DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17699260
title: Atari Games Challenge Pilot Dataset

description: Dataset: Atari Games Challenge Pilot Study

Overview

The Atari Games Challenge Pilot Study dataset is a multimodal dataset designed for exploring difficulty in the field of games research. It captures dynamic human interactions through electroencephalography (EEG), eye-tracking, realtime gameplay and posterior affect surveys, enabling the study of player experience through multiple views. The dataset comprises 3 games with 3 different difficulties, 19 participants, and 76 trials.

Dataset Structure

The dataset follows the Brain Imaging Data Structure (BIDS) format and consists of the following components:

Root Folder:



sub-* : Individual subject folders (e.g., sub-P001, sub-P002, sub-P003)

dataset_description.json: General dataset metadata

participants.tsv: Participant demographics and attributes

README.md: This documentation file


Subject Folders (sub-<subject_id>):

Each subject folder contains:



Behavioral Data (beh/): Physiological recordings (eye tracking,game session stimuli and posterior surveys) in JSON and TSV formats.

EEG Data (eeg/): EEG recordings in .edf and corresponding metadata in .json.


Data Modalities and Channels

1. Eye Tracking Data



Channels: 16 (fixation points, left/right eye gaze coordinates, gaze validity)

Sampling Rate: 256 Hz

Trials: 76

File Example: sub-<subject>_task-tutorial_run-0_recording-gaze_physio.tsv


2. Pupil Data



Channels: 21 (pupil diameter, eye position, pupil validity flags)

Sampling Rate: 256 Hz

Trials: 76

File Example: sub-<subject>_task-tutorial_run-0_recording-pupil_physio.tsv.gz


6. EEG Data



Channels: 63 (EEG electrodes following the 10-20 placement scheme)

Sampling Rate: 256 Hz

Reference: Left earlobe

Trials: 5632

File Example: sub-<subject>_task-tutorial_run-0_eeg.edf


7. Gameplay Data



Channels:  128 (RAM bits which represent a specific parameter or value in the specific game played)

Sampling Rate: 30 Hz

Trials: 76

File Example: sub-<subject>_task-tutorial_run-0_recording-atari_physio.tsv.gz


8. Self-Report Survey



Channels:  10 (Constructs related to the PXI survey)

Trials: 57

File Example: sub-<subject>_task-pxi_run-0_beh.tsv


Experimental Setup

Participants engaged in a 4 Game play sessions (1 tutorial, 3 game) of 3 Atari 2600 games while Physiological responses were recorded. Inmediatly after every game finished, participants would answer an Survey Self-reporting the overall experience with it.

The dataset enables the study of difficulty in games from two main perspectives: Objective and Subjective Game Difficulty, which can be mixed in order to get a full view of a player's experience

 

Usage Notes



The dataset is formatted in ASCII/UTF-8 encoding.

Each modality is stored in JSON, TSV, or EDF format as per BIDS standards.

Researchers should cite this dataset appropriately in publications.


Applications

This Dataset is well-suited for research in:



Player Modelling

User Experience

Human-Agent Interaction

Multimodal Signal Processing

Neuroscience and Cognitive Modeling


Acknowledgments

This dataset was collected with the support of brAIn lab, IT University of Copenhagen. Special thanks to all participants and research staff involved in data collection.

License

This dataset is shared under the Creative Commons CC0 License.

Contact

For questions or collaboration inquiries, please contact [brainlab-staff@o365team.itu.dk].