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Fundamental Components of the Gameplay Experience: Analysing Immersion.

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This paper presents a gameplay experience model, assesses its potential as a tool for research and presents some directions for future work. The presented model was born from observations among game-playing children and their non-player parents, which directed us to have a closer look at the complex nature of gameplay experience. Our research led into a heuristic gameplay experience model that identifies some of the key components and processes that are relevant in the experience of gameplay, with a particular focus on immersion. The model includes three components: sensory, challenge-based and imaginative immersion (SCI-model). The classification was assessed with self-evaluation questionnaires filled in by informants who played different popular games. It was found that the gameplay experiences related to these games did indeed differ as expected in terms of the identified three immersion components.
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... Video gaming is not a monolith but is comprised of a variety of modes and styles of play that enable heroic study. Experiences of gameplay are also diffuse, each offering pleasure, fulfillment, and engagement through a range of immersive components (Ermi and Mäyrä 2011) and encouraging a range of player behaviors, including prosociality, in seeking those components (Lim 2019). Broadly speaking, there is a gradient of narrative and structure that goes between focused linearity on one end and broad openness on the other. ...
... Video game immersion refers to an assemblage of a player's thoughts, feelings, actions, and sense-making as key to the gameplay experience (Ermi and Mäyrä 2011). Alongside other definitions of immersion (Bouvier et al. 2014;Brown and Cairns 2004;Tu et al. 2022), Ermi and Mäyrä (2005) propose three elements of immersion: sensory (visual properties), challenge-based (skills and challenges), and imaginative (absorption in the narrative and identification with a character). ...
... Hence, immersion is often compared to a "flow" state (Csikszentmihalyi 1990;Michailidis et al. 2018) that one experiences when they are intensely focused on an activity, losing their perception of time, and gaining great gratification (Tu et al. 2022;Ermi and Mäyrä 2005). As Ermi and Mäyrä (2011) remark, digital games are excellent mediums for providing flow experiences, due to their interactive nature, and others have discussed how the intricacies of immersion consider audiovisual, ludic, emotional, spatial, narrative, and sensory elements in video gaming (see: Bowman 2018; Lankoski and Järvelä 2012;Michailidis et al. 2018;Ryan 1999;Ermi and Mäyrä 2011;Calleja 2007;Bouvier et al. 2014). ...
... ESGs based on IVR environments have the potential to create simulations of real or imaginary situations, allowing for a greater sense of player involvement and immersion. In the context of video games, immersion is understood as a phenomenon in which the player feels part of the experience as a whole [16]. The immersion is perceived similarly to the flow state described by [17]. ...
... The decision model IC seeks to implement a part of these mechanisms in the game scene, as well as use positive reinforcement (feedback) strategies to maximize player engagement. The objective is to stimulate the player to feel part of the experience as a whole, encompassing all his attention and corroborating the concept of immersion [16]. Figure 11 presents a simplified architecture of the immersion component. ...
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Currently, the use of 360° videos combined with virtual reality (VR) techniques in the educational context has been considered a promising field of research. However, there is still a shortage not only of educational serious games (ESG) that implement such resources but also of models that can enhance the player’s experience and evaluate their performance. This work presents a decision model for SGE with 360° videos. The model was developed from artificial intelligence (AI) techniques with the aim of enhancing the player’s learning using immersion mechanisms and pedagogical reinforcement strategies based on the player’s experience and performance evaluation. The model was integrated into the SG The Mystery of Pandora to evaluate its efficiency. The game was evaluated with a sample of 52 participants aged between 13 and 63 ( M = 33.55 , SD = 12.14 ). The results showed adjustments made by the model in the final performance of the players based on their exploration in the 360° videos. Such adjustments allowed identifying players with learning difficulties and recommending pedagogical reinforcement to enhance learning. It was also possible to verify that players would win the game without the minimum knowledge expected about the subject if the decision model was not used.
... In the current game and gamification-related literature, a game or gameful experience has been considered as a multidimensional experience of the user's sensations, thoughts, feelings, and actions in a gameplay or game-like settings (Ermi and Mäyrä, 2005;Högberg et al., 2019). Psychological constructs such as immersion (Pasch et al., 2009), the immersive tendency (Witmer and Singer, 1998), presence (Takatalo et al., 2010), absorption (Eppmann et al., 2018), engagement (Brockmyer et al., 2009), skill and challenge (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975), flow experience (Cowley et al., 2008;Csikszentmihalyi, 1975), fun , enjoyment (Mekler et al., 2014), and sensory experience (Ermi and Mäyrä, 2005) have been often investigated; while among these measures, only scales including GAMEX (gameful experience scale, Eppmann et al., 2018), CEGEQ (Core Elements of the Gaming Experience, Calvillo-Gámez et al., 2010) and GEQ (Game Experience Questionnaire, Ijsselsteijn et al., 2008) aim to holistically describe the gaming-related experience. ...
... In the current game and gamification-related literature, a game or gameful experience has been considered as a multidimensional experience of the user's sensations, thoughts, feelings, and actions in a gameplay or game-like settings (Ermi and Mäyrä, 2005;Högberg et al., 2019). Psychological constructs such as immersion (Pasch et al., 2009), the immersive tendency (Witmer and Singer, 1998), presence (Takatalo et al., 2010), absorption (Eppmann et al., 2018), engagement (Brockmyer et al., 2009), skill and challenge (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975), flow experience (Cowley et al., 2008;Csikszentmihalyi, 1975), fun , enjoyment (Mekler et al., 2014), and sensory experience (Ermi and Mäyrä, 2005) have been often investigated; while among these measures, only scales including GAMEX (gameful experience scale, Eppmann et al., 2018), CEGEQ (Core Elements of the Gaming Experience, Calvillo-Gámez et al., 2010) and GEQ (Game Experience Questionnaire, Ijsselsteijn et al., 2008) aim to holistically describe the gaming-related experience. ...
... Sensory and perceptual immersion are closely related to technological immersion because both regard immersion as the subjective experience of an individual's senses enclosed by a technology-driven environment. According to these two definitions, immersion increases, for example, when "large screens close to the players' eyes and powerful sounds easily overpower the sensory information coming from the real world" [69] or when the physical world is hidden from users "by the use of goggles, headphones, gloves, and so on" [70]. The major difference between technological and sensory/perceptual immersion is that technological immersion objectively describes the technical configuration of a hardware device. ...
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Interacting with virtual agents in immersive settings is becoming increasingly common thanks to the proliferation of dedicated media devices, such as consumer-grade virtual and augmented reality headsets. These technologies offer many advantages, e.g., in terms of presence and engagement, and can impact user behavior and attitudes toward virtual agents. Recognizing and understanding these effects is essential, especially in critical contexts involving the delegation of high-stake decisions to virtual agents. This article presents two experiments that explore users’ delegatory behavior toward virtual agents experienced via different media devices that vary in their technological immersion, i.e., a device’s technical capacity to deliver immersive experiences. The experiments’ results suggest that technological immersion is not a significant factor in users’ delegation decisions. Thus, for virtual agents designed to carry out critical tasks, developers may focus on other relevant factors, such as agents’ trustworthiness or performance.
... Results show that higher AR presence was associated with lower objective deviation scores in post-test. Presence is considered to be an essential contributor to total immersion [19,47] and is facilitated by multimedia features and game-based challenges [48]. Higher comfort with AR during training was also associated with lower deviation scores and a better approach quality in post-test. ...
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Augmented reality (AR) could be a means for a more sustainable education of the next generation of pilots. This study aims to assess an AR-supported training concept for approach to landing, which is the riskiest phase of flying an aircraft and the most difficult to learn. The evaluation was conducted with 59 participants (28 women and 31 men) in a pretest–post-test control group design. No significant effect of the AR-supported training was observed when comparing the experimental and the control groups. However, the results show that for the experimental group that trained with AR, higher performance in post-test was associated with higher AR presence and comfort with AR during training. Although both gender groups improved their approach quality after training, the improvement was larger in women as compared to men. Trainees’ workload, fear of failure, and negative emotions decreased in post-test as compared to pre-test, but the decrease was significantly larger in women than in men. The experimental group who used AR support during training showed improved performance despite the absence of AR support in post-test. However, the AR-based training concept had a similar effect to conventional simulator training. Although more research is necessary to explore the training opportunities in AR and mixed reality, the results of this study indicate that such an application would be beneficial to bridge the gap between theoretical and practical instruction.
... Unlike other software, digital games often offer a unique experience that contains elements that are difficult to be evaluated. User experience in digital games can be influenced by many factors, such as flow [10,11], immersion [12,13], frustration or tension [14], psychological absorption [15], and social game context [16]. ...
Chapter
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