Gamification’s impact on the intrinsic motivation for physical activity

Abstract. In the modern days physical activity among the children and adolescents have generally decreased and, in turn, increased the prevalence of obesity and different health issues caused by obesity. There have been several attempts to motivate the young to start exercising and having a healthier lifestyle by making it more engaging and fun. One of the methods of inspiring the young people to get moving stems from video games. Gamification has been trendy in the last century and it is still talked about. The primary objective of the gamification is to decrease the threshold of doing something and repeating it by implementing different gamifying elements like point scoring. There have been many different attempts to implement gamifying elements into various activities. But in some cases the motivation to exercise wanes once the user’s interest towards the game itself decreases. In this paper I explore the cases of using gamification to improve peoples’ physical activity and promote better health. The objective of this paper is to use a systematic literature review to find out and map the amount of research that has been done about gamification and its impact on the intrinsic motivation for physical activity

Carrying forward Uses and Grat 2.0: A study of new gratifications for F2P games based on APEX Legends

This study employed a Uses and Gratifications (U&G) theoretical framework (MAIN model) to investigate the effects of virtual items in free-to-play (F2P) games on players\u27 satisfaction. Additionally, this study tried to investigate extra satisfaction that players get in the process of consuming virtual items. A mixed-method survey in China with a sample size of 265 participants was utilized to test the research questions. The findings of the study revealed significant variations in satisfaction related to personalization and sociality level between free players and paying players, and the degree was positively correlated with the in-game spending level. In addition, one satisfaction not included in prior research on video games—superiority—was found through qualitative data analysis. Keywords: Virtual items, free-to-play, purchase, Uses and gratifications (U&G

Padrões de Jogo e Fatores de Personalidade numa Amostra de Jogadores Portugueses de Pokémon GO

A maioria dos estudos sobre videojogos sugere que estes podem exercer uma influência positiva ou negativa, dependendo de circunstâncias específicas. Embora o uso de videojogos online seja feito de forma saudável pela maioria das pessoas, existem pesquisas que têm mostrado que algumas pessoas se envolvem num uso excessivo e desenvolvem sintomas de adição. O presente estudo tem como objetivo principal explorar a relação entre o perfil dos jogadores de Pokémon GO e os fatores de personalidade numa amostra de jovens adultos e adultos portugueses. A amostra foi constituída por 480 jogadores, 271 do sexo masculino, com idades compreendidas entre os 18 e os 60 anos (M = 27,30, DP = 9,86). Os participantes responderam a um protocolo de investigação que composto por: Questionário Sociodemográfico, Questionário de Utilização do Jogo Pokémon GO e NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). Os dados recolhidos apontam para uma integração do jogo na rotina diária dos jogadores e, inclusive, para alguns benefícios, como o estabelecimento de novas amizades através do jogo. O perfil dos jogadores portugueses de Pokémon GO aproxima-se do perfil de personalidade típico dos “gamers”, com menores níveis de extroversão e menores de neuroticismo do que a população em geral. Também importa simultaneamente salientar que níveis mais avançados de jogo e o investimento em algumas das atividades do jogo, como frequentar locais públicos, estão associados a menores níveis dessas duas dimensões da personalidade. Os dados permitem assim questionar a visão negativa que recai frequentemente sobre videojogos, chamando atenção para natureza multifacetada e complexa da sua utilização, recorrendo ao estudo de um dos mais difundidos jogos das últimas décadas, o Pokémon GO. / Most studies focusing video games suggest that they can have a positive or negative influence, depending on specific circumstances. Although the use of online video games is done in a healthy way by most people, there is research that has shown that some people overuse them and develop addiction symptoms. The main goal of the present sydy is to explore the relationship between the profile of Pokémon GO gamers and personality factors in a sample of Portuguese young adults and adults. The sample comprises 480 gamers, 271 males, aged between 18 and 60 years old (M = 27.30, SD = 9.86). Participants responded to an investigation protocol that included the following: Sociodemographic Questionnaire, Pokémon GO Game Utilization Questionnaire and NEO- Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). The data collected point to an integration of the game in the daily routine of the gamers, and even to some benefits, such as the establishment of new friendships through the game. The profile of Portuguese Pokémon GO gamers is similar to the personality profile typical of “gamers”, with lower levels of extraversion and lower levels of neuroticism than the general population. It is also important to note that more advanced levels and investment in some of the game’s activities, such as attending public places, are associated with lower levels of these two personality dimensions. Focusing one of the most widespread games of the last decades – Pokémon GO – the data thus allow us to question the negative view that often falls on video games, drawing attention to the multifaceted and complex nature of their use

The Effects of Tutorials on Player Agency in Video Games

Video game tutorials are the first things that a player usually encounters whenever they are playing a new game. The effects of these tutorials are manifold, but the authority they hold over the player and their effect on player agency has not yet been researched. Tutorials on their own have been studied (cf. Boyce), as has player agency (cf. Bódi). This thesis argues that tutorials affect the way players play video games and relies on the importance of player freedom in different genres of games being paramount, due to the medium being defined by player action (Caracciolo 21). The authority of video game tutorials depends on the genre and game in question, which is why four genres and eight different games were chosen to represent the variety in video games better. The combination of educational theories, video games and literature is a new and promising subject of research and as such it has not been studied extensively as of yet. Educational theories from behaviourism and constructivism are applied to tutorials in order to clarify the tutorials’ effects on the player, furthermore an analysis of these effects was conducted and the findings were then compared to one another. Two games from each genre were chosen and an educational theory was applied to two genres at a time. The analysis involved authority and player agency, which was backed up by contemporary research and studies on the fields of literature, gaming and education. This thesis concludes that tutorials do indeed appear as authorities to the players, which in turn affects the player agency. It does, however, heavily depend on the genre of games that are studied as to how these effects manifest, and even so far as to some games in the same genre having very different ways to give the players more agency and have a different level and type of authority present in the game.Videopelitutoriaalit ovat ensimmäisiä asioita joita pelaajat yleensä kohtaavat, kun he aloittavat pelaamaan uutta peliä. Näiden tutoriaalien vaikutukset ovat moninaiset, mutta niiden auktoriteettia pelaajan yli ja vaikutuksia pelaajan toimijuuteen ei ole vielä tutkittu. Tutoriaalit itsessään ovat olleet tutkimuksen kohteena jo aikaisemmin (cf. Boyce), ja myös pelaajien toimijuutta on tutkittu (cf. Bódi). Tämä tutkielma argumentoi, että tutoriaalit vaikuttavat pelaajien tapaan pelata videopelejä ja lähtee siitä oletuksesta, että pelaajan vapauden tärkeys eri peligenreissä on oleellinen osa videopelien määritelmää (Caracciolo 21). Videopelitutoriaalien auktoriteettityyppi riippuu peligenrestä ja pelistä itsessään, jonka takia neljä eri genreä ja kahdeksan eri peliä valittiin osoittamaan paremmin videopelien moninaisuutta. Kasvatustieteellisten teorioiden, videopelien ja kirjallisuuden yhdistelmä on uusi ja lupaava tutkimuskohde, eikä siihen ole vielä perusteellisesti perehdytty. Kasvatustieteellisiä teorioita behaviorismin ja konstruktivismin piiristä käytettiin selventämään tutoriaalien vaikutuksia pelaajiin. Tämän lisäksi nämä vaikutukset analysoitiin ja niiden lopputuloksia vertailtiin toisiinsa. Jokaisesta genrestä valittiin kaksi peliä ja näitä teorioita sovellettiin kahteen genreen kerrallaan. Analyysin kohteina olivat tutoriaalien auktoriteetit ja pelaajan toimijuus, ja analyysia tuettiin viimeaikaisilla tutkimuksilla kirjallisuuden, pelien ja kasvatustieteiden aloilta. Tutkielman perusteella pääteltiin, että tutoriaalit esiintyvät auktoriteetteina pelaajille, jotka vuorostaan vaikuttavat pelaajien toimijuuteen. Tämän näkyminen kuitenkin riippuu vahvasti peligenrestä, ja jopa saman genren sisällä olevien pelien välillä löytyy eroja pelaajien toimijuuden ja pelaajaan kohdistuvan auktoriteetin voimakkuudesta ja tyypistä

The Rise of Free-to-Play: How the Revenue Model Changed Games and Playing

Ilmaispelit ovat mullistaneet pelialan. Pelin tarjoaminen ilmaiseksi ja tulojen kerääminen vapaaehtoisilla pelinsisäisillä maksuilla on osoittautunut tuottavimmaksi tavaksi ansaita peleillä. Mallin ansiosta pelejä pelataan nyt enemmän kuin koskaan, ja niiden taloudellinen merkitys on moninkertaistunut. Samaan aikaan ilmaispelit ovat saaneet osakseen kritiikkiä, jonka mukaan ne tarjoavat heikompia pelikokemuksia ja käyttävät hyväkseen pelaajia manipuloiden nämä pelaamaan ja maksamaan. Kritiikistä ja pelikokemusten muutoksista huolimatta ilmaispelien tutkimus on edelleen pitkälti keskittynyt tarkastelemaan taloudellisia näkökulmia tavoitteena tuottojen maksimointi ja parhaiden toteutustapojen löytäminen. Pelaajien näkökulmia tarkastellaan pääasiassa lokitietojen ja määrällisten kyselyjen avulla, ja eksploratiivinen, laadullinen tutkimus on ollut vähemmistössä. Ilmaispelien merkityksiä ja yhteyksiä pelikulttuuriimme ja yhteiskuntaamme ei ole juuri tutkittu. Tämä väitöskirja tarttuu haasteeseen tutkimalla ilmaispelejä useista näkökulmista ja useilla, laadullisiin lähestymistapoihin keskittyvillä menetelmillä. Työ luo laajaa ymmärrystä siitä, miten ja miksi ilmaispelit nousivat suosioon, miten ne ovat muuttaneet pelejä ja mitä ongelmallisia piirteitä niihin liittyy. Väitöksen päähuomiot liittyvät viiteen kohtaan: 1) ilmaispelien aliarvostukseen, 2) rahan ja pelikokemuksen välisiin ainutlaatuisiin haasteisiin, 3) reiluuden erilaisiin kehyksiin, 4) läpinäkyvyyden ja lainsäädännön tarpeeseen ja 5) ilmaispelien mullistavaan voimaan muuttaa pelien kulutusta ja tuotantoa. Tulokset osoittavat, että suuresta suosiostaan huolimatta ilmaispelejä arvostetaan muita pelejä vähemmän. Tämä koskee erityisesti mobiili- ja kasuaalipelejä ja kuvaa sitä, miten arvioimme ja arvotamme pelejä. Arvostuksen puute liittyy osaltaan ilmaispelien luonteeseen. Ne ovat usein päättymättömiä ja hidastempoisia ja tarjoavat muista peleistä poikkeavia haasteita. Niiden tarjoamat kokemukset eroavat perinteisistä, meritokraattisista arvoista, jotka tyypillisesti liitetään peleihin, ja erityisesti rahaa maksamalla eteneminen on ristiriidassa näiden arvojen kanssa. Arvostuksen puute taas näkyy esimerkiksi siinä, miten peleistä keskustellaan, miten niitä arvioidaan (tai ei arvioida lainkaan) pelimediassa ja miten niitä tutkitaan. Ilmaispelien pelaajia voidaan myös sulkea pelaajayhteisöistä tai pelaajaidentiteeteistä. Samalla ansaintamallin haasteet ovat tuoneet esiin uusia, luovia suunnitteluratkaisuja, jotka lisäävät pelikokemusten monimuotoisuutta ja tarjoavat joustavampaa pelaamista laajemmille yleisöille. Ilmaispeleihin liittyvät eettiset ongelmat tulee ottaa vakavasti. Läpinäkyvyyden puutteeseen, ongelmapelaamiseen, samankaltaisuuteen uhkapelien kanssa, alaikäisille markkinointiin ja yksityisyyteen liittyvät kysymykset nostavat esiin tärkeitä huolia. Samalla kun ilmaispeliyhtiöiden tulee antaa pelaajille tarpeeksi tietoa ja rakentaa työkaluja vahinko-ostosten ja ongelmapelaamisen estämiseksi, peliala tarvitsee myös ulkoapäin tulevaa säätelyä. Jotta lainsäädäntö olisi reilu ja toimiva, tarvitsemme tutkijoiden ja teollisuuden asiantuntemusta lakiasäätävissä elimissä. Haasteista ja aliarvostuksesta huolimatta ilmaispelien vaikutus peliteollisuuteen ja pelien kulutukseen on sekä merkittävä että peruuttamaton. Siten ne ansaitsevat huomiomme ja kriittisen tarkastelun oikeutettuna osana pelikulttuuriamme. Jos ei tunne ilmaispelejä, ei tunne pelejä.Free-to-play games have permanently transformed the game industry. Offering a game for free and gaining income through voluntary purchases during gameplay have proven to be the most successful way to gain revenue. Due to the model, more people than ever before play games, and the economic significance of games as business has multiplied. Simultaneously, the model has received a backlash for offering inferior, imbalanced game experiences that take advantage of players, manipulating them into playing and paying. Despite the criticism and changes in game experiences, the research on free-to-play games is still heavily focused on economic aspects, with the goal to maximize revenue and find the best practices by which to implement the model. The voices of players are measured mostly through log data or quantitative surveys, while exploratory, qualitative research has been in the minority. The significance of free-to-play games and their connection to our game culture and society are still lacking critical inspection. This dissertation takes up the challenge by studying free-to-play games from various perspectives through multiple methods, concentrating on qualitative approaches. The work shows the broad view of how and why free-to-play games have become so successful, how they have transformed games, and what problematic aspects are connected to them. The main claims of this dissertation are connected to: 1) the undervaluation of free-to-play games; 2) the unique challenges between money and gameplay experience; 3) the different framings of fairness and equality; 4) the need for transparency and legislation; and 5) the transformative power of free-to-play games on the consumption and creation of games. The results show that while free-to-play games are played extensively, they are less valued than other games. This is especially true with mobile or casual free-to-play games and is descriptive of how we appraise and evaluate games. The lack of appreciation is connected to the nature of many free-to-play games, which are often never-ending and slow-paced, and offer challenges that differ from other games. The experiences that these games offer are different from the traditional, meritocratic values we have come to expect from games, and especially allowing advancement with money is in direct conflict with these values. The devaluation is shown in how the games are discussed, how they are reviewed (or not reviewed at all) by game journalists, and how they are studied. The players who engage with these games can also be excluded from gaming communities and gaming identities. At the same time, the challenges of the revenue model have resulted in new, creative solutions that bring diversity into game experiences and offer flexible playing for wider audiences. The ethical issues connected to free-to-play games do need to be taken seriously. Problems connected to a lack of transparency, problematic playing, a resemblance to gambling, marketing to under-aged players, and privacy issues raise valid concerns. While free-to-play companies need to be especially mindful in giving players enough information and to implement tools to prevent accidental purchases and problematic playing, the industry also needs regulation that comes from outside itself. Thus, to create fair and functional legislation, we need academic and industry expertise in the committees doing the legislative work. Despite the challenges and undervaluation that free-to-play games encounter, it is an indisputable fact that their impact on the game industry and on game consumption is both formidable and irreversible. They therefore deserve our attention and a critical exploration as a legitimate part of game culture. If you do not know free-to-play games, you do not know games

Mental Health - Atmospheres - Video Games: New Directions in Game Research II

Gaming has never been disconnected from reality. When we engage with ever more lavish virtual worlds, something happens to us. The game imposes itself on us and influences how we feel about it, the world, and ourselves. How do games accomplish this and to what end? The contributors explore the video game as an atmospheric medium of hitherto unimagined potential. Is the medium too powerful, too influential? A danger to our mental health or an ally through even the darkest of times? This volume compiles papers from the Young Academics Workshop at the Clash of Realities conferences of 2019 and 2020 to provide answers to these questions

Mental Health | Atmospheres | Video Games

Gaming has never been disconnected from reality. When we engage with ever more lavish virtual worlds, something happens to us. The game imposes itself on us and influences how we feel about it, the world, and ourselves. How do games accomplish this and to what end? The contributors explore the video game as an atmospheric medium of hitherto unimagined potential. Is the medium too powerful, too influential? A danger to our mental health or an ally through even the darkest of times? This volume compiles papers from the Young Academics Workshop at the Clash of Realities conferences of 2019 and 2020 to provide answers to these questions

Winning and losing in the hall of mirrors

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Who are we? Why do we do the things we do? These questions are constantly under scrutiny, forever unable to provide us with adequate answers, it seems. Yet, with the continuing rise in popularity of digital media, we are able to situate these questions in a different sphere and see aspects of the self that we were unable to perceive before. Digital media forms have provided us with the capacity to explore whole new worlds, as well as allowing for new and innovative methods of communication. These changes make a huge impact on the daily lives of individuals. This thesis presents a theoretical contribution to both psychoanalytic thinking and to the rapidly expanding field of games studies, with especial reference to avatar-based games. It considers the status of the bond formed between the individual at play (known here as the ‘user’) and the game itself. Furthermore, it presents this as a model which identifies the user’s relation to the game dynamic through an understanding of the key components of a video game, including aspects such as the control mechanism. Elements which cross the boundary between the user/game realities are also considered with relation to hyperreality, thus forming a more complete imagining of this framework. This also allows for an application of this dynamic to what we define as violent (and associated) acts within games. In turn, this allows for a more complete understanding of the game situation, and can be applied to our understanding of the user as well. This thesis provides a standalone framework which can also be utilised in other types of investigation in future

Motivational strategies and approaches for single and multi-player exergames: A social perspective

Background: Exergames have attracted the interest of academics, practitioners, and designers, in domains as diverse as health, human-computer interaction, psychology, and information technology. This is primarily because exergames can make the exercise experience more enjoyable and entertaining, and in turn, can increase exercise levels. Despite the many benefits of exergames, they suffer from retention problems. Thus, the objective of this article was to review theories and game elements that have been empirically examined or employed in an attempt to make exergames more motivating so people engage in sustained physical activity (duration of physical activity) in a repeating pattern over time (frequency of physical activity). Methodology: A literature search and narrative review were conducted. Results: Five major theories and elements were prevalent in the exergaming literature: (1) self-determination theory, (2) gamification, (3) competition and cooperation, (4) situational interest, and (5) social interaction. These theories and elements are important for encouraging long-term play and show promise for designing exergames to promote sustained engagement and motivate physical activity. We discuss their strengths and weaknesses throughout the paper. Conclusions: The long-term effectiveness of exergame interventions is unclear mainly because of the limited amount of long-term studies. Better metrics are also needed to evaluate this effectiveness. We also identified particular attention to social factors and group dynamics, such as multi-player exergames and more effective player matchmaking strategies for increasing social connectedness, as a key area of future research