Player–video game interaction: A systematic review of current concepts

International audienceVideo game design requires a user-centered approach to ensure that the experience enjoyed by players is as good as possible. However, the nature of player-video game interactions has not as yet been clearly defined in the scientific literature. The purpose of the present study was to provide a systematic review of empirical evidences of the current concepts of player-video game interactions in entertainment situations. A total of 72 articles published in scientific journals that deal with human-computer interaction met the criteria for inclusion in the present review. Major findings of these articles were presented in a narrative synthesis. Results showed that player-video game interactions could be defined with multiple concepts that are closely linked and intertwined. These concepts concern player aspects of player-video game interactions, namely engagement and enjoyment, and video game aspects, namely information input/output techniques, game contents and multiplayer games. Global approaches, such as playability, also exist to qualify player-video game interactions. Limitations of these findings are discussed to help researchers to plan future advances of the field and provide supplementary effort to better know the role of less-studied aspects. Practical implications are also discussed to help game designers to optimize the design of player-video game interactions

Mastery and the mobile future of massively multiplayer games

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Comparative Media Studies, 2007.Includes bibliographical references (p. 64-66).What game design opportunities do we create when we extend massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) to cell phones? MMOs allow us to create representations of our own increasing mastery, and mobile gives us better access to this mastery and allows us to integrate it more fully into the ways we see ourselves. MMOs motivate mastery by making that mastery personally and socially relevant, and visibly showing it increase. Virtual worlds that make players feel physically and socially present increase motivation to achieve mastery. MMOs that convince players their avatars represent some aspect of their personalities increase motivation to invest in and experiment with different constructions of self. I apply these principles to an analysis of two games: Labyrinth, a game I helped create, and World of Warcraft, the current leading MMO. With Labyrinth, I explain the design decisions we made and their impact. With World of Warcraft, I described how altering the design could accommodate mobile play and better motivate increasing mastery.by Daniel Roy.S.M

Social platform or fantasy world? - A mixed methods approach to the study of social interaction in World of Warcraft

The purpose of this study was to investigate massively-multiplayer online role-playing games from the social interactionist perspective. The aim was to chart the social interaction within the game environment as well build upon previous known findings concerning player's in-game preferences as well as the sociability of the game environment. The questions addressed by this study were: - How does the social interaction within World of Warcraft utter itself? - What function does World of Warcraft have for its players? A mixed methods approach was used in the form of an online self-completion survey in combination with separate in-game participant observations. The resulting material consisted of surveys, chatlogs and screenshots. Results indicated that the game environment contained several spheres of interaction, where real life as well as guilds showed the qualities of a protected backstage region while the public and action-oriented spheres showed frontstage public qualities. The playerbase of the game showed the inherent qualities of a team, displaying a coherent routine that reinforced the boundaries between the back- and fronstage regions. Players were also often seen gravitating to form two opposing teams in the dramaturgical sense as well as share a mutual culture based on popular culture. Furthermore, survey results showed that the nature of the social ties that players have with them in the game have a correlation with both their in-game activities as well as their preferences. Different demographic groups were also found to vary in their activities and social ties. The findings of this study grant an insight into the way in which the social interaction within massively-multiplayer online role-playing games is formed by the actors within the interaction as well as the game environment itself. These findings have possible application use in both understanding game usage as well as the social possibilities of massively-multiplayer online role-playing games

The Post-human Gamer: Reflections on Fieldwork in World of Warcraft

This dissertation offers a longitudinal digital ethnography of a community of hardcore gamers who currently play, or have played, the Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMO) World of Warcraft. The central theme embraces the challenge of identifying and voicing the emic perspective of these hardcore players, presenting them as individuals mediating their real lives (IRL, or in real life ) and virtual lives through social media and online multiplayer technologies, including the maintenance of relationships developed within the IRL and in-game spaces they inhabit. The dissertation offers a critical analysis of the hardcore gaming lifestyle as voiced by the gamers themselves, revealing not only their contestation of the boundaries of cultural expression, identity, and community, especially as it pertains to notions of “real” and “virtual” relationships, but also the social costs to their IRL lives. Embedding themselves within a virtual world community by way of immersive computer technologies (modem, PC, VoiP, mouse, and so on), yet conceptualizing this world as a prioritized reality, repositions these players out of the realm of traditional gamers and into one representing a post-human status. Ultimately, through this collaboration with this community of Post-human Gamers, the ethnographer challenges existing portrayals of these cultural groups in the media and within WoW itself, and offers a reflexive examination of the ethnographer\u27s own potentially self-destructive journey of researching the hardcore lifestyle

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

Understanding massively multiplayer online role-playing game addiction : a hedonic management perspective.

Massively multiplayer online role‐playing game (MMORPG) addiction presents a serious issue worldwide and has attracted increasing attention from academic and other public communities. This article addresses this critical issue and fills research gaps by proposing and testing a research model of MMORPG addiction. Building on the conceptual foundation of the hedonic management model of addiction and the technology affordance perspective, we develop a research model explaining how MMORPG affordances (ie, achievement, social and immersion affordances) are associated with the duality of hedonic effects (ie, perceived positive mood enhancement and perceived negative mood reduction) and the extent of MMORPG addiction. Using structural equation modelling, we empirically test our research model with 406 MMORPG players. The results show that both perceived positive mood enhancement and perceived negative mood reduction positively correlate with the extent of MMORPG addiction. Furthermore, achievement and immersion affordances are positively associated with the duality of hedonic effects, whereas social affordance is not. Our study contributes to the growing body of technology addiction literature by revealing the relationships between the two hedonic effects and the extent of MMORPG addiction, and by offering a contextualised explanation of the role of MMORPG affordances in these relationships. We offer an alternative perspective on the far‐reaching, unintended relationships between technological affordances and addictive technology use. Our study provides game developers and policymakers with insights into preventing MMORPG addiction to create an entertaining, healthy virtual playground

A Proposed Model of Character Progression Taxonomy in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG’s)

A novel taxonomy for character progression in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG’s) was developed into three main functions: the identification, classification, and nomenclature of character progression types. A conceptual framework was established assessing two existing character progression types, linear character progression and nonstatistic character progression, using the grounded theory research method approach. The framework was then used as a form of reference in order to develop the classification and nomenclature of character progression types. These results are a foundation to determine whether a novel, hybrid approach to character progression could increase the level of player investment in gameplay based on the taxonomy of character progression types. Ultimately, this taxonomy can serve designers’ critical thinking process, enabling them to better accommodate their specific audience of players, potentially reducing player churn rate

Learning Phenomena of MMORPG PLAYERS: A PROPOSED RESEARCH MODEL

This research in progress aims to contributing to the already existing knowledge on the phenomena of learning existing in the massively multi-players online role-playing games (MMORPG). The objective is to be able to identify social skills (personality) and professional skills (managerial skills) which the players can develop by playing in MMORPG. A better knowledge of the effects of this technology on the players would allow to know better the consequences on the real life of the players as the recruitment by online games. So, by basing us on learning theories then on a previous qualitative study led with players and old players, we propose a model of research illustrating the influence of the practice of the MMORPG on the player

Questing with Grandma: Building Closer Families Through Intergenerational Video Gaming

While small and large technological miracles have undoubtedly made our lives easier, they have potentially also made a significant part of our daily social routine obsolete. People live in the same space but rarely spend quality time together, interacting and bonding. One of the solutions to diminishing family relationships may lie in the technology itself—video games. Previous research having shown the sociability of video games, and in this study, we examined their potential in creating closer family relationships, especially among different generations. Participants (n = 183), mainly grandparents and grandchildren, were asked to play video games together over a period of six weeks. Participants completed a modified version of the self-other overlap, self-disclosure, and relationship closeness inventories before and after the treatment and responded to a series of open-ended questions post-treatment. Results indicate a significant increase in the inclusion of other in the self, as well as an increase in breadth and depth of self-disclosure for both younger and older adults. A comparison group (n = 88), comprising also mostly grandparents and grandchildren, was tasked with having conversations either face-to-face or in a mediated setting. The comparison group completed the same questionnaires, with results indicating a significantly smaller increase in the inclusion of other in the self and depth of self-disclosure, while breadth of self-disclosure experienced the same increase as in the gaming group. The findings suggest that video games can provide a platform for family communication, resulting in the rejuvenation and maintenance of intergenerational relationships. Gathering around a novel shared activity, both younger and older adults found new ways of connecting to their family members, whether through more frequent conversations, broader selection of topics, shared subjects, or pure entertainment