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Understanding playful user experience through digital games

Profile image of Hannu KorhonenHannu Korhonen

2009

Abstract

It has been commonly acknowledged that the acceptance of a product depends on both its utilitarian and non-utilitarian properties. The non-utilitarian properties can elicit generally pleasurable and particularly playful experiences in the product's users. Product design needs to improve the support of playful experiences in order to fit in with the users' multi-faceted needs. However, designing for fun and pleasure is not an easy task, and there is an urgent need in user experience research and design practices to better understand the role of playfulness in overall user experience of the product. In this paper, we present an initial framework of playful experiences which are derived from studies in interactive art and videogames. We conducted a user study to verify that these experiences are valid. We interviewed 13 videogame players about their experiences with games and what triggers these experiences. The results indicate that the players are experiencing the videogames in many different ways which can be categorized using the framework. We propose that the framework could help the design of interactive products from an experience point of view and make them more engaging, attractive, and most importantly, more playful for the users.

Figures (3)
Figure 1 Comparative analysis used as a foundation of the study described in this paper. Turquoise boxes describe the Costello and Edmonds’s mode Green boxes are additions we have included to the analysis of playful experiences. See Table 2 for definitions of each playful experience category
Figure 1 Comparative analysis used as a foundation of the study described in this paper. Turquoise boxes describe the Costello and Edmonds’s mode Green boxes are additions we have included to the analysis of playful experiences. See Table 2 for definitions of each playful experience category
Table 1 Participants’ demographic and game experience data 4.2. Procedure i: is We recruited 13 participants for interviews, four players of GTA and Spore and five players of The Sims 2. All participants were adults with a thorough experience with the games (Table 1). All participants were active players, who played digital games at least on a weekly basis. The participants were interviewed using semi-structured questions. In addition, we used a loo version of the laddering method [29] in order to find out the fundamental aspects why the players a experiencing the game in certain ways. Initially, we asked both generic questions and questioi particularly related to our PLEX categories. For example, “Please tell me the topmost impressions y« have from playing GTA?” is a generic question, while the following one seeks to find evidence | Sadism specifically: “Did you ever harm your Sims intentionally? How did you feel about that. Further questions were asked based on the answers. For example, if the topmost feeling of GTA play was that the game was “convincing and impressive’, we asked further questions on what tl interviewee meant with “convincing” and “impressive”, to gain a more detailed understanding of tl experiences. rm 1 . TR 1 oar i a . 1 . m/e ie 4°
Table 1 Participants’ demographic and game experience data 4.2. Procedure i: is We recruited 13 participants for interviews, four players of GTA and Spore and five players of The Sims 2. All participants were adults with a thorough experience with the games (Table 1). All participants were active players, who played digital games at least on a weekly basis. The participants were interviewed using semi-structured questions. In addition, we used a loo version of the laddering method [29] in order to find out the fundamental aspects why the players a experiencing the game in certain ways. Initially, we asked both generic questions and questioi particularly related to our PLEX categories. For example, “Please tell me the topmost impressions y« have from playing GTA?” is a generic question, while the following one seeks to find evidence | Sadism specifically: “Did you ever harm your Sims intentionally? How did you feel about that. Further questions were asked based on the answers. For example, if the topmost feeling of GTA play was that the game was “convincing and impressive’, we asked further questions on what tl interviewee meant with “convincing” and “impressive”, to gain a more detailed understanding of tl experiences. rm 1 . TR 1 oar i a . 1 . m/e ie 4°
The interviews gave support to the existence of 20 categories of playful experiences in the games The Sims 2, Grand Theft Auto IV and Spore. All the final categories (Table 2) were mentioned on numerous occasions and in the context of at least two different games. Roughly speaking, approximately 18 categories were found in Sims 2, 17 in GTA and 16 in Spore. This finding indicates that digital games exploit a large and nuanced experiential palette.
The interviews gave support to the existence of 20 categories of playful experiences in the games The Sims 2, Grand Theft Auto IV and Spore. All the final categories (Table 2) were mentioned on numerous occasions and in the context of at least two different games. Roughly speaking, approximately 18 categories were found in Sims 2, 17 in GTA and 16 in Spore. This finding indicates that digital games exploit a large and nuanced experiential palette.

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Related topics

  • Design practice
  • Digital Games
  • Interactive Art
  • User Study
  • Design Practice
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