Who but not where: The effect of social play on immersion in digital games

The majority of digital games available today offer a variety of multi-player settings including co-located and mediated play between opponents. Immersion, the sense of being “in the game,” is one of the key components of the gaming experience but existing literature suggests that social play provides more fun but less immersion. There is however little empirical support for this. This paper therefore addresses the question: how does playing digital games in a social situation alter the sense of immersion felt by the individuals playing? This paper presents three experiments that test the relationship between social setting and immersion. The three experiments aim to manipulate the social setting in which players play, be it against a computer, against a person online or against a co-located person. Overall the three experiments show that players are more immersed when playing against another person rather than playing against a computer but there is no significant difference in immersion whether the other person is online or in the same room. This refutes previous claims about social play reducing immersion and indeed that social play enhances the sense of being in the game where interaction is through the game.     

Why do people play on-line games? An extended TAM with social influences and flow experience

On-line games have been a highly profitable e-commerce application in recent years. The market value of on-line games is increasing markedly and number of players is rapidly growing. The reasons that people play on-line games is an important area of research. This study views on-line games as entertainment technology. However, while most past studies have focused on task-oriented technology, predictors of entertainment-oriented technology adoption have seldom been addressed.This study applies the technology acceptance model (TAM) that incorporates social influences and flow experience as belief-related constructs to predict users’ acceptance of on-line games. The proposed model was empirically evaluated using survey data collected from 233 users about their perceptions of on-line games. Overall, the results reveal that social norms, attitude, and flow experience explain about 80% of game playing. The implications of this study are discussed.     

Falling in love with online games: The uses and gratifications perspective

Playing online games is experience-oriented but few studies have explored the user’s initial (trial) reaction to game playing and how this further influences a player’s behavior. Drawing upon the Uses and Gratifications theory, we investigated players’ multiple gratifications for playing (i.e. achievement, enjoyment and social interaction) and their experience with the service mechanisms offered after they had played an online game. This study explores the important antecedents of players’ proactive “stickiness” to a specific online game and examines the relationships among these antecedents. The results show that both the gratifications and service mechanisms significantly affect a player’s continued motivation to play, which is crucial to a player’s proactive stickiness to an online game.     

Playing online games against computer- vs. human-controlled opponents: Effects on presence,flow, and enjoyment

The purpose of this study was to examine whether playing online games against other users leads to different experiences in comparison with playing against computer-controlled opponents. Thereby, a one-factorial multivariate design was used (computer-controlled vs. human-controlled opponent). Dependent variables were the participants’ feelings of presence and flow. Additionally, the amount of enjoyment was measured. The findings indicate that the type of opponent influences playing experiences: participants who played against a human-controlled opponent reported more experiences of presence, flow, and enjoyment, whereby the strongest effect refers to the experience of presence. Furthermore, strong relations between presence, flow, and enjoyment were observed. Further analyzes suggest that flow mediates the relationship between presence and enjoyment.     

The effects of collective MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) play on gamers’ online and offline social capital

This study examines the impact of collective MMORPG play on gamers’ social capital in both the virtual world and the real world. Collective MMORPG play is conceptualized as the frequency of joint gaming actions and gamers’ assessment of the experience in MMORPG guilds and groups. Social capital at the individual level refers to the resources and support provided by bonding and bridging social networks; collective-level social capital refers to people’s civic engagement. A two-wave online survey was conducted to collect data from 232 Chinese MMORPG players.Two structural equation models were developed to test whether collective play influences offline social capital via the mediation of online social capital; the results did not demonstrate the existence of mediation effects. Specifically, collective play positively influences gamers’ online bonding social capital, online bridging social capital and online civic engagement. The effect of collective play on offline bonding and bridging social capital is not significant; the effect of online bonding/bridging social capital on offline bonding/bridging social capital is not significant either. The study finds a significantly positive impact of collective play on offline civic engagement. The effect of online civic engagement on offline civic engagement is not significant. In contrast with collective play, the time of gaming is found to negatively influence online and offline social capital.This study contributes to the knowledge of social capital because it tests the effects of new media on online and offline social capital in the Chinese culture. In addition, this study provides empirical evidence for the positive effects of online games and highlights the social experience in MMORPG play and how it influences gamers’ social networks and collective participation.     

The differences in motivations of online game players and offline game players: A combined analysis of three studies at higher education level

Computer games have become a highly popular form of entertainment and have had a large impact on how University students spend their leisure time. Due to their highly motivating properties computer games have come to the attention of educationalists who wish to exploit these highly desirable properties for educational purposes. Several studies have been performed looking at motivations for playing computer games in a general context and in a Higher Education (HE) context. These studies did not focus on the differences in motivations between online and offline game players. Equally the studies did not look at the differences in motivations of people who prefer single player games and people who prefer multiplayer games. If games-based learning is to become a recognised teaching approach then such motivations for playing computer games must be better understood. This paper presents the combined analysis of three studies at HE level, performed over a four year period from 2005 to 2009. The paper focuses on differences of motivations in relation to single player/multiplayer preference and online/offline game participation. The study found that challenge is the top ranking motivation and recognition is the lowest ranking motivation for playing computer games in general. Challenge is also the top ranking motivation for playing games in HE while fantasy and recognition are the lowest ranking motivations for playing games in HE. Multiplayer gamers derive more competition, cooperation, recognition, fantasy and curiosity from playing games and online gamers derive more challenge, cooperation, recognition and control from playing games. Multiplayer gamers and online gamers ranked competition, cooperation and recognition significantly more important for playing games in HE than single players and offline participants.     

Flow,social interaction anxiety and salivary cortisol responses in serious games: A quasi-experimental study

Serious games are supposed to instigate engagement and, in turn, improve learning. High engagement is frequently connected with a positive affective state and a high flow state. However, the alleged link between a learner’s affective state, his/her flow state and learning outcomes has not been investigated in detail in the context of serious games. Even less information is available on how serious games may influence markers of physiological arousal. To fill this gap, participants of this exploratory study (N = 171) played one of the six different serious game-based treatments, while we measured their affect, flow, cortisol secretion and learning achievement. The treatments were supposed to generate different levels of engagement and cortisol responses, because some of them were designed for a single user, while others were team-based, featuring so-called social-evaluative threat (ST) components. Our results revealed that flow was positively related to positive affect and negatively to negative affect. While flow and positive affect were related to learning gains, almost no relationship between either of these three variables and cortisol levels was found. Negative affect and cortisol were elevated in social interaction anxious males in team-based conditions. This study contributes to the limited body of research on the relationship between engagement and learning in serious games. We provide new perspectives on the relationships between flow, positive/negative affect and cortisol. Our findings highlight the fact that team-based serious games with ST components may have adverse effects on learners, particularly males, with high social interaction anxiety.     

Determining reactive and proactive aggression and empathy levels of middle school students regarding their video game preferences

The studies existing on the effects of video games with violent content and aggression in research literature have controversial results. Accordingly, some studies indicate that empathy may play a determining role in the relationship between video games and aggression. In this context, the study aim was to describe the game types that middle school students play and analyze the relationship between the game types, their reactive and proactive aggressions, and empathic skills. Participants were 318 students from middle schools in Turkey. An important finding obtained from this study was the relationship between the frequency of proactive and reactive aggression and the playing of aggressive games; a relationship was also identified between emotional and cognitive empathy and the playing of aggressive games. Therefore, it is important to talk to children about the real-life consequences of aggressive games, and teach them appropriate methods of conflict management that they can use in real-life conflicts, which may diminish the negative effects of games with aggressive content.     

Goal setting outcomes: Examining the role of goal interaction in influencing the experience and learning outcomes of video game play for earthquake preparedness

Video game goals are important features of video games. Player’s interaction with goals can not only shape the gaming experience by evoking cognitive and affective reactions in players, but also lead to learning outcomes. However, there are few empirical studies on the effects of interacting with game goals, and no previous research has manipulated goal setting. In two experimental studies, participants were randomly assigned to one of the following five conditions: self-set goal repetitive play, assigned goal repetitive play, no-set goal repetitive play, no-set goal single play, and no play. Results show that playing earthquake preparedness video games generates significant learning outcomes; playing repeatedly with self-set goals yields greater learning compared to playing once with no-set goals or not playing; and cognitive reactions mediates the relation between goal interaction and learning. Implications of the results for the design and evaluation of future video games for learning are explored.     

Are there cultural differences in how we play? Examining cultural effects on playing social network games

Digital games embedded in social network sites are one of the driving forces behind the expansion of digital gamer populations. Previous studies have observed different usage patterns between users in different ethnic groups and countries, suggesting that culture orientations may affect how people play and interact through social network games. This study examined how people’s culture orientations affect usage patterns with measures of vertical and horizontal individualism–collectivism. The findings indicate that culture does not directly affect usage patterns. Instead, the effects on usage patterns are mediated by people’s expected outcomes of playing social network games. Vertical culture orientations predicted social expected outcomes. Individualism predicted status expected outcomes, but in different directions on the dimensions of vertical or horizontalness. Vertical collectivism was the only culture orientation that indirectly predicted buying in-game products with real money. Implications for game designers and markers are discussed.     

The winner takes it all: The effect of in-game success and need satisfaction on mood repair and enjoyment

Recent research found that playing video games is able to serve mood management purposes as well as contribute to gratifications such as need satisfaction. Both aspects can foster the enjoyment as entertainment experience. The current study explores the question of how in-game success as a prerequisite for satisfying the need for competence and autonomy positively influences mood repair and game enjoyment. In a laboratory setting, participants were frustrated via a highly stressing math task and then played a video game (Mario Kart). Results show that in-game success drives mood repair as reflected in the experience of anger, happiness and activation. Moreover, fulfilling the intrinsic needs for competence and autonomy mediated the effects of in-game success and predicted enjoyment of the video game. Results are discussed in context of recent conceptualizations of media entertainment and the hierarchical order of emotional gratifications.     

Video-mediated and co-present gameplay: Effects of mutual gaze on game experience,expressiveness and perceived social presence

We study how pairs of children interact socially and express their emotions while playing games in different communicative settings. In particular, we study how such interactions can vary for environments that differ regarding the level of mediation and the associated feelings of social presence. Overall, the study compared three conditions (one face-to-face gameplay condition, and two video-mediated gameplay conditions; one allowing for mutual gaze, the other not) and focused on the social presence and non-verbal behavior of children in three conditions. The results show that the presence of mutual eye-gaze enriches the feelings of social presence, fun and game experience; conversely, the absence of mutual eye-gaze dramatically effects the quality of interaction in the video-mediated environment. The results of this study stress the importance of mutual gaze, and we therefore argue that it should become an integral component of future VMC systems, particularly in those designed for playful settings and children.     

Towards understanding how to design for social play in exertion games

Players invest significant physical effort when playing exertion games. In addition to improving physical health, exertion games are also believed to facilitate social play amongst players. Despite these advantages, our understanding of how to design these games to successfully support social play is limited. In this paper, we present a qualitative analysis of player data from “Table Tennis for Three”, a mediated exertion game for three players, that contributes to our understanding of how the design of an exertion game facilitates social play. We use the concept of “space” to frame our findings in order to create themes that can be used to analyze existing and to design future exertion games. We hope our work can support researchers gain an understanding of this exciting new field, while also help designers utilize the many benefits of exertion games.     

The relationship between online game playing motivation and selection of online game characters – the case of Taiwan

The alarming growth rate in the online game industry calls for a need of understanding the determinants of online gamers’ behaviour. Investigating how online gamers choose different online characters assists online game vendors to design characters that match the needs of different online gamers. Recently, numerous online game designers have introduced celebrity figures as characters for certain online games. The popularity of those celebrities has resulted in greater awareness of these games, and hopefully further increases the playability of online games. While different online gamers are motivated by different desires for playing, it is insufficiently researched whether these online celebrity characters have actually altered players’ choice in giving preference to these games. Thus, this study conducts an experimental design to study the reasons behind players’ choice of characters by studying how online games perceive the interpersonal attractiveness of celebrity online characters, and how online gamers with different playing motivations display different behaviours in their choice of online game characters. Results from the survey filled out by participants after the experiments show that the attractiveness of celebrity online characters is significantly higher than that of non-celebrity characters. Further, online game players with a social playing motivation tend to choose celebrities as their online game characters.     

Team participation and online gamer loyalty

Online games have emerged as popular computer applications and gamer loyalty is vital to game providers, since online gamers frequently switch between games. Online gamers often participate in teams also. This study investigates whether and how team participation improves loyalty. We utilized a cross-sectional design and an online survey, with 546 valid responses from online game subjects. Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to assess measurement reliability and validity directly, and structural equation modeling was utilized to test our hypotheses. The results indicate that participation in teams motivates online gamers to adhere to team norms and satisfies their social needs, also enhancing their loyalty. The contribution of this research is the introduction of social norms to explain online gamer loyalty.     

Migration from social casino games to gambling: Motivations and characteristics of gamers who gamble

The increasing convergence of the gambling and gaming industries has raised questions about the extent to which social casino game play may influence gambling. This study aimed to examine the relationship between social casino gaming and gambling through an online survey of 521 adults who played social casino games in the previous 12 months. Most social casino game users (71.2%) reported that these games had no impact on how much they gambled. However, 9.6% reported that their gambling overall had increased and 19.4% reported that they had gambled for money as a direct result of these games. Gambling as a direct result of social casino games was more common among males, younger users, those with higher levels of problem gambling severity and more involved social casino game users in terms of game play frequency and in-game payments. The most commonly reported reason for gambling as a result of playing social casino games was to win real money. As social casino games increased gambling for some users, this suggests that simulated gambling may influence actual gambling expenditure particularly amongst those already vulnerable to or affected by gambling problems.     

An instrument to build a gamer clustering framework according to gaming preferences and habits

In the era of digital gaming, there is a pressing need to better understand how people's gaming preferences and habits affect behavior and can inform educational game design. However, instruments available for such endeavor are rather informal and limited, lack proper evaluation, and often yield results that are hard to interpret. In this paper we present the design and preliminary validation (involving N = 754 Spanish secondary school students) of a simple instrument that, based on a 10-item Game Preferences Questionnaire (GPQ), classifies participants into four ‘clusters’ or types of gamers, allowing for easy interpretation of the results. These clusters are: (1) Full gamers, covering individuals that play all kinds of games with a high frequency; (2) Hardcore gamers, playing mostly first-person shooters and sport games; (3) Casual gamers, playing moderately musical, social and thinking games; and (4) Non-gamers, who do not usually play games of any kind. The instrument may have uses in psychology and behavioral sciences, as there is evidence suggesting that attitudes towards gaming affects personal attitudes and behavior. Besides, we propose applying the instrument to help designers of educational games to get better tailored their games to their target audiences.     

Why girls go pink: Game character identification and game-players’ motivations

Based on social role theory and uses and gratifications, this study provides insights into the popularity of so-called pink games. This study is the first to examine the roles of identification, playing time, and age in the experience of motivations while playing an online role-playing game. Drawing upon a survey among 2261 girls between10 and 17 of age, our results show that identification with characters in the game is an important process in explaining girls’ gaming motivations. In addition, identification and motivations are intensified with playing time. Although age affects identification negatively, age is not related to the most important motive in playing pink games: social interaction. This study has important theoretical and practical implications for the popularity of pink games among girls.     

Students' attitudes toward playing games and using games in education: Comparing Scotland and the Netherlands

Games-based learning has captured the interest of educationalists and industrialists who seek to exploit the characteristics of computer games as they are perceived by some to be a potentially effective approach for teaching and learning. Despite this interest in using games-based learning there is a dearth of empirical evidence supporting the validity of the approach covering the wider context of gaming and education. This study presents a large scale gaming survey, involving 887 students from 13 different Higher Education (HE) institutes in Scotland and the Netherlands, which examines students' characteristics related to their gaming preferences, game playing habits, and their perceptions and thoughts on the use of games in education. It presents a comparison of three separate groups of students: a group in regular education in a Scottish university, a group in regular education in universities in the Netherlands and a distance learning group from a university in the Netherlands. This study addresses an overall research question of: Can computer games be used for educational purposes at HE level in regular and distance education in different countries? The study then addresses four sub-research questions related to the overall research question:

• •What are the different game playing habits of the three groups?
• •What are the different motivations for playing games across the three groups?
• •What are the different reasons for using games in HE across the three groups?
• •What are the different attitudes towards games across the three groups?

To our knowledge this is the first in-depth cross-national survey on gaming and education. We found that a large number of participants believed that computer games could be used at HE level for educational purposes and that further research in the area of game playing habits, motivations for playing computer games and motivations for playing computer games in education are worthy of extensive further investigation. We also found a clear distinction between the views of students in regular education and those in distance education. Regular education students in both countries rated all motivations for playing computer games as significantly more important than distance education students. Also the results suggest that Scottish students aim to enhance their social experience with regards to competition and cooperation, while Dutch students aim to enhance their leisurely experience with regards to leisure, feeling good, preventing boredom and excitement.     

Effects of Interactivity in Educational Games: A Mediating Role of Social Presence on Learning Outcomes

Networked interactivity is one of the essential factors that differentiate recent online educational games from traditional stand-alone CD-based games. Despite the growing popularity of online educational games, empirical studies about the effects of networked interactivity are relatively rare. The current study tests the effects of networked interactivity on game users' learning outcomes by comparing three groups (online educational quiz game vs. off-line educational quiz game vs. traditional classroom lecture). In addition, the study examines the mediating role of social presence in the context of educational games. Results indicate that networked interactivity in the online educational quiz game condition enhances game users' positive evaluation of learning, test performance, and feelings of social presence. However, there was no significant difference between the off-line educational quiz game and the lecture-based conditions in terms of learning outcomes. Further analyses indicate that feelings of social presence mediate the effect of networked interactivity on various learning outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.