Identification and categorization of digital game experiences : a qualitative study integrating theoretical insights and player perspectives

Digital game experience is not a one-dimensional concept. Great variety exists in game genres and players, and game experiences will differ accordingly. To date, game experience is studied in a differentiated way, meaning that most studies focus on one specific game experience dimension. The objective of our study was twofold. First, we wanted to obtain a comprehensive picture of first-hand experiences of playing digital games. We conducted six focus group interviews including different types of gamers with the aim of eliciting a wide array of lay-conceptualizations of game experience. Second, we aimed to develop a categorization of game experience dimensions. This was established by discussing and integrating theoretical and empirical findings. Our categorization revealed nine dimensions: enjoyment, flow, imaginative immersion, sensory immersion, suspense, competence, tension, control and social presence. This categorization has relevance for both game scholars and game developers wanting to get to the heart of digital game experience

Perceived drivers and barriers to the adoption of eMental Health by psychologists:The construction of the levels of adoption of eMental Health Model

Background: The internet offers major opportunities in supporting mental health care, and a variety of technology-mediated mental and behavioral health services have been developed. Yet, despite growing evidence for the effectiveness of these services, their acceptance and use in clinical practice remains low. So far, the current literature still lacks a structured insight into the experienced drivers and barriers to the adoption of electronic mental health (eMental health) from the perspective of clinical psychologists. Objective: The aim of this study was to gain an in-depth and comprehensive understanding of the drivers and barriers for psychologists in adopting eMental health tools, adding to previous work by also assessing drivers and analyzing relationships among these factors, and subsequently by developing a structured representation of the obtained findings. Methods: The study adopted a qualitative descriptive approach consisting of in-depth semistructured interviews with clinical psychologists working in the Netherlands (N=12). On the basis of the findings, a model was constructed that was then examined through a communicative validation. Results: In general, a key driver for psychologists to adopt eMental health is the belief and experience that it can be beneficial to them or their clients. Perceived advantages that are novel to literature include the acceleration of the treatment process, increased intimacy of the therapeutic relationship, and new treatment possibilities due to eMental health. More importantly, a relation was found between the extent to which psychologists have adopted eMental health and the particular drivers and barriers they experience. This differentiation is incorporated in the Levels of Adoption of eMental Health (LAMH) model that was developed during this study to provide a structured representation of the factors that influence the adoption of eMental health. Conclusions: The study identified both barriers and drivers, several of which are new to the literature and found a relationship between the nature and importance of the various drivers and barriers perceived by psychologists and the extent to which they have adopted eMental health. These findings were structured in a conceptual model to further enhance the current understanding. The LAMH model facilitates further research on the process of adopting eMental health, which will subsequently enable targeted recommendations with respect to technology, training, and clinical practice to ensure that mental health care professionals as well as their clients will benefit optimally from the current (and future) range of available eMental health options

Where everybody knows your game: the appeal and function of game cafes in Western Europe

Game cafés are popping up in cities across Western Europe and are rapidly becoming popular places in the tangible world of the gamer. Compared to studies focused on Asia, motivations and activities of Western European visitors of game cafés are relatively unclear and not discussed in academic literature. Since understanding these motivations would contribute to explanations of why and how people play games, focus groups and contextual inquiries were organized with visitors of Dutch game cafés. The findings indicate that- similar to Asia - Western European game cafés can be seen as third places, a home base separate from home and work or school. Moreover, this research identifies why a game café and a virtual game world can both be regarded as a third place

Why do we smile when dying virtually? : insights on player experience from physiological and self-report measures

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Persuasive Technology for Human Well-Being: Setting the Scene

In this short paper we aim to give a brief introduction to persuasive technology, especially as it pertains to human well-being. We discuss a number of current research opportunities in areas of healthcare, environmental conservation, and education. We conclude by highlighting what we regard as the key research challenges that need to be addressed, focusing on context sensing and appropriate feedback, the need for longitudinal user studies, and ethical concerns

Schuldig landschap. Over de toeristische aantrekkingskracht van Baantjer, Wallander en Inspector Morse

De opnamelokaties van tv-detectives genieten een toenemende populariteit onder toeristen. In dit artikel wordt, op basis van een tekstuele analyse van ‘Baantjer’, ‘Inspector Morse’ en ‘Wallander’, onderzocht welke inhoudelijke kenmerken van deze tv-detectives mogelijk als ‘trigger’ fungeren. Uit de analyse blijkt dat plaats en beweging een centrale rol vervullen binnen de narratieve structuur van dit genre. Door zelf de lokaties te bezoeken, kunnen toeristen het spoor nalopen van hun geliefde detective om aldaar, vanuit een veilige positie, tijdelijk op te gaan in het schemergebied tussen fictie en werkelijkheid

Reality check: the role of realism in stress reduction using media technology

There is a growing interest in the use of virtual and other mediated environments for therapeutic purposes. However, in the domain of restorative environments, virtual reality (VR) technology has hardly been used. Here the tendency has been to use mediated real environments, striving for maximum visual realism. This use of photographic material is mainly based on research in aesthetics judgments that has demonstrated the validity of this type of simulations as representations of real environments. Thus, restoration therapy is developing under the untested assumption that photorealistic images have the optimal level of realism, while in therapeutic applications 'experiential realism' seems to be the key rather than visual realism. The present paper discusses this contrast and briefly describes data of three studies aimed at exploring the importance and meaning of realism in the context of restorative environments

People, places, and play : a research framework for digital game experience in a socio-spatial context

Digital games frequently give rise to engaging and meaningful social interactions, both over the internet and in the real and tangible world of the gamer. This is the focus of the present paper, which explores digital gaming as a situated experience, shaped by socio-spatial contingencies. In particular we discuss how co-players, audience, and their spatial organization shape play and player experience and review supporting evidence for this. We present a framework describing social processes underlying situated social play experience and how these are shaped by the player the game's socio-spatial and media context. The core of this framework describes various 'sociality characteristics', and discusses these both in terms of co-located and mediated social game settings