Enjoying with function: ISU pupil’s analysis explores therapeutic makes use of of video video games

The following is a information launch from Idaho State University.

POCATELLO –– Gaming is critical enterprise for Rifat Ara Tasnim.

The soon-to-be doctoral graduate from Idaho State University wasn’t fixated on the likes of Minecraft, Fortnite, Roblox, or the most recent Battlefield. For almost six years, Tasnim’s sights have been skilled on the area of interest of great gaming.

“Serious games are designed to serve other purposes rather than just pure entertainment,” stated Tasnim. “I actually learned about serious games after I started my doctorate, and the field immediately stood out to me. I found it fascinating that a game can go beyond entertainment and support learning and emotional well-being. That idea made me want to explore it further.”

Tasnim first earned a bachelor’s in pc science from Khulna University of Engineering & Technology in Bangladesh. After a quick stint as a software program engineer, she discovered herself on the University of New Orleans in Louisiana within the fall of 2019, engaged on a doctorate below the steerage of Farjana Eishita, who was serving as an assistant professor on the establishment on the time.

“When I discovered her research profile and the work she was doing, especially in areas like human–computer interaction, serious games, and immersive technologies such as augmented reality and virtual reality, I felt it was exactly the direction I wanted to pursue,” Tasnim stated.

“Rifat’s confidence and respectful behavior caught my eye,” stated Eishita. “Eventually, her enthusiasm and perseverance distinguished her as a dedicated and resilient scholar.”

Two years later, Eishita joined the college at ISU, and Tasnim moved to the Gem State as nicely.

“I really enjoyed doing research under Dr. Farjana’s mentorship,” stated Tasnim. “When she moved to ISU, she generously offered me the opportunity to continue working with her. I knew I wanted to keep developing my research with her guidance, so I followed. I also looked into ISU and found that the program, the campus, and even Pocatello itself felt like a great fit for me. In the end, coming here turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve made. I get to work in an environment I genuinely enjoy while continuing my research with a supervisor I work well with.”

Working out of Eishita’s Research in Intelligence, Games, and HCI Techniques Laboratory, the analysis group focuses on growing purpose-driven gaming experiences.

“The goal of the RIGHT (Research in Intelligence, Games, and Human–Computer Interaction Techniques) Lab is to advance human-centered technologies through interdisciplinary research in HCI, video games and user experience, AR/VR/MR, and usable security,” Eishita stated. “The lab aims to design, develop, and evaluate interactive systems that are engaging, immersive, secure, and accessible, with a strong emphasis on improving user experience, learning, and well-being. Through innovative research, prototyping, and collaboration, the RIGHT Lab seeks to bridge theory and practice while preparing students to create impactful, ethical, and user-friendly interactive technologies.”

For Tasnim, her first critical recreation was Militant of the Maze, a recreation for handheld gadgets that had gamers navigate a maze stuffed with obstacles and make it out. The wrinkle for the participant is that there are obstacles in the best way, they usually have to make use of cognitive behavioral remedy–generally known as CBT, it’s a typical remedy method that goals to vary detrimental ideas into optimistic ones–to navigate round them.

“The main challenge was to design serious games that incorporate different psychotherapy techniques, and we chose CBT,” Rifat explains. “Our goal was not to provide therapeutic treatment through the game; however, we wanted to explore how the integration of these techniques in the gameplay impacts players and how it affects their emotions, how the game functions as a serious game, and how the outcomes change based on players’ personality traits. We were also interested in how players experience the game. The idea was that the overall findings could be used to design future games for psychotherapy, or to help someone qualified take these games further for clinical trials.”

After utilizing Militant of the Maze to discover the remedy procedures of CBT, Tasnim developed ARCoD that explored the screening procedures of CBT and likewise seemed into the influence of various recreation environments like AR, VR, and smartphones on recreation outcomes and participant expertise. For her dissertation, “Analyzing the Impact of Serious Games to Facilitate the Efficacy of Psychotherapeutic Techniques,” Tasnim explored how a lot therapeutic worth gameplay alone–with out biofeedback techniques like coronary heart price screens or therapist involvement–might present to the participant.

“Through multiple experiments across smartphone, AR, and VR platforms, I examined how game environments and personality traits influence both therapeutic outcomes and player experience,” Tasnim stated. “The findings reveal meaningful connections between these factors, offering insights into how serious games can be designed to improve their effectiveness and overall player experience.”

During her time at Idaho State, Tasnim additionally took on two internships. The first, with Idaho National Laboratory, noticed her develop an immersive VR simulation of a nuclear reactor for instructional functions. Meanwhile, the opposite noticed her enterprise into the world of chemical information evaluation with ISU’s Department of Chemistry, and combine haptic suggestions right into a chemical information evaluation visualization software, supporting accessibility for blind customers. She additionally served as a visitor lecturer and has earned a slew of awards for her analysis.

“I had the chance to work with advanced technologies like VR and AR, which helped me become familiar with cutting-edge tools and platforms,” Tasnim stated. “Being part of a supportive research environment also helped me grow as an independent researcher. I learned how to design studies, analyze data, write papers, and manage long-term projects with confidence. Also, I have received multiple grants from graduate school and CoSE to present my work at conferences, which have strengthened my communication and networking skills.”

“I am confident that Rifat will continue to grow as an innovative researcher, making meaningful contributions to her field,” Eishita stated. “She will be a role model through her dedication, integrity, and passion for excellence.”

As for the longer term, Tasnim says she plans to pursue a profession in academia after incomes her doctorate, permitting her to show and concentrate on her analysis.

“I plan to continue my research in Human-Computer Interaction, Serious Games, and Extended Reality (VR/AR/MR). I aim to expand my work on real-time adaptive gameplay, where games dynamically adjust challenges based on players’ emotional or behavioral responses,” stated Tasnim. “I also intend to design interactive VR tools for data visualization that allow users to explore complex datasets through intuitive, hands-on interfaces. Additionally, I would like to investigate the concept of a digital twin for human well-being using wearable data.”

For extra info on ISU’s Graduate School and the Department of Computer Science, go to isu.edu/graduate and isu.edu/cs, respectively.