Daniel M. Shafer

Spatial presence and perceived reality as predictors of motion-based video game enjoyment

This study investigated the impact of new motion-based video game control systems on spatial presence, perceived reality, and enjoyment of video games. In two experiments, university students played video games on either new motion-based (Sonys Move, Microsofts Kinect, and Nintendos Wii), or standard video game systems (PS3 and XBOX 360 with gamepads). The results indicate that, in the context of golf, racing, and boxing games, the higher technological interactivity of motion-based systems (particularly Kinect) increases feelings of spatial presence, perceived reality, and enjoyment. Perceived reality predicted spatial presence; and spatial presence, in turn, was a significant predictor of enjoyment. Moving toward a more natural user interface (NUI) between the player and the game world can create a more immersive, realistic, and fun experience for the player. A new model for enjoyment of motion-based video games is proposed.

Controller required? the impact of natural mapping on interactivity, realism, presence, and enjoyment in motion-based video games

In three experiments with U.S. undergraduates, effects of three levels of naturally mapped control interfaces were compared on a players sense of presence, interactivity, realism, and enjoyment in video games. The three levels of naturally mapped control interfaces were: kinesic natural mapping (using the players body as a game controller), incomplete tangible mapping (using a controller in a way similar to a real object), and realistic tangible mapping (using a controller or an object that directly relates to the real-life activity the game simulates). The results show that levels of interactivity, realism, spatial presence, and enjoyment were consistent across all conditions. However, when performing activities such as table tennis or lightsaber dueling with objects in-hand (incomplete tangible or realistic tangible conditions), perceived reality was a more important predictor of spatial presence. When performing the same activities with empty hands, interactivity emerged as the more important direct predictor of spatial presence. Control interface, therefore, matters greatly to the route by which cognitive processing of games takes place and how enjoyment is produced.

Control mapping in virtual reality: effects on spatial presence and controller naturalness

This study explores how a video game player’s sense of being in a game world (i.e., spatial presence) is impacted by the use of a virtual reality head-mounted display (VR HMD). Research focused on VR (as realized with the use of HMDs) has fallen by the wayside since the early 1990s due to the limitations in the technology. With modern reimagining of VR HMDs, there is now an opportunity to reexamine the impact it has on gaming experience. This article explores the results of an experiment in which university students played video games using either a VR HMD or a standard monitor while playing a first-person shooter video game. Control interface was also manipulated between incomplete tangible mapped devices (Razer Hydra) and directionally mapped devices (mouse and keyboard). Results indicated that VR HMDs have a positive impact on a players’ level of spatial presence and feelings of controller naturalness. Controller naturalness also impacted spatial presence regardless of display condition.

Rating Offensive Words in Three Television Program Contexts

Renewed attention to the use of expletives on television has been spurred by several recent high-profile on-air incidents. This study investigates which words television viewers find most offensive in varying contexts: broadcast TV, cable, and premium channels. Results show significant differences in perceived offensiveness of words depending on the context in which words are heard. Male and female respondents, liberals and conservatives, and religious and nonreligious respondents also differ in their perceptions of the offensiveness of words spoken in prime time.

Examining Enjoyment of Casual Videogames

OBJECTIVE This study investigated the processes leading to enjoyment of casual videogames on both mobile devices and console systems. Building upon a foundation in mental models theory and the psychology of play, the study focuses on how performance and experience-based variables impact enjoyment of casual videogames played on mobile devices and console devices. The grounding assumption of this research is that playing videogames produces enjoyment that contributes to mental health in the form of a brief distraction from the stress of daily life, social connections with family and friends through casual gameplay, and, in some cases, a compelling reason to engage in physical activity. MATERIALS AND METHODS A student sample of players (n=363) played a variety of casual games on mobile (iPad(®) or iPod(®) Touch(®) [Apple, Cupertino, CA]) or console (Wii™ [Nintendo, Japan], Xbox(®) 360 Kinect(®) [Microsoft, Redmond, WA], or PS3™ Move [Sony, Tokyo, Japan]) platforms. They then answered a questionnaire assessing their evaluations of the games interactivity level, their sense of spatial presence in the game, their perception of the games realism, and, most importantly, their enjoyment. Path analysis demonstrated the interrelationships among these variables. RESULTS The results show that spatial presence is a powerful predictor of videogame enjoyment for both console- and mobile-based casual games. Patterns of prediction for games on each platform, as demonstrated using path analysis, were similar and aligned with predictions based on mental models and the psychology of play. CONCLUSIONS The psychological theory of play and the mental models perspective offer firm theoretical grounds for understanding how enjoyment is wrought in the process of playing casual games. The relationships among interactivity, spatial presence, perceived reality, and enjoyment hold for games played on handheld or console devices. Furthermore, this study is one of the first to demonstrate these relationships and test them simultaneously, breaking new ground in research on game enjoyment.

Investigating Suspense as a Predictor of Enjoyment in Sports Video Games

This study investigated suspense as a predictor of sports video game enjoyment by including the variable as a key part of a working model that also included presence, fanship, disposition, skill, and outcome. Results of a path analysis indicate a complex network of relationships impacting enjoyment. Suspense strongly impacted presence, which was an important determinant of enjoyment, while skill and outcome also explained a large portion of variance in enjoyment. The study highlights the complexity of the enjoyment experience as it relates to video games, and provides direction for future work on a theoretical model of video game enjoyment.

Judgment and Choice: Moral Judgment, Enjoyment and Meaningfulness in Interactive and Non-Interactive Narratives

This study extends Affective Disposition Theory (ADT) and the Integrated Theory of Enjoyment (ITE) to interactive television/film narratives. In the study, 168 participants were randomly assigned to experience one of two originally-produced films; one with interactive components, the other without. Participants in the interactive condition made choices for the protagonist throughout the films. Path analysis was used to examine hypotheses based on the ITE (using the recent perspective of enjoyment and meaningfulness as outcomes). Results indicate that the principles of ADT and ITE can be applied to interactive narrative forms. Suggestions for future research are offered.

Attitudes Toward Offensive Language in Media (ATOL-M): Investigating Enjoyment of Cursing-Laced Television and Films

As offensive language becomes more pervasive on the screen, the need for scholarly understanding of the effects of such language is apparent. This article investigates personal characteristics that influence attitudes toward offensive language in television and film. Furthermore, it examines the combined impact of those attitudes and the amount of cursing in a film on viewing enjoyment. To provide a reliable measure of Attitudes Toward Offensive Language in Media (ATOL-M), a modified version of an existing scale is tested and presented in Study 1. Study 2 investigates the impact of ATOL-M on viewing enjoyment, and finds that ATOL-M impacts offense taken at cursing on film and TV, as well as the enjoyment experience. Suggestions for further research are offered.