Towards a framework of player experience research

As the game industry matures and games become more and more complex, there is an increasing need to develop scientific methodologies for analyzing and measuring player experience, in order to develop a better understanding of the relationship and interactions between players and games. This panel gathers distinguished European playability and user experience experts to discuss current findings and methodological advancements within player experience and playability research.

The video game medium, embedded within one of the most lucrative industries today, is developed to entertain and create satisfying experiences for the game player. Extensive work has been developed on these experiences, exploring concepts such as immersion or flow, or centering on specific experiencerelated models. However, we consider that these do not fully portray the nature of the gameplay experience -a dynamic interplay between a video game and the player. This work summarizes a Gameplay Experience Model proposal centered on the dynamic interaction that exists during video game play. We describe the development of the proposed model, centered on a literature review process and complemented with two focus group sessions where the gameplay experience and its characteristics were discussed. Posteriorly, the conceptual model is explored in terms of its various elements and dimensions, in addition to its applicability in game contexts.

HCI is a multidisciplinary field focused on human aspects of the development of computer technology. As computer-based technology becomes increasingly pervasive-not just in developed countries, but worldwide-the need to take a humancentered approach in the design and development of this technology becomes ever more important. For roughly 30 years now, researchers and practitioners in computational and behavioral sciences have worked to identify theory and practice that influences the direction of these technologies, and this diverse work makes up the field of human-computer interaction. Broadly speaking it includes the study of what technology might be able to do for people and how people might interact with the technology. The HCI series publishes books that advance the science and technology of developing systems which are both effective and satisfying for people in a wide variety of contexts. Titles focus on theoretical perspectives (such as formal approaches drawn from a variety of behavioral sciences), practical approaches (such as the techniques for effectively integrating user needs in system development), and social issues (such as the determinants of utility, usability and acceptability).

2008

Digital gaming is receiving more and more attention in the academic research. Games are studied in different situations with numerous methods, but little is known how the playing situation affects the user experience (UX) in games. In addition, it is hard to understand and study the psychology of UX in games. The aim of this study is to compare the UX in playing the first-person shooter Halo in a laboratory and at home. Multidimensional UX is profiled according to a psychological framework measuring the level of involvement, sense of presence and flow in a between-subjects design. Statistically the structure of the framework is grounded on a large and heterogeneous game-player dataset (n=2182). The results showed that the profile of the sense of presence in the laboratory included higher levels of attention and arousal as compared to that of the natural environment. This finding was independent from any of the measured background variables. Other differences between the two situations were more related to the participants' background. For example, players at home were more involved in the game and they felt higher level of competence. There were no strong emotional differences between the two situations. In the end, the terminology used to explain experiential phenomena is discussed. The situational impact on UX in games should be considered when laboratory studies are designed, participants are recruited and results are compared across the gaming situations.

CHI '08 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2008

Game players enjoy computer games for their leisure and enjoyment factor, social reasons, the challenge they provide, and to use them as a platform for performance and self expression. However, designing for this kind of user experience is often done intuitively, in a rather ad-hoc fashion and without an appropriate understanding of the criteria, methods, and tools that can guide game designers towards creating a fun or engaging experience. This workshop addresses current needs in the games developers' community and industry to evaluate the overall user experience of games. New forms of interaction techniques, like gestures, eye-tracking and bio-physiological input and feedback have recently been utilized as evaluation methods for an enhanced user experience, but with mixed results. Mostly standard usability evaluation methods, derived from work applications, are used during game development instead. This workshop intends to bring together practitioners and researchers sharing their experiences using conventional and experimental methods to investigate user experience in games

There are innumerable concepts, terms and definitions for user experience. Few of them have a solid empirical foundation. In trying to understand user experience in interactive technologies such as computer games and virtual environments, reliable and valid concepts are needed for measuring relevant user reactions and experiences. Here we present our approach to create both theoretically and methodologically sound methods for quantification of the rich user experience in different digital environments. Our approach is based on the idea that the experience received from a content presented with a specific technology is always a result of a complex psychological interpretation process, which components should be understood. The main aim of our approach is to grasp the complex and multivariate nature of the experience and make it measurable. We will present our two basic measurement frameworks, which have been developed and tested in large data set (n=2182). The 15 measurement scales extracted from these models are applied to digital gaming with a head-mounted display and a table-top display. The results show how it is possible to map between experience, technology variables and the background of the user (e.g., gender). This approach can help to optimize, for example, the contents for specific viewing devices or viewing situations.

2007

ABSTRACT In this paper, we describe the challenge of adequately characterizing and measuring experiences associated with playing digital games. We discuss the applicability of traditional usability metrics to user-centred game design, and highlight two prominent concepts, flow and immersion, as potential candidates for evaluating gameplay. The paper concludes by describing the multi-measure approach taken by the Game Experience Research Lab in Eindhoven.