Player Experience Research Articles

Effects of reduced kinematic and social play experience on affective appraisal of human-rat play in rats

BackgroundPlay is a common and developmentally important behaviour in young mammals. Specifically in Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus), reduced opportunity to engage in rough-and-tumble (RT) play has been associated with impaired development in social competence. However, RT play is a complex behaviour having both a kinematic aspect (i.e., performing complex 3D manoeuvres during play fights) and a social aspect (interacting with a playful partner). There has been little research so far on disentangling the two aspects in RT play, especially on how these two aspects affect the affective appraisal of the intense physical contact during play.ResultsTo examine the developmental effects of kinematic and social play reduction on affective appraisal in rats, we subjected male Long-Evans rats from 21 days old to RT play experience that was reduced either kinematically (through playing in a low ceiling environment) or socially (through playing with a less playful Fischer-344 rat). Starting at 35 days, we measured their production of positively (50-kHz) and negatively (22-kHz) valenced ultrasonic vocalisations (USVs) in a 2-min standardised human-rat play procedure that mimicked the playful sequences of nape contact, pinning, and belly stimulation (‘tickling’) for ten days. We hypothesised that the rats with kinematically or socially reduced play would perceive the ‘tickling’ less positively and thus emit positive ultrasonic vocalisations at lower rates compared to control rats with non-reduced play experience. Our results confirmed that each of the treatments reduced play differently: while the kinematic reduction abolished playful pinnings entirely, the social reduction decreased the pinnings and made play highly asymmetric. During the tickling procedure, rats mostly produced 50 kHz USV, indicating that they appraised the procedure as positive. There was a wide inter individual variance and high individual consistency in rats’ USV responses to ‘tickling’. Crucially, neither the kinematically nor the socially reduced play experience affected either type of USV production when rats were ‘tickled’.ConclusionsThis finding indicates that the ability to appraise play-like interactions as positive remains unaffected even when the kinematic or the social aspect of play experience was substantially curtailed.

Exploring Gender Stereotypes among Filipina Gamers of Mobile Legends: A Phenomenological Study

In the present time, not only men but also women feel a lot of pressure to have skills and strengths that would fit into society's standards in the online gaming world. This study aims to investigate how Filipina gamers experience gender stereotyping and how they cope with the negative stereotypes they have encountered while playing Mobile Legends (ML). The study consisted of sixteen (16) Filipina participants coming from different places in the Philippines. A qualitative method was used through a hermeneutic phenomenological approach to better understand the common gender stereotypes experienced by Filipina ML players and their ways of coping. Based on the findings, the Filipina gamers of ML are being stereotyped as weak and incompetent because of their gender identity. They are also being underestimated and discriminated against as they are exploited as support hero characters, and lesbianism is being attributed to them due to their presence in the male-dominated game community. In terms of coping mechanisms, Filipina ML players tend to ignore these negative comments, dedication, and enthusiasm to play well, and their time of playing is limited. Future studies may consider the experiences of female players in other online gaming platforms and game categories to achieve varied results.

Heuristics to Support the Evaluation of Optimal Experience in Educational Games for Learning Japanese as a Second Language

The evaluation of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) tools can be carried out from the perspective of different aspects, and there’s still no proposal from the literature for the evaluation of CALL games from the perspective of an “optimal experience”. Therefore, this paper proposes a set of 32 heuristics for the evaluation of educational games for Japanese Language Learning (JCALL). Furthermore, the heuristics were applied in the evaluation of JCALL L2 (i.e., as a second language) games in order to verify their usefulness. Findings show the heuristics provide good support in the evaluation of language learning educational games, and can collaborate in the redesign of these games in order to improve the optimal player experience. Finally, results also indicate the feasibility of using these heuristics in the evaluation of other types of CALL tools other than games.

Evaluating Player Experience in Stealth Games: Dynamic Guard Patrol Behavior Study

In stealth games, guard patrol behavior constitutes one of the primary challenges players encounter. While most stealth games employ hard-coded guard behaviors, the same approach is not feasible for procedurally generated environments. Previous research has introduced various dynamic guard patrol behaviors; however, there needs to be more play-testing to quantitatively measure their impact on players. This research paper presents a user study to evaluate players' experiences in terms of enjoyment and difficulty when playing against several dynamic patrol behaviors in a stealth game prototype. The study aimed to determine whether players could differentiate between different guard behaviors and assess their impact on player experience. We found that players were generally capable of distinguishing between the various dynamic guard patrol behaviors in terms of difficulty and enjoyment when competing against them. The study sheds light on the nuances of player perception and experience with different guard behaviors, providing valuable insights for game developers seeking to create engaging and challenging stealth gameplay.

Investigating the Influence of Behaviors and Dialogs on Player Enjoyment in Stealth Games

The player's perception of AI behavior significantly influences their overall game experience. This perception is shaped by both interactive encounters and careful observations, particularly in genres like stealth, where gameplay revolves around planning strategies based on AI enemy movement. This paper aims to derive general insights into the player experience concerning two crucial gameplay elements that impact the perception of NPC intelligence. The first element pertains to the actual behavior of opponent NPCs, while the second focuses on the dialogues employed to highlight NPC decision-making. We conducted a user study to assess whether players can discern between complex and simple NPC behavior during gameplay in a specific scenario of a top-down stealth game prototype. We introduced variations in spoken dialogs to determine their effect on player perception. In the end, our findings revealed that when simple dialogs were used, players derived greater enjoyment from a more complex AI behavior. However, using contextual dialog allowed a simple behavior to match a complex behavior in player enjoyment.

Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment via Procedural Level Generation Guided by a Markov Decision Process for Platformers and Roguelikes

Procedural level generation can create unseen levels and improve the replayability of games, but there are requirements for a generated level. First, a level must be completable. Second, a level must look and feel like a level that would exist in the game, meaning a random combination of tiles that happens to be completable is not enough. On top of these two requirements, though, is the player experience. If a level is too hard, the player will be frustrated. If too easy, they will be bored. Neither outcome is desirable. A procedural level generation system has to account for the player's skill and generate levels at the correct difficulty. I address this issue by showing how a Markov Decision Process can be used as a director to assemble levels tailored to a player's skill level, but I've only demonstrated that my approach works with surrogate agents. For my thesis, I plan to build on my past work by creating a full roguelike and platformer and running two player studies to validate my approach.

Affordances of construction toys

While affordances and play experiences are both topics of high interest in design research, there is a need to better understand the relationship between affordances and toys. The aim of this study is to shed light on how affordances of construction toys influence the play experiences of children, comparing play situations enabled by two different construction sets in a series of play sessions with children aged 5 and 6. The play sessions were recorded and analysed to identify perceived affordances. The study shows that both functional and narrative affordances are important for initiating and maintaining the play experience, and exposes a possible division of narrative affordances in relation to a construction set in instant and latent affordances. A focus on these affordances has potentials for aiding designers to create construction toys that better support children in initiating and maintaining play, and may even offer new perspectives in other design domains.

Paths 2 play: teacher’s play facilitation in Colombia

IntroductionThe quality of early childhood programs is essential for improving outcomes for children, and play-based practices are a vital component. However, the field is still trying to understand the role of teachers in facilitating play and their beliefs and practices related to play, as well as how to best support these practices.MethodsData was collected remotely between June and December 2021 using surveys from 55 teachers and video observations and interviews with directors, teachers, and parents at two aeioTU centers in Cartagena, Colombia. The study aimed to comprehend teachers’ understanding and practices of learning through play within a Reggio Emilia inspired program and its professional development supports.ResultsThe study found that trainers, teachers, and parents generally viewed learning through play as a joyful, engaging, and socially interactive activity with a natural component. However, the study identified a misalignment between the sophisticated language on play used by trainers and teachers and the examples they provided for learning through play. Additionally, the study revealed a gap between the aeioTU curriculum’s comprehensive conceptualization of play and how teachers practice and self-report learning through play in their classrooms. The COVID-19 pandemic and limited policy definitions of play may have contributed to these findings.DiscussionThe study recommends that professional development programs focus on building teachers’ knowledge of play facilitation, helping them develop a nuanced understanding of play and its full spectrum and how it maps to their role in classrooms, and tracking the connection between playful experiences and children’s learning.

Bir Oyuncunun Gözünden Kullanıcı Deneyimi Değerlendirmesi: Casual Mobil Oyunlar

Purpose: This study aims to deeply evaluate the user experience of casual mobile games from the player's perspective. It covers a wide range of user experience from the beginning of the game to the use of controls, visual design and communication in the game to monetization.
 Method: The research was carried out with 34 face-to-face interviews. Based on the main and sub-themes determined in the interviews, specific questions were asked to the players. The data collection process was carried out with extensive interviews and explanatory responses of the participants.
 Findings: As a result of the study, it was seen that casual mobile game players shared their experiences in many aspects from the training process to the game flow. It was stated that the training process made a significant contribution to the understanding of the mechanics of the players. It has been observed that controls are generally easy to use, but certain controls can present difficulties. Players emphasized the effect of the visual design and interface on the game atmosphere. Communication and team collaboration have emerged as important factors shaping the experience of players.
 Originality and Contribution: This study makes an original contribution to the field by presenting a versatile assessment of the player experience in the context of casual mobile games. A wide range of themes, from basic game mechanics to user interface, from communication to monetization, enrich the contributions of the study.
 Limitations: The study has some limitations. The fact that the interviews were based on subjective responses indicates that generalizations may be limited. In addition, it should be noted that the participants may have different gaming experiences and the results may vary depending on these experiences.

The Interactive Sphere for Three-Dimensional Control in Games and Virtual Reality

In electronic games, the controller is the mean through which the player can interact with the game’s virtual world, being an essential factor in all of the user experience. New controllers may, therefore, completely modify the player experience, also serving as a tool to investigate new ways of interacting with interactive systems of various purposes. In this context, this paper presents the Interactive Sphere, a spherical device to be employed specially with games and virtual reality environments. This novel device combines the pressing of certain regions of the sphere with gestural interaction, in addition to providing haptic, auditive and visual feedback. The paper describes all of the rationale behind the decisions taken during the design and development process of the device, in addition to the techniques employed for implementing the detection of the acts of pressing and moving the Interactive Sphere. In this project, accessible, low-cost materials and techniques were prioritized, which could be more easily adapted to other contexts. We envision that the lessons learned and the guidelines derived from its design and development process may assist in the idealization and construction of new ways of interacting, by providing a set of methods, techniques and technologies that were employed in the development of a new physical artifact of interaction presented in this work.

Evaluating Alternative Metaheuristic Algorithms for Procedural Content Generation in Game Design

Procedural Content Generation (PCG) has emerged as a powerful approach for automating game content creation, offering significant benefits in terms of cost reduction and time efficiency compared to traditional game design and development processes (Zhang, Zhang, & Huang, 2022). While Genetic Algorithms (GAs) have been widely used in PCG, alternative metaheuristic algorithms such as Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) have demonstrated their effectiveness in delivering high-quality solutions and efficient optimization capabilities across different problem domains (Amato, 2017). However, their application in PCG remains limited. I aim to evaluate the performance of PSO and ABC in map layout generation, challenging the conventional use of GAs. By comparing three metaheuristic algorithms (GA, ABC, and PSO) I seek to assess the effectiveness of these approaches in generating game levels and identify any obvious differences in their performance characteristics. Comprehensive experiments are conducted, applying GA, ABC, and PSO to a map layout generation. Metrics like convergence speed and content quality are used to evaluate the generated game content. My findings reveal that both ABC and PSO demonstrate advantages over traditional GA implementations when generating game levels, indicating their potential for enhancing PCG. In this presentation, I will share the results of comparing three metaheuristic algorithms (GA, PSO, and ABC) in map layout generation for game levels, emphasizing the potential benefits of leveraging diverse algorithmic approaches to create more captivating and immersive game worlds. Also, I will conclude with a call for further research in this area to expose new possibilities in content generation. By considering varied metaheuristic approaches, game developers can improve content generation techniques and create more captivating and interactive player experiences.

“Narrative Enmeshment” in Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018)

Rockstar Games’ 2018 Western video game, Red Dead Redemption 2, received critical acclaim upon its release. In particular, the narrative and technical aspects of the game received praise from critics. A slow pace, strong narrative, and impressively rendered game world are hardly unique within the genre of open-world video games, however. In this article, I analyse the game and argue that the combination of traditional narrative elements (such as plot, characterisation, setting, and time) is carefully interwoven with technical aspects of the game (including the game mechanics and internal honour system) through which the player experiences the narrative. Through this process of imbricated generic elements and game presentation, I contend, the game achieves a high level of what I theorise here as “narrative enmeshment”, a state through which the player’s narrative engagement in the story is heightened to a point that is technically unachievable through other storytelling media such as prose and film. In my discussion, which takes a narratological point of departure, I focus on select moments in the game’s narrative, as well as the game mechanics the player is compelled to use to progress through the game, to argue that the interlinked nature of the game’s technical sophistication and narrative maturity ultimately allows the player to experience a heightened level of engagement— or narrative enmeshment—in the game. This emphasises the importance of studying video games as a highly effective and innovative narrative medium.

"We're All the Same and We Love Football." Experiences of Players and Facilitators Regarding a Collaborative, Inclusive Football Program Between Academy and Special Olympics Footballers.

This study provides insight into an inclusive program between Special Olympics (SO) and academy football (soccer) players in the United Kingdom from the perspectives of players and facilitators. Qualitative focus groups were conducted across 30 participants (six facilitators, 14 Premier League academy players, and 10 SO players). Focus groups compared stakeholders' experiences of participating in a season-long inclusive football program. Three overarching higher order themes were generated, which highlighted positive outcomes from taking part. SO players provided endorsement for developing friendships and improving football skills, whereas academy players cited the positive impact that SO players had on their mood and motivation. Facilitators reflected on positive player outcomes and subsequent accomplishments. Overall, the findings indicated that this shared experience had psychosocial and football-specific benefits for everyone who participated. Facilitators indicated that these benefits could transition into everyday life but noted that there needs to be further considerations for future programs.

‘You pretty much know straight away:’ Lessons learned from player experiences of rugby-related spinal cord injuries in Australian rugby union

‘You pretty much know straight away:’ Lessons learned from player experiences of rugby-related spinal cord injuries in Australian rugby union

“You never stop adjusting’: understanding player experiences of rugby-related spinal cord injury in Australia and opportunities to improve support

“You never stop adjusting’: understanding player experiences of rugby-related spinal cord injury in Australia and opportunities to improve support

상호의존적 선호 하에서의 반복된 지대추구

Players can engage in repeated games, and each player may be interested in not only their own payoffs but also those of their rivals. For example, scholars compete repeatedly to publish papers, caring about their own achievements as well as those of their rivals. Tullock conjectured that rent-seeking efforts would increase in repeated games. In contrast, previous research has shown that rent-seeking efforts decrease in repeated games. This study expands on existing rent-seeking literature by analyzing rent-seeking behavior of players with dependent preferences in repeated games. To accomplish this, the study adopts the logit contest proposed by Tullock and analyzes repeated games between two players with interdependent preferences. That is, this study investigates situations where each player experiences emotions of altruism and spite towards their competitor and plays games repeatedly. There are two types of games with interdependent preferences: repeated games considering exogenous interdependent preferences and repeated games considering endogenous interdependent preferences. This research demonstrates the equilibrium result that 'altruism and co-movement reduce rent-seeking efforts' when interdependent preferences are exogenous. Next, when considering endogenous interdependent preferences, the equilibrium results are as follows. First, repeated games induce spite, meaning repeated rent-seeking excludes altruism. Second, the higher the intensity of co-movement between players, the greater the spite that arises. Third, players' spite increases rent-seeking efforts and reduces their payoffs. This study presents spite as the primary rationale for the increase in rent-dissipation in repeated games, as speculated by Tullock.

“I’m the leader and I’m going to save the world”: Characterizing Empowering and Disempowering Game Experiences

Empowering people through technology is a core concern of HCI, yet little is known about how players experience empowerment or disempowerment through videogames. We surveyed 250 participants about their dis-/empowering videogame experiences, investigating why they felt dis-/empowered, and how these experiences related to core player experience constructs including emotion and basic needs satisfaction. While empowering experiences were often positive, and disempowering experiences often negative, we found meaningful exceptions to this, and a surprising complexity in player accounts. We capture this diversity in seven themes. These range from ”heroic victories” which follow long periods of failure, to positive experiences of disempowerment, which were appreciated for their narrative meaning. By articulating these complex experiences, and relating them to quantitative measures we provide a foundation for understanding of the role of dis-/empowerment in player experience, and highlight avenues for future work. Data and analyses are available at https://osf.io/zhtu8/

Growing Up with Cerebral Palsy (CP) and Games: Case Study on the Accessible Gameplay Experiences of the Young Players with CP and Their Families through the Lens of Developmental Task Perspective

Understanding the experiences of players with disabilities is a key research issue in game accessibility. However, less is known about the values that young players experience from games, particularly in relation to their situational context as adolescents and young adults with disabilities. We explore how the values of accessible gaming are created in players’ lives by analyzing interviews with five players with cerebral palsy (CP) (age range 13–25 years) and their parents through the lens of developmental tasks theory. Using thematic analysis, we discovered three themes that illustrated how video games’ roles changed according to their life stages: “Establishing Healthy Self in Family”, “Navigating Peer Culture”, and “Preparing Adult Life”. Our results indicated that young players with CP made active decisions in their life and developed supportive relationships from playing accessible games. The changes in their desired developmental task and social contexts influenced the values they found in games. We discuss video games as a sociocultural resource that assists young players with CP to attain the developmental tasks they desire and achieve social inclusion. We conclude with design insights for creating more inclusive gameplay experiences for young players with CP.

Small Latency Variations Do Not Affect Player Performance in First-Person Shooters

In interactive systems high latency affects user performance and experience. This is especially problematic in video games. A large number of studies on this topic investigated the effects of constant, high latency. However, in practice, latency is never constant but varies by up to 100 ms due to variations in processing time and delays added by polling between system components. In a large majority of studies, these variations in latency are neither controlled for nor reported. Thus, it is unclear to which degree small, continuous variations in latency affect user performance. If these unreported variations had a significant impact, this might cast into doubt the findings of some studies. To investigate how latency variation affects player performance and experience in games, we conducted an experiment with 28 participants playing a first-person shooter. Participants played with two levels of base latency (50 ms vs. 150 ms) and variation (0 ms vs. 50 ms). As expected, high base latency significantly reduces player performance and experience. However, we found strong evidence that small variations in latency in the order of 50 ms, do not affect player performance significantly. Thus, our findings mitigate concerns that previous latency studies might have systematically ignored a confounding effect.

Let’s Play Together through Channels: Understanding the Practices and Experience of Danmaku Participation Game Players in China

Live streaming is becoming increasingly popular in recent years, as most channels prioritize the delivery of engaging content to their viewers. Among various live streaming channels, Danmaku participation game (DPG) has emerged in China as a mixture of live streaming and online gaming, offering an immersive gaming experience to players. Although prior research has explored audience participation games (APGs) in North America and Europe, it primarily focuses on discussing prototypes and lacks observation of players in natural settings. Little is known about how players perceive DPGs and their player experience. To fill the research gap, we observed a series of DPG channels and conducted an interview-based study to gain insights into the practices and experiences of DPG players. Our work reveals that DPGs can effectively synergize live streaming and online games, amplifying both player engagement and a profound sense of accomplishment to players.