A psychological construct for aiming in First-Person Shooters

Abstract The complexities of the structure of aiming skills in competitive first-person shooters (FPS) have prompted much discussion within online communities but little-to-no empirical scrutiny within academia. This study aims to address this gap by employing psychometric methods to validate the construct validity and factorial structure of the aiming skills in FPS games, thought to rely on two "Tracking" and "Flicking" sub-skills. In this work, 61 FPS gamers were recruited to complete a playlist of six training exercises widely recognized within the gaming community designed to measure basic "Tracking" and "Flicking" abilities. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha and Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to test the two-factor model of aiming. Cronbach's alpha indicated high internal consistency across all exercises, but with values exceeding the recommended threshold. In other hands, confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the two-factor model for "Tracking" and "Flicking" fit satisfactorily, with strong factor loadings for each exercise and a significant correlation between the factors. These findings contribute to the evidence of the existence of specific psychomotor skillsets required in FPS games and suggest that such measures can effectively capture the dimensionality of aiming skills. Future research should further refine these measures to enhance training and performance in FPS gaming contexts.