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The purpose of this strategy of inquiry is to understand how emotions influence gameplay and to review contemporary techniques to design for them in the aim of devising a model that brings current disparate parts of the game design process together. Emotions sit at the heart of a game player's level of engagement. They are evoked across many of the...
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Context 1
... to categorise arising affective states. These appraisal theories involves grouping emotional states as positive or negative and continues to decompose these into sub-states according to other discrete characteristics such as expected/unexpected, certain/uncertain and high control/low control. Shaver, Schwartz, Kirson, and O’Connor (1987) identify six atomic emotional states: love, joy, anger, sadness, fear and surprise. Although they believe that emotional experience is very distinct in different cultural situations, these six basic emotions or a subset thereof are universal throughout the theories of emotion (Ortony & Turner, 1990; Plutchik 1980; Smith & Kirby, 2000). The overlapping of these emotions can produce all other emotional states. Such emotion blending, given a set of elementary emotions, is an idea also shared by Plutchik (1980) as shown by Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotion, illustrated in Figure 1. With respect to computer games, emotions form the mechanism by which a player becomes immersed in the medium; demonstrating a larger emotional investment in the game than any other medium. Crawford (1984) likens computer games to art forms that “present [their] audience with fant asy experiences that simulate emotion” (p. 3). This viewpoint clearly makes the link between emotion and a state of game immersion. Total immersion is likened to the mental state of flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997) as illustrated in Figure 2, in which a player is fully immersed in an activity through feelings of focus, involvement and enjoyment. Unlike the literature from psychology and physiology, within the computer games scholarship umbrella use of the terms emotion and feeling is common. This leads to inadequate analysis and hence understanding of the phenomena that is attributed as being a critical component in connecting the player with the gaming medium. In this study, the superficial level of the investigation of emotion in respect to designing computer games will be revealed and the consequences discussed. To provide a building block for the conceptual framework emotion in game design, a taxonomy of emotion will be elucidated, and grouped into categories which will be used as a basis for the final framework, and to extract themes from the literature surveyed in the methodology. The five categories selected are common across the majority of cognitive models presented herein and based on Picard’s (1997) five components necessary for developing an affective system. Given the plethora of definitions, types and causes of emotion, a taxonomy of emotion can be extracted showing categories based on generation and effect. These categories are levelled according to MacLean’s (1958) theories that emotions have evolved with each new layer added to the human brain from the original reptilian fast reacting brain, through to the civilised neo-mammalian. While emotion generation and responses cannot be physiologically linked by scientific investigation to MacLean’s layers of the b rain they do provide a conceptual structure for ordering the types of emotion. Mind-Body emotions. Produced by homeostatic mechanisms, these emotions drive human behaviour that is governed by viscerogenic and bodily needs (Weiner, 1992). Examples include hunger for food and the desire for sleep. These primordial emotions have emerged as consciousness during the evolution process, to address the basic survival needs and thus act as physiological motivators to address those needs (Denton, 2006). Fast primary emotions. Reactions and behaviours generated by the archicortex and mesocortex are otherwise known as fast primary emotions and can be likened to the stimulus response experiments of the behavioural psychologists (Koestler, 1967). These emotions refer to the quick acting emotions that serve as the human’s initial response to a stimulus and act as a survival mechanism. They include effects such as fear and startledness. Emotional Experience. Otherwise referred to as core affect (Russell, 2003), emotional experiences are a continued mental state. They are always present, as one’s body temperature, and encompass an individual’s mood. Examples include gloomy, tense and calm. The idea of a core affect aligns with Damasio’s (1999) view of emotion, in general, b eing a background state of the body. Cognitive Appraisals. Unlike background emotion that endures, an appraisal is one that results after some activity or encounter. These are best explained through the lens of cognitive appraisal where the valence (pleasure/displeasure) and arousal (level of activation) are considered in assessing an emotional state. One such model of cognitive appraisal is the OCC model (Ortony, Clore, & Collins, 1990) in which events are appraised in order to determine an appropriate emotional response. Table 1 illustrates 8 of the possible 22 emotional states from the OCC model. Another well cited appraisal model is Mehrabian’s Pleasure -Arousal-Dominance model (1995), illustrated in Figure 3. The model presents a range of emotional responses as assessed by the three dimensions, after which it is named. Emotional Behaviour. All emotion activates a level of motivation. Whether that motivation leads to action depends on strength of the valence and type of arousal. This category does not stand-alone but rather cuts through all the before mentioned. If a person is hungry enough they will eat, if they are frightened enough they will flee and if they are very happy for another they will celebrate. Predicting a person’s actions knowing the type of arousal and its valance becomes more difficult with each higher level (category) of emotion. Determining a starving man will eat when presented with food, or a woman will jump out of the way of an oncoming vehicle, is very different from foreseeing a boy’s actions toward his sister because he resents her getting the bigger bedroom. Weiner’s (1986) attribution theory of motivation and emotion suggests behavioural consequences of an emotional reaction integrate valance and arousal with background emotions, personal beliefs, personal goals, and rational assessment of forthcoming behavioural consequences. As these categories illustrate, emotion is a multidimensional and multifaceted phenomena. Its application to computer games scholarship and design has far reaching implications. How it is currently perceived and used in computer games scholarship is the focus of the following study, aimed at extracting the key categories of computer game design in which emotion plays the biggest part. A conceptual framework (Miles & Huberman, 1994) is ideal for examining emotion in computer games as it presents the key factors, constructs and variables and identifies the associated relationships in a given area of interest. The qualitative method for building conceptual frameworks (Jabareen, 2009) based on grounded theory (Strauss, 1987), was used in this study as it was necessary not only to collect concepts from existing literature, but to examine the integral role each plays in the final affective framework. Grounded theory is sufficient for developing such a framework due to a paradigm of inquiry that reveals numerous distinct features through coding methods. A literature search covering 1995 to 2015 was carried out via Google Scholar to locate published research papers relevant to this study. A preliminary search using terms including emotion, affect, computer and video games identified relevant search criteria. Three thorough searches were then performed ...
Citations
... In line with the Design Patterns (Hullett and Whitehead, 2010), NPCs as opponents or level design, in general, should challenge players and create tension to increase persistence and reduce boredom. Enhancing dominance and arousal during competitive gaming can lead to flow experience and enjoyment (De Byl, 2015). In this vein, the appraisal theory concludes that opposing characters should behave emotionally consistently and believably for competitive interactions (Gemrot et al., 2009). ...
... In the era of experience economy (Pine & Gilmore, 2013), brilliant game experience has become an important symbol of comparative advantage and one of the core factors to measure the success of a game (Budi et al., 2021;Molinillo et al., 2020). Gamer experience includes enjoyment-related dimensions, such as enjoyment, flow, emotion, participation, immersion, and presence (Boyle et al., 2012;Caroux, 2023;De Byl, 2015;Dı´az et al., 2022;Khoshnoud et al., 2020). Compared with other forms of games, the advantages of in-vehicle games are mainly reflected in the unique experience brought by the sense of presence and immersion created by the digital cabin, and the play valuing that other traditional game methods cannot achieve. ...
Plain Language Summary
Factors Influencing the continuous use intention of In-vehicle games
In the emerging field of in-vehicle games, a sector showing significant developmental promise, understanding the determinants of users’ acceptance and sustained engagement is crucial. This study applied the three perceived attributes of the Diffusion of Innovations Theorycompatibility, complexity, and relative advantageto establish a model for users’ continuance intention in in-vehicle games. Analysis of 305 valid questionnaires revealed that compatibility and play value significantly influence continuance intention, with fit showing a stronger effect. Perceived habits influence fit and interaction quality; both fit and quality affect the overall experience, which, in turn, impacts play value. This study provides valuable insights for in-vehicle game design and promotion, emphasizing the importance of compatibility. The findings offer critical guidance for industry practitioners, providing a nuanced perspective to inform strategic decisions and foster the future development of the in-vehicle gaming industry.
... Game design -can incorporate disengagement strategies such as in-game reminders, alternate activities, progressive challenges, time-limited events, and reward structures to encourage players to take breaks and prevent burnout or addiction but keep them away from a stressful environment [50]. Engagement [27] Engagement strategies refer to coping mechanisms that involve actively and constructively addressing the source of stress or negative emotions. ...
... Furthermore, the effects of game design choices on player experience, including the dimension of presence, have been investigated in numerous experimental studies over the past two decades (Caroux et al., 2015). Several published articles have provided state of art, literature surveys or reviews of what we know about the influence of various design choices on a given dimension of player experience, such as enjoyment (Mekler et al., 2014;Schaffer & Fang, 2019;Segundo Díaz et al., 2022), flow (Khoshnoud et al., 2020), engagement (Boyle et al., 2012) or emotions (De Byl, 2015), or on the influence of a given design characteristic on the overall player experience, such as affective-based game adaptation (Bontchev, 2016;Ng & Khong, 2014), personalization techniques (Karpinskyj et al., 2014), brain-computer interfaces (Marshall et al., 2013), or game accessibility (Spiel & Gerling, 2021). Their contribution is of course of great interest to the game user research community, including researchers and practitioners, but remains limited due to their solely descriptive nature. ...
Sense of presence is a widely assessed dimension of video game player experience. A systematic literature review and a meta-analysis were conducted to provide a more comprehensive view of the elements of game design that have an effect on the sense of presence, as well as its different dimensions studied and assessment techniques. The review revealed that many major categories of game design aspects were well represented. The meta-analysis revealed that several game design factors have significant effects on different dimensions of presence. The largest revealed effects were that playing games with a head-mounted display and motion controller rather than a monitor display and non-motion controller has a large effect on global presence. Also, playing with human co-players rather than computer-controlled co-players and playing cooperatively rather than competitively have a very large and large effect on social presence, respectively. Implications for future research are discussed, such as investigating the effects of design factors on presence in a more targeted manner, systematically assessing presence with its most relevant sub-dimensions, and using more similar rating scales. Design recommendations, with their expected impact on players’ sense of presence, are proposed.
... The color red signifies a high degree of mental alertness. The second major underpinning theory is Csikszentmihalyi's flow model [22,23] in which challenge and skill are replaced by factors. According to Csikszentmihalyi's flow model, low difficulty and high skill indicate factor relaxation. Workers' environmental resources and geographic information systems (complex adaptive systems) influence the tough environment they face, with a shortage of resources and high complex adaptive systems at work potentially increasing the difficulties they face [24,25]. ...
... Several underlying theories support the proposed temporal-casual model of workplace situational awareness such as the Csikszentmihalyi flow model [22,23], Cooper's color code. There are several main steps are chosen to model the temporal-casual of workplace situational awareness. ...
... Low challenges and high skills of persons may increase the relaxation of workers including the high communication and information management during the work [22,23,28]. This led the worker to a highly relaxed awareness level. ...
Self-awareness emotional intelligence symptoms will be unavoidable in the job. These symptoms are
generally regarded as acceptable by certain standards, as they are an important part of keeping people informed (or
commonly known as situational awareness). However, the most recent research focuses on external components of
situational awareness aspects and lacks adaptable methods to deal with the individual's situational awareness dynamics.
This study investigated the use of an agent-based modeling strategy for situational awareness in the workplace. It
focuses on environmental and personal factors that influence the level of situational awareness at work in a dynamic
way. The outcomes included a range of scenarios that corresponded to various personality traits and environmental
conditions. Finally, equilibria analysis and automated logical verification were employed to evaluate this
computational model in order to check whether there were any conceptual defects, as indicated in the literature. The
suggested computational agent-based model has shown rational behavior patterns that are consistent with existing
psychology literature on situational awareness in the workplace.
... It is therefore important to understand these opportunities and analyze how gameplay features designed to promote player engagement and enjoyment can also support CPS capabilities. Game research provides a variety of methodological frameworks for developing engaging entertainment games and facilitates the analysis of gameplay features that can promote or hinder player enjoyment (e.g., Avedon, 1981;De Byl, 2015;Hunicke et al., 2004;Kiili et al., 2014;Raybourn, 1997;Sweetser & Wyeth, 2005). To our knowledge, however, only a few of these frameworks have considered the impact of such gameplay features on learning (e.g., Deterding, 2015;Fabricatore, 2018;, and none of them have specifically addressed CPS. ...
... This process will start from an already completed initial search, which consisted of (a) formulating a pool of key search terms, (b) generating generic query strings based on the identified key search terms, and (c) translating the generic query strings into the syntax required for each database. The initial set of key search terms in step (a) was obtained by analyzing titles, abstracts and keywords of articles in Scopus that describe methodological frameworks for analyzing and designing entertainment games (e.g., ; Carvalho et al., 2015;De Byl, 2015;Hunicke et al., 2004;Sweetser & Wyeth, 2005). These terms were then conceptually organized based on key terms from the research questions (e.g., gameplay, features, framework, analysis, design, etc.) and expanded to include synonyms, variants, and related terms (e.g., videogames and playability, models and approaches, elements and mechanics, development and evaluation, etc.). ...
Entertainment digital games (EDGs) can be used to promote real-world-relevant learning, even if they have not been specifically designed for educational purposes. This is especially true for EDGs that engage players in contexts that mimic real-world problem scenarios and support the development of knowledge and skills that can be transferred to out-of-game contexts. In these cases, gameplay learning can be a very effective means of promoting those cognitive capabilities that are central to addressing real-world challenges requiring complex problem-solving (CPS), but at the same time are particularly difficult to foster through formal educational environments and approaches. However, what features of EDGs can simultaneously promote player enjoyment and CPS processes, which specific CPS skills can be fostered, and by which mechanisms, are questions that remain largely unanswered in the current literature. This paper presents a protocol for a systematic review that aims to address this gap by examining relevant analysis and design frameworks for entertainment games. Selected frameworks will be reviewed by combining a game-centric and a player-centric perspective to identify structural elements of gameplay environments and tasks that may affect psychological processes relevant to the promotion of CPS capabilities. To this end, each framework will be subjected to a formal content analysis in which data will be extracted, coded, and analyzed based on the Work System Theory (WST) and the Cognitive Work Analysis (CWS) frameworks. The main outcome of the proposed systematic review will be a knowledge base that can help researchers, developers and practitioners to select the most appropriate methodological frameworks for the analysis and design of entertainment games capable of promoting CPS skills through gameplay learning. In addition, this protocol can also inform and guide further reviews of methods for analyzing and designing educational games.
... The design concept is anchored in socio-cultural theory, promoting shared reading enhanced through embodied actions as proposed by Wall et al. (2022). Evoking certain emotions across a game increases player's engagement (De Byl, 2015) and user's experience (Lankes et al., 2008). Thus, the designed game intends to evoke different emotions in different phases: first suspense (while the bottle is spinning), then focus as an individual player is reading and then, amusement with an embodied action entertaining the entire group. ...
Namibia, a southern African country with an Ubuntu culture that emphasizes interrelations, generally displays a low reading culture. In this study, we explored a social approach to reading to engage Namibian primary learners. Inspired by promising reading approaches, such as shared group reading enhanced by embodied actions, we created Spin Da Bottle—a multiplayer reading‐action game to draw Namibian learners into reading while keeping them captivated in action. The game was co‐designed with 36 learners and then evaluated by 32 learners with an adapted immersion questionnaire, post‐experience survey and individual interviews. 50 learners were then observed while playing at a public event. Our findings confirm that learners are engaged and enjoy the collective embodied reading experience. We observed different group behaviours scaffolding individual readers. We contribute to the field of reading technologies a digital tool that creates a collective and embodied reading experience, and an adapted immersion instrument.
Practitioner notes
What is already known about this topic It has been recognized that shared reading increases learners engagement and participation.
Dialogic reading experience is enhanced through embodied actions.
What this paper adds Through a design‐based research approach, a digital multiplayer reading‐action game was developed to explore whether a social, embodied, group game could increase interest and engagement of children in reading. The game was co‐designed and the immersion validated with primary school learners in Namibia.
An adapted immersion instrument was derived for reading games.
Implications for practice and/or policy Collective reading games offer weak readers support from their peers.
A Namibian inclusive education for all, considering an Ubuntu pedagogy, can be supported with appropriate technologies.
Teachers can integrate this game in the classroom by authoring their content in order to engage learners.
... In recent years, academia has shown interest in the expressive effects of player emotions that are traceable to gameplay mechanics. De Byl (2015) illustrates the prospects of video games in "emotioneering" the player through an interlocking sequence of emotional experiences. During video gameplay, the emotional responses evoked by video games engage the human sensorium by mobilizing sight, hearing and kinesthetic senses in an allembracing manner, thereby conjuring up a broad spectrum of sensory modalities. ...
Purpose
This study aims to present research evidence on the relevance of online gamification flip learning as a pedagogical instruction in promoting learning engagement when college students are impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. In this study, a gamified formative assessment was used to examine learner engagement and to evaluate the effectiveness of gamification within a synchronous online flipped instruction.
Design/methodology/approach
A multiphase mixed methods research design was used for this study. The evaluation relied on triangulated evidence gathered through questionnaire surveys and semi-structured interviews administered at an Indonesian college setting.
Findings
Based on the findings, gamified learning and formative assessments that adopt online flipped approaches have shown a positive bearing on learner engagement, despite the challenges learners face while harrowing through times of calamity. The results of this study provide prima facie support for the claim that the use of interactive gamified e-quizzes proves to be an innovative means of stimulating student engagement during the online class.
Originality/value
The results further suggest that a learning framework that incorporates both online flipped and gamification techniques provide the stimulus that is likely to forge an emotional connection that can inspire learner engagement, much needed when learners rally through calamitous events. This study has established evidential links between gamification and flipped classroom instructional delivery, particularly for online class settings. It is well-anticipated that gamification flip learning can continue to be implemented either in online, blended or face-to-face class instruction and particularly after the time of the pandemic.
... Our emotions make the experiences in our lives more meaningful [18]. The study of people's emotions has always been widespread in many subjects, like architecture [19]- [20], game design [21], healthcare [22], military [23] and tourism [24]- [25]. In recent years, design for emotion has received more attention from researchers, and it is a multidisciplinary research field including art, design, computer science, psychology, and engineering. ...
... Existent studies (Christy and Kuncheva 2018;Arellano et al. 2016) focused on specific physiological signals and measures; or presented general principles (Byl 2015;i Badia et al. 2018) and rules of affective feedback frameworks (Nogueira et al. 2013;Nacke et al. 2011); or realized specific game prototype and its mechanics (Kosunen et al. 2016;Abdessalem and Frasson 2017) without providing a reusable authoring tool that can be easily used to change an existent normal game to emotionally intelligent game. Such a tool will give game designers and game developers an efficient development process for adding emotional intelligence in terms of time and resource. ...
This paper presents a framework for adapting game elements to the player’s affective state and the integration of the framework in a virtual reality environment for moral development. These game elements include gestural and facial expressions of avatars during dialogues with the player, background music, the score, game mechanics, aesthetics and learning. The framework BARGAIN (Behavioral Affective Rule-based Games Adaptation Interface) is an authoring tool for affective game design providing a visual interface based on finite state machine (FSM) technique to represent the affective rules as state transitions graph dependent on the player emotional state assessed using facial expression recognition system based on electroencephalography (EEG) data. We conducted a user study (n = 29) examining the effects of the resulting affective virtual reality game on players’ experience using the Game experience Questionnaire (GEQ) (IJsselsteijn et al. in The game experience questionnaire, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, Eindhoven, 2013). The results show significant correlation between the GEQ dimensions and the player's facial expressions during his interaction with the Non-Player Characters (NPCs) within the VR game. These findings highlight that adapting games to user's emotions enhance the players’ experience.
