Can't you just do an interview or something like normal people, instead of using something fishy like this?
The kind of information he seems to want - essentially a time-based log of the different genres of action people engage in while playing - isn't something you can reliably capture in a post facto interview. You'd have to observe them playing (i.e. get permission to get videos of people's playthroughs) and then do a content analysis style coding, or do the real-time logging using the hotkeys. It's not a very easy thing to capture, unless you have the money and resources to get people in a room and get paid to play games or something.
I'm not clear on categories of action the keys are supposed to capture, though. Are the players supposed to code their own behviaour on the go, by deciding whatever they're doing right now counts as "objective" and then press the button? Seems like it would interrupt the flow a lot and players will yield a lot of messy data, as opposed to, say, collecting narrated video LPs and coding that.
When the program/script is started a window appears with text thoroughly explaining the different types. Obviously not every possible action that can be covered in the explanation, but I've tried to be as clear as possible with the explanation so the player's interpretation of what type the player judges an action to belong to is the same as mine.
While having to press a key to tell what you're doing while playing can be a bit cumbersome, there are a few reasons as to why I chose to do it this way instead of eg. publicly available narrated Let's Plays on youtube. #1 It can be difficult to judge how well the Let's Player enjoyed the game if they don't clearly say whether they enjoyed the game, especially since some youtubers may try to appear more happy & positive than they really are as to appeal to their audience. #2 Does the average Let's Play accurately represent the average players? This can be especially so if the Let'ts Player decides to stand around talking to their audience, which is not an action the average player would do. #3 I want to preferably know what they consider themselves to be doing, and not just what I see them doing. For example, the player may be making a decision about what to do but neither shows or talks about themselves making that decision, so I wouldn't know they're making a desicion. Or it could for example be the other way around, they're presented with choices but don't actaully make decision and instead chooses one randomly. So the Let's Player would need to constantly narrate about exactly everything they're doing all the time, which most Let's Player just doesn't do the extend that I want.
Another alternative I had been thinking about was to ask people to record their screen while playing and send the recording to me. It would be a bit cumbersome because they would need to install Fraps or similar, but more importantly I still need to know what they consider themselves to be doing. This means that they would need a microphone, which not everyone has, and I think it may be easier for them to not have to set everything up with Fraps and such, end then they'd have to send it to me somehow, and it would be easier for me the way I chose because I'd otherwise have to go through all the videos and write down timestamp by hand. Also, how much easier is it really anyway for them to constantly narrate what they are doing rather than constantly pressing a key for what they are doing.
I was thinking of not putting the description of the different types here and instead just have them in the program/script, because I thought the text was a bit long, but it might not be as long as I thought, here it is anyway:
F1 Non-Objective - This is any action you do which you have not planned or anticipated. For example appreciating the view of a distant mountain, or "I wonder how deep this lake is?".
F2 Objective - This is when you are following a goal. This goal can be set by either yourself or the game. One example of such is walking to a target.
F3 Interact - This is when you are actively interacting and giving the game inputs, such as in combat. This can for example be shooting or hitting a person, picking up items from a chest, or mounting a horse.
F4 Decision - This is whenever you are making a choice. It can for example be choosing which way to travel, selecting what items to buy in a shop, choosing which items to pick up, or deciding which enemy to attack.
F5 Consumption - This is when you as a player consumes what the game gives you. It is whenever you are not actively interacting with the game, but instead are taking in what the game is giving you. This can for example be listening to an NPC, reading a book, or looking at a cut-scene.
F6 What? - This is for example when you are wondering how to approach a problem, or you might not even know what your problem is. "How do I get over there?" "Where am I?" "Let me just process what you just said.."
F7 External - Any time you do anything unrelated to the game, for example wondering what to have for dinner or wondering if someone knocked on you door.
Summary
F1 Non-Objective action/thinking _ Eg. "I wonder how deep this lake is?" "That's a nice looking mountain."
F2 Objective action ____________ Eg. Walking to target.
F3 Interact ___________________ Eg. Shooting/hitting person. Picking up item. Entering vehicle. Mounting horse.
F4 Decision making ____________ Eg. "Which way do I choose to travel?" "What items should I buy?" "Which of the enemies do I attack first?"
F5 Consumption _______________ Eg. Listening. Reading. Cut-scenes.
F6 What? ____________________ Eg. "How do I get over there?" "Where am I?" "Let me just process what you just said.."
F7 External __________________ Eg. "I wonder what I should have for dinner?" "Did someone knock on my door?"
