I am an HCI researcher and PhD student working at the intersection of human-computer interaction,
games, and gamification. My research investigates how interactive systems (mostly games and gamification) can be designed to improve human factors such as performance or experience — with a particular focus on the role of audio in these outcomes.
I am affiliated with the Interaction Experience Group at HTW Saar and the Ubiquitous Media Technologies Lab
at Saarland University.
Also: I love gaming.
Most Played · 6238 hrs total
Baldur's Gate 3
289 hrs
Satisfactory
254 hrs
ELDEN RING
188 hrs
Valheim
168 hrs
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered
155 hrs
34 publications · 220 citations
Featured Project
A web-based platform for gamification research, enabling the study of game elements and their effects on user motivation, performance, and engagement in interactive tasks.
Academic Service
Web Chair
Associate Chair
Reviewer
Publications — First Author
Marc Schubhan and Stella Piebrock and Katja Rogers and Maximilian Altmeyer (2026). Sound by Design: Practitioner Perspectives on Factors Moderating the Impact of Audio in Games. .
Marc Schubhan and Anne Deutschen and Felix Kosmalla and Florian Daiber and Maximilian Altmeyer (2025). Investigating gamification modalities in running: a comparison of auditory and visual feedback on user performance and experience. . 1 citation
Marc Schubhan and Rostyslav Hnatyshyn and Maximilian Altmeyer (2025). Out of Tune? Nudging Player Behavior Through Background Music Pitch Modulation. . 1 citation
Marc Schubhan and Pascal Lessel and Maximilian Altmeyer (2025). Tagify: a boilerplate tagging platform for gamification research. .
Marc Schubhan and Maximilian Altmeyer and Katja Rogers and Donald Degraen and Pascal Lessel and Antonio Krüger (2024). Auditory, visual, or both? Comparing visual and auditory representations of game elements in a gamified image-tagging task. Proceedings of the ACM on human-computer interaction. 8 citations
Marc Schubhan and Sridhar Karra and Maximilian Altmeyer and Antonio Krüger (2024). Like it or not: exploring the impact of (dis) liked background music on player behavior and experience. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction. 7 citations
Marc Schubhan and Maximilian Altmeyer and Dominic Buchheit and Pascal Lessel (2020). Investigating user-created gamification in an image tagging task. . 20 citations
Publications — Co-Author
(2026). A Scoping Review of Auditory Interventions in Games and Gamification. .
(2026). Adaptive, personalized gamification to improve adherence and retention in decentralized study settings. .
(2026). Playing With Consent: A Serious Game Addressing Online Sexual Consent Among Men Who Have Sex With Men. .
(2026). Real vs. Simulated Exertion in VR Cycling: Effects of Multimodal Haptics on Presence, Motivation, and Experience. .
(2026). Sound by Design: Practitioner Perspectives on Factors Moderating the Impact of Audio in Games. .
(2026). Synthetic Persuasion: An Exploratory Pre-Study on User Perception of Computer Voice Persuasiveness. .
(2025). Investigating gamification modalities in running: a comparison of auditory and visual feedback on user performance and experience. . 1 citation
(2025). Out of Tune? Nudging Player Behavior Through Background Music Pitch Modulation. . 1 citation
(2025). SoulGarden: a gamified meditation application to enhance meditation habits, enjoyment, mindfulness, and mental well-being. .
(2025). Tagify: a boilerplate tagging platform for gamification research. .
(2024). Auditory, visual, or both? Comparing visual and auditory representations of game elements in a gamified image-tagging task. . 9 citations
(2024). EcoMeal: Gamified Eco-Feedback of food consumption using a virtual garden. . 3 citations
Sridhar Karra and Maximilian Altmeyer and Antonio Krüger and Marc Schubhan (2024). Like It or Not: Exploring the Impact of (Dis) liked Background Music on Player Behavior and Experience. .
(2024). Like it or not: exploring the impact of (dis) liked background music on player behavior and experience. . 8 citations
(2023). Faster, Harder? Investigating the Impact of Changing Background Music Speed on Gameplay Performance and Player Experience in an Endless Runner Game. . 3 citations
(2022). “Absolute or Relative?”–Exploring the Choice Between Leaderboard Types in an Image Tagging Task. . 2 citations
(2021). A long-term investigation on the effects of (personalized) gamification on course participation in a gym. . 16 citations
(2021). Familyflower: An artifical flower to foster distant family connections. . 22 citations
(2021). Hakoniwa: Enhancing physical Gamification using miniature garden elements. . 11 citations
(2020). AmbiPlant-Ambient feedback for digital media through actuated plants. . 15 citations
(2020). Investigating user-created gamification in an image tagging task. . 20 citations
(2020). Using hexad user types to select suitable gamification elements to encourage healthy eating. . 31 citations
(2019). Eating ads with a monster: Introducing a gamified ad blocker. . 3 citations
(2019). Gamified ads: Bridging the gap between user enjoyment and the effectiveness of online ads. . 18 citations
(2019). Gamified ads: Bridging the gap between user enjoyment and the effectiveness of online ads. . 1 citation
(2019). Germ destroyer-a gamified system to increase the hand washing duration in shared bathrooms. . 11 citations
(2019). Towards predicting hexad user types from smartphone data. . 8 citations