et al.’s study (2020b), targeting people in their 20s who usually play games
for more than one hour a day, five days a week or more, found that that attentional function improved after playing thegame; however, the present study showed the opposite result. Since most participants of this study did not play games daily,
and most of them played the rhythm game "Osu!" for the first time in this study, it is possible that unfamiliarity with thegame content induced a decline in attentional function. Second, the results of the analysis focused on the age of theparticipants, indicating that the execution time of TMT may have been faster in the elderly than in the young. In addition,
there was a weak correlation between EEG and age during TMT, suggesting that older participants may have a smallerchange in the lower beta band than the younger participants. In other words, the effect of games on attentional function
was greater in the elderly than in the young, suggesting that games may improve attentional function in the elderly. This isa new finding, as to the best of our knowledge, there are no studies comparing different age groups.

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A fundamental examination of the attentional function in the rhythm game
Kihara, S. and Hagiwara, G.
5. Conclusions
This study aimed to determine the effects of attentional function and its factors on adult males in their 20s to 50s while
playing the rhythm game "Osu!," which is used by e-sports players as training for psychological skills. Participants included
16 adult males (mean age 39.75±11.45). TMT and EEG were used to measure attentional function before and after "Osu!,"suggesting that the effects on attentional function may differ depending on the "frequency of the game.”
Funding
This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement
The study was conducted in accordance with the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the National
Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya Ethics Committee.
Informed Consent Statement
Informed consent was obtained from all participants involved in the study.
Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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