Kansei Engineering Research in the Optimisation Design of a Video Game Controller by Applying a Mathematical Method to the Emotional Needs of the User

The world of entertainment is constantly evolving, just as video games and how people play them. Therefore, it is necessary to innovate in areas such as the interaction between the user and the game to change how you control a game and the design of conventional controllers. Our study evidenced that the design requirements of the external geometry of video game controllers significantly influence users’ purchase decisions, who act on their sensations and emotions. This study aimed to demonstrate that the proposed methodology can be used to obtain specific design specifications to evaluate the geometry through the emotional needs of users. The Kansei methodology was used, a type of engineering that bases product design on the emotional interaction and sensations that the user has when using it. The was then extrapolated to the design using statistical techniques such as principal component analysis and linear regression. These mathematical models have reduced the set of observations and provided a predictive model. Along these lines, the project was approached based on the said methodology, which required surveys and field studies, di↵ering in some phases from a classic engineering project. The method was applied with particular attention to the haptic part of the controller, more specifically, its shell. After the study, the resulting shell was analysed and compared with the initial one, and it was redesigned accordingly, including the improvements provided by the statistical result. The results show a significant improvement compared to the market models analysed in the study. Among the most outstanding results are the improvement of the functional characteristics and the ergonomic grip that allows extensive use by people with large and small hands and prevents the grip surface from being slippery. To conclude, this paper demonstrates that the Kansei methodology is an e↵ective way to adapt to the user’s perception of the product