How to Understand Fun

Journal on Interactive Systems, 2022

Game design depends not only on understanding the creation process but also the elements that lead the game to be played. Fun, one of these elements, is of important value for the players' enjoyment as well as their experience with the game, particularly with Serious Games (SG) due to its use as an instrument to serious matters. But there is no consensus on what it is and how to create something fun in SG. This paper performs a systematic literature mapping, to answer which are the constructs and outcomes related to fun. Out of 1062 papers, 62 were selected, 19 of which proved a direct impact of some factors on fun. It was found that the research on fun is increasing but slowly, 13 constructs have been proved to yield fun and 17 outcomes were investigated as a result from fun. Along with this, a Fun Framework was created based on related work. However, it was not possible to perceive a trend as to the rationale or form of evaluation focused on fun. Also, it was found that there is no consensual author regarding the definition of fun. The need for more research and discussion about fun, its causes and consequences became clear, despite the lack of a sound definition.

2019

This thesis aims to analyse the relationship between games (be they board games, video games or sports) and the concept of fun. More specifically the attempt is to build on Bernard Suits' well-known definition of game-playing ('the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles') by citing a reason that there might be an attempt to overcome those obstacles, namely for the purpose of fun. In order to prosecute this idea, a technical use of 'fun' will be needed (i.e. capital-F 'Fun') in an attempt at more precision than a folk understanding would allow. The new concept of 'Fun' will be stipulated as the intersection between the psychological state of flow, and the experience of fun (as understood in the folk sense as a form of pleasure pursued for its own sake). The hope is that using this version of fun, as a lens for games, will have downstream benefits for other approaches, such as viewing games as an activity to be valued, an idea common in the philosophy of sport. 'fun and games') but is seemingly not well understood. In order to prosecute this apparent link, we will need to fill a second gap in knowledge, and that is the lack of a clear theory of fun. As we will come to find out in the coming chapters, fun is claimed to be a basic need for humans (Monk, Hassenzahl, Blythe, & Reed, 2002, p. 924), however those reading the literature on fun can be forgiven for being unclear on the concept's exact nature. This is due, in part, to the startlingly few theories of fun itself. Indeed, fun, as a distinct topic of study (as opposed to the study of play, games and leisure) is surprisingly uncommon. This neglect of fun has perhaps only started to change in recent years with studies into HCI (or Human-Computer Interaction). In particular, the attempt to produce computer programs and online content that is more pleasurable to use has lead in recent times to the field known as 'funology' (see Blythe, Overbeeke, Monk, & Wright, 2003). Funology has resulted in a renewed interest in articulating more precisely the differences between play, enjoyment, pleasure, leisure 1 'Fun and games' meaning 'exciting, amusing, or enjoyable activity; goingson, carryings-on' ("Oxford English Dictionary," 2019))

… design INTERACT 2007 …, 2007

This paper presents an approach to analyze and re-design evaluation methods. The domain explored in this paper is evaluation methods for evaluating fun and entertainment. However, the approach presented may be applied in other domains as well. The approach is conceptually described and two examples of processes where the approach were used in practice are further discussed. As the map of IT applications and digital media is continuously redesigned, there is a constant need of re-designing evaluation methods. that knowledge about how to analyze, evaluate, and design methods have already been developed over the years in this research discipline. However, the published research in HCI focuses mainly on the product of the research, i.e. the developed methods. Little effort is made to discuss or reflect on the process of this research. Often, the process of evaluating methods is only briefly mentioned in publications. It is seldom in focus in this type of research. Instead, the emphasis is on describing the advantages and disadvantages of the developed or re-designed methods. As no standard

2013

In this white paper, Owen Schaffer, Lead Usability Analyst at HFI, gives practical advice about techniques and tools that will keep your users engaged and coming back. Using examples from his research on online games and e-commerce sites, Owen shows how gamification methods can be universally applied to B2B and B2C systems to increase satisfaction and efficiency. He discusses: -The emotional engagement part of persuasive design -The definition and importance of “flow” -Using persuasive design to create flow experiences -Techniques and tools for measuring flow -5 steps you can take to engineer designs that facilitate flow “Making designs more fun is a key strategy that allows companies to engage their customers and give them an experience that will have them wanting to come back again and again. There are many different kinds of fun, but the fun of enjoying doing something for its own sake must be our top priority if we want to make designs that people will want to use. Positive psychologists call this ‘flow’.”

2007

Abstract This paper focuses on the design of pleasurably playful interfaces within an interactive art context. It describes the development of a framework of thirteen pleasures of play and outlines the application of this framework during the design process of three interactive artworks. These processes included both initial conceptual development stages and later user evaluation studies.

Loading .., 2020

The gaming industry and the concept of gamification have altered the way many developers and users approach interactive products. As social gaming demographics expand to what was previously considered "casual" audiences, more users expect an enjoyable experience from their digital applications and games. Developers now request more detailed subjective descriptions of satisfaction and the player experience from user experience (UX) practitioners. Focusing on how fun a product is for users/players requires subjective, situationally dependent metrics rather than the traditional usability pillars: effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction. UX professionals are engaged in constructing a comprehensive ecology of the player experience and how to measure it. This article contributes to that ecology by detailing a case in which our team conducted a usability test on a new video game peripheral. Our client's primary concern lay with how fun experienced gamers found the device. As our test progressed, we encountered a number of funrelated participant behaviors that led us to develop unique metrics beyond an initial systems survey. These new metrics helped our team and our client better define and discuss enjoyability. Our case, in conjunction with a detailed definition and review of player experience and UX scholarship, shows the importance of adopting metrics contextually specific to the video game product and player group when measuring fun or enjoyability is the primary goal.

The fields of human-computer interaction and interaction design are increasingly dealing with the issues of fun, enjoyment and pleasure throughout the last two decades. The concept of fun becomes a concern in the development of usability of a product. Fun is an attribute considered to be an emotional aspect of interaction of a product. The evaluations and interpretations of fun on products are, therefore, subjective and personal which is peculiar to a user. A study, hence, was conducted to explore the term fun in everyday experience products. The aim is to understand what features and characteristics of a product make it fun and enjoyable to use. A total of twenty-nine users participated in the study. Each participant was interviewed individually in order for his/her personal attributes, interpretations and evaluations of fun to be elicited from a pool of thirty-two products. The participants' responses to open-ended questions were qualitatively analyzed by the use of content analysis procedure. The collected data was then grouped under four main categories which are visual aspect, functionality, usability, and contextual content. The findings of the study show that visual aspect of a product is the most concerned feature, followed by contextual content, usability and functionality, when evaluating the fun in everyday experience products.

2010

As work, leisure and social activities blend together, and amateur and professional practices becomes harder to distinguish, we need to explore the role of technology that works to support people in this rich range of everyday experiences. Incorporating fun, playful elements in the workplace is essential for enhancing creativity and making work activities more socially and emotionally meaningful practices in which to participate.

Fun plays a significant role in learning. Given its positive impact on education, the role of fun has often been investigated in the context of gamification and educational games. An important problem with the study of the role of fun in learning is the lack of consistency in the assessment. There are a few existing tools for the evaluation of fun alone, but it is rarely assessed along with the other features of usability and gaming experience on a single scale. With the intent to fill this gap, we present MEEGA360, a modified version of the MEEGA + scale. Strengths and limits of the MEEGA + scale will be described, along with our solutions, and a first application.

2007

This paper is about how to enhance software applications with engaging interaction. A methodology is presented that provides a structured way to elicit how to turn boring tasks into enjoyable challenges, giving users the possibility to grow or compete, or empowering users to perform sophisticated tasks and as a consequence gain social appreciation. The paper is addressed to practitioners who want to know more about how to make applications more appealing and to researchers, who want to see theories from emotion, motivation and organizational growths successfully put into interactive applications.