using structural and engagement features of video games...
TRANSCRIPT
Using Structural and Engagement Features of Video Games to Predict
Happiness among Video Gamers: A Mixed Methods Study
with Implications for Positive Psychology.
Derek Laffan MSc. (candidate), Dr. John Greaney and Hannah Barton MSc.
Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology Co. Dublin, Ireland
#T4WB15 @dereklaffan
Part 1
Theory Cloud Structural Video Game Characteristics Video Game Engagement Aims and Research Questions
Structural Video Game Characteristics
• Structural video game characteristics are the basic features a video game may possess
that initiate gaming behaviours (Wood et al., 2004)
Social Features
Narrative & Identity Features
Reward/ Punishment Features
Presentation Features
Manipulation & Control Features
WoW MMORPG
Structural Video Game Characteristics
• The investigation of structural video game characteristics (SVGCs) in video gaming
research is in infancy stages
• Existing research on SVGCs appears to be predominantly fixated on problematic video
gameplay (King et al., 2011; Wood et al., 2004) and less fixated on positive outcomes
• For example, SVGCs may play an efficacious role within video game positive
psychological interventions as SVGCs are related to positive video game experiences
such as increased happiness* (Hull et al., 2013; Ivory & Kalyanaraman, 2007)
* A state involving the experience of frequent positive emotions, infrequent negative emotions, and high life satisfaction (Diener, 1985; Nelson & Lyubomirsky, 2012)
Video Game Engagement
• Becoming deeply engaged* in video gameplay is an important part of the gaming
experience (Brockmyer, Fox, Curtiss, McBroom, Burkhart & Pidruzny, 2009)
• Video games have extraordinary capabilities of drawing people in (Jennett et al., 2008),
gluing people to the game (Rigby & Ryan, 2011) and making people want to keep
playing (Schoenau-Fog, 2011)
• Brockmyer et al. (2009) considered video game engagement to be made up of five video
game experiences: flow, presence, immersion, psychological absorption and dissociation
* Pervasive and persistent involvement in a wide range of activities (Steele & Fullagar, 2009)
Aims and Research Questions
• The present research aims to investigate if happiness can be predicted in video gamers
who play video games with high levels of structural video game characteristics and video
game engagement using mixed methods
• How do the structural video game characteristics relate to video game engagement
and happiness?
• What structural video game characteristics significantly predict happiness?
• What video game engagement experiences significantly predict happiness?
• What structural video game characteristics significantly predict video game engagement experiences?
Part 2
Study 1 Method Research Problems Study 2 Method Study 2 Results Study 1 Results
Study 1: Method
Design and Participants
Materials
v Online questionnaire design
v N = 207 (males = 116, females = 91) Mean Age = 25.47 years (SD= 8.1)
v 19 countries; mostly USA (35%), Ireland (33%) and UK (14.5%)
v Demographic Questionnaire v Video Game Features Taxonomy
v Oxford Happiness Questionnaire v Game Engagement Questionnaire
Procedure
v Ethical approval
v Pilot studies v Web usability issues v 17 minutes and 43 seconds average time to complete v VGFT example changed
v Participants accessed the study link via Twitter, social media or general video game fora
v Participants completed the questionnaires while thinking about their most played or favourite video game
v Participants were thanked for their participation, debriefed and supplied with international and national mental health resources
21 15
34
61
76
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Rarely Couple of Times Per Month
Once a Week More Than Three Times Per Week
Everyday
Num
ber o
f Vid
eo G
amer
s
Frequency of Video Game Play
How Often Video Gamers Played Video Games
132
38
95
37
91
27 23 15 2
75
0 20 40 60 80
100 120 140
Num
ber o
f Vid
eo G
amer
s
Video Game Genre
Genre of Video Games Played by Video Gamers
v Questionnaire reliability was highly satisfactory v GEQ: (α = .76) v OHQ: (α = .94)
Study 1 Results
Social Reward Punish Manip Narr/ ID Pres
Mean 4 5.2 6.9 5.6 4.5 3.4
v SVGCs were abundant and reported by all participants
v Significant positive relationships were found among flow and social features, reward features, punishment features and presentation features
v Flow and happiness were significantly negatively and weakly correlated (r = -.152, n = 207, p = .028).
v Punishment and presentation features significantly predicted flow over other structural features (R2 = .108, F(2, 200) = 6.99, p = .001)
v Non-significant weak relationships were found among happiness on all of the SVGCs
Research Problems
• The present study provided some insight into the relationships between the structural video game characteristics, video game engagement and happiness
• A problem with engagement research is that researchers often measure video game
engagement AFTER the video game experience has ended (Bosley, 2013)
• Thus, a research perspective that is able to assess the before gaming and during the game experience may provide additional insight
• How do context, game type and other variables that may hinder happiness play a role?
Study 2: Method
Design and Participants
Materials
v Prospective mini case study design
v Demographic Questionnaire v Pre and Post Happiness Questionnaire
v SVGCs Observation Schedule v Interview Script and Recorder
Procedure
v Ethical approval
v 3 Contexts v Solo gaming v Virtual multiplayer v Physical multiplayer
v N = 3 (males = 1, females = 2) Mean age = 22.3 years (SD = 5.1) v Participants were sourced online and agreed times were
arranged to meet and conduct study
v Participants completed the demographic questionnaire and OHQ then signalled when they were about to begin gaming
v The researcher recorded the interview with a Smartphone and used a checklist for observation
v After gaming, participants completed the OHQ again and was debriefed
Name: Mollie Video Game: GTA V
Context: Alone in bedroom
Name: Ally Video Game: Dead Island
Context: In bedroom with boyfriend present on Skype also playing
Name: Troy Video Game: Minecraft
Context: In kitchen with friend Chris physically present also playing
“Relaxed... I always feel relaxed when I’m playing Minecraft. It’s kind of a comfort thing now though.”
“I like the story in it. It’s fun.”“But yeah like there would times when we’d be trying to
connect up and keep getting kicked and stuff and we’d be fucking livid like.”“I normally play it before I go to sleep. So kinda...
I don’t know... Gets your mind off things... chill...”
“You kinda get lost... you feel like you’re the character almost.”
“Like I love having stairs and staircases a lot. So I’d say I’m totally focused when I’m about to finish [The
House] and I know it’s nearly done.”“It’s good fun and you know you get more of a sense of
togetherness from being able to kind of do something as simple as this that is the same as when you’re apart as it is
when you’re together.”
Explicit Content
Theme and Genre
Story Telling Device
Player Management
General Reward Types
Punishment
User Input Player Management
Graphics and Sound
Non Controllable
In-game Advertising
Observed SVGCs Agreed Codes
Relaxed Concentration Accomplishment
Reminiscence
Frustration
Punishment
Flow
Difficulty
Fun
Immersion
Companionship
Responsibility
Fear/ Scared
Part 3
Discussion of Findings Tips on Gaming Safely and Positively Strengths & Limitations
Discussion of Findings
Study 1 Study 2
• Video gamers that reported prominent punishment features
(i.e. losing a life, dying) and as well as presentation features
(i.e. graphics, sounds) predicted higher levels of flow • Punishment features may increase the difficulty of the challenges
found in gaming
• Presentation features of video games have been associated with
high levels of immersive experiences (Krcmar et al., 2011)
• Happiness and flow negative relationship: • Negative moods and exhaustion in long game periods
• Pre and post happiness levels not assessed
• Short vs. Long flow experiences?
• Contextual differences
• Emerging themes identified additional factors which may help
or hinder increased happiness: empowerment,
companionship, relaxation, fear and responsibility • Contextual differences may have a greater influence on these
themes
• A decrease in happiness was observed in the solo gaming
context
• Alternate variables such as escapism, relaxation,
becoming the character at play, may have influenced
happiness in other ways
• Aspects of flow experiences were observed in all cases
Strengths and Limitations
• A mixed methods research approach allowed the researcher to assess engagement at before, during
and after engagement stages
• This resulted in the identification of many factors that played a role in the prediction and hindrance of increased
happiness
• Empirical measures were employed in both studies and analyses were appropriate throughout
• Thematic analysis and observation frequency lists were effective
• Excellent internal reliability scores for questionnaires computed
• Cross sectional research does not imply causation, and case research does not imply generalisability
• Researcher bias (i.e. researcher is a video gamer, Study 2 was conceived based on results of Study 1)
• Researcher presence (i.e. Hawthorne Effect, familiarity bias)
Tips on Gaming Safely and Positively
• Parents and guardians could play the video game first to determine suitability for a child/
adolescent. Similarly to films, video games have age recommendations for a reason
• Playing video games is fine – but too much of anything is bad
• Video gamers could reflect on their gameplay. Do they know what they have achieved
from gameplay? Could these achievements and skills be transferable?
• Further information can be found on ‘A Lust For Life’ -
http://www.alustforlife.com/mental-health/children-and-adolescents/why-video-gaming-
can-be-a-useful-activity-for-wellbeing
Thank You For Listening!
All queries, questions and additional information can be found at:
#T4WB15 @dereklaffan