Bj Brian Gajadhar

Shared Fun Is Doubled Fun: Player Enjoyment as a Function of Social Setting

Although the social relevance of digital gaming has been discussed and investigated in cultural and sociological readings, social context has been largely neglected in terms of in-game player experience. In this paper we present a study in which player experience is empirically tested comprehen-sively, with the focus on the interplay between player enjoyment and social context. Self reports on the Game Experience Questionnaire and an aggression state questionnaire were explored for three play configurations: virtual, mediated, and co-located co-play. Additionally, effects of familiarity and winning vs. losing were tested. Results indicate that a co-located co-player significantly adds to the fun, challenge, and perceived competence in the game. Aggression was influenced by familiarity and performance. The effect of social context was mediated by the level of social presence. These findings illustrate that social context is an important determinant of player enjoyment and should be incorporated in models of player experience.

Influence of social setting on player experience of digital games

Recent studies have indicated that playing games against other people is more fun and more exciting than playing alone. The current study aims to further explore the influence of social setting on player experience in digital games; in particular, it sets out to test the level of social presence of the co-player as a determinant of player experience. Dependent variables include a comprehensive self-report measure of player experience (the GEQ) and state aggression. The first results demonstrate significant differences in playing against a computer, a mediated other, or a co-located other on player experience in terms of positive affect, competence, tension and hostility.

Rules of engagement : influence of co-player presence on player involvement in digital games

This article presents an empirical study of social setting as a determinant of player involvement in competitive play. We conceptualize player experience as comprising of components of involvement and enjoyment. Involvement relates to the attentional pull of games encompassing feelings of immersion, engagement and flow. Enjoyment taps into the fun and frustration of playing. A few recent studies indicate that co-players boost player enjoyment, yet the effect on involvement is still largely unknown. In line with enjoyment, involvement could increase with the sociality of settings. On the other hand, the presence of others provides a potential distracter and threat to involvement in games. Results of an experiment where social setting was manipulated within groups indicated that players’ involvement remains constant or even increases when mediated or co-located co-play is compared to solitary play. Hence, co-players do not break the spell of a game, but become part of the magic circle.

Where everybody knows your game: the appeal and function of game cafés in western Europe

Game cafés are popping up in cities across Western Europe and are rapidly becoming popular places in the tangible world of the gamer. Compared to studies focused on Asia, motivations and activities of Western European visitors of game cafés are relatively unclear and not discussed in academic literature. Since understanding these motivations would contribute to explanations of why and how people play games, focus groups and contextual inquiries were organized with visitors of Dutch game cafés. The findings indicate that- similar to Asia - Western European game cafés can be seen as third places, a home base separate from home and work or school. Moreover, this research identifies why a game café and a virtual game world can both be regarded as a third place.

Player experience and technical performance prospects for distributed 3D gaming in private and public settings

Distributed gaming enables access to interactive media from devices based on different platforms. It facilitates users to enjoy video games in various environments without the need for using a single device or operating system. Understanding the potential and limitations of such gaming-on-demand systems is key for their adoption and further growth in public places. This paper presents an in-depth, quantitative study performed with the Games@Large (GaL) distributed-gaming system and its potential users at an Internet café in Genoa, Italy. The approach of the study was multilevel, covering the player experience and user acceptance aspects as well as technical performance peculiarities. Results show that the GaL system has a high potential at Internet cafes, in particular when playing a casual genre game. Furthermore, results provide recommendations for deploying such systems in terms of social setting and technical aspects. The methodology and findings of the GaL system tests can be applied to similar game streaming systems and used as input for theories on social digital game play.