Investigating the usage of thermal feedback as an active game element

While a variety of modalities and techniques have been explored to create feedback in gaming, thermal stimuli so far have been mostly neglected, even though they are an substantial part of the experience when interacting with real world objects. In this paper we investigate the use of thermal stimuli as a replacement for currently common feedback mechanisms such as visual or vibro-tactile for four different game mechanics. Instead of developing new game mechanics we opted to use already well established ones, namely Quick Time Events, Power Bars, Cooldowns and Area of Effect. Our evaluation with 13 participants indicate that for Quick Time Events and Area of Effect, thermal feedback is a valid replacement that could potentially pave the way for novel modalities in gaming.