How Games Move Us: Emotion by Design
Abstract
An engaging examination of how video game design can create strong, positive emotional experiences for players, with examples from popular, indie, and art games.
This is a renaissance moment for video games—in the variety of genres they represent, and the range of emotional territory they cover. But how do games create emotion? In How Games Move Us, Katherine Isbister takes the reader on a timely and novel exploration of the design techniques that evoke strong emotions for players. She counters arguments that games are creating a generation of isolated, emotionally numb, antisocial loners. Games, Isbister shows us, can actually play a powerful role in creating empathy and other strong, positive emotional experiences; they reveal these qualities over time, through the act of playing. She offers a nuanced, systematic examination of exactly how games can influence emotion and social connection, with examples—drawn from popular, indie, and art games—that unpack the gamer's experience.
Isbister describes choice and flow, two qualities that distinguish games from other media, and explains how game developers build upon these qualities using avatars, non-player characters, and character customization, in both solo and social play. She shows how designers use physical movement to enhance players' emotional experience, and examines long-distance networked play. She illustrates the use of these design methods with examples that range from Sony's Little Big Planet to the much-praised indie game Journey to art games like Brenda Romero's Train.
Isbister's analysis shows us a new way to think about games, helping us appreciate them as an innovative and powerful medium for doing what film, literature, and other creative media do: helping us to understand ourselves and what it means to be human.
... Therefore, scholars advocate for better interactive narratives that depict more authentic virtual patients which present clinically correct medical problems, but also reflect the day-to-day reality of complex and sometimes unpredictable humans and their relationships (Dupuy et al., 2020;Peddle et al., 2016;Peddle et al., 2019). The commendation of games as tools to foster empathy (Development et al., 2018;Salter, 2016) and the potential of game design to evoke emotional responses in players (Isbister, 2016) opens possibilities to support the crafting of healthcare scenarios involving complex human interactions. ...
... This focus on virtual patients for empathy and compassionate care was supported by the previously mentioned potential of games to support the emphatic growth of players (Development et al., 2018;McDonald, 2018;Salter, 2016), and game designer techniques used to elicit player emotions (Freeman, 2004;Isbister, 2016). This immediate connection highlights the potential of game narrative techniques to support the crafting of virtual patients that reflect authentic, complex humans and relationships (Dupuy et al., 2020;Peddle et al., 2016;Peddle et al., 2019) to foster empathy and compassion in healthcare education. ...
... However, only a fraction of that scholarship is on the crafting of IF and interactive narrative. Studies in this field either tend to analyse and define the player's experience in games in general (Ribbens & Poels, 2009;Roth, 2015), investigate the features and degree of perceived immersion (Bormann & Greitemeyer, 2015;Hafner & Jansz, 2018;Jennett et al., 2008), examine player motivation (Yee, 2006) or explore player personality and emotions (Isbister, 2016;Madigan, 2016;Salter, 2016;Schrier, 2019). The methodologies employed mostly involve player observation, game analysis, player interviews and surveys, and are very rarely practice-led. ...
Interactive stories for learning (ISL) are a powerful pedagogical approach, well supported by learning theory and scholarly research. Learners traverse a story which reflects their real-life environment, make decisions and explore diverse narrative paths, learning from the consequences of their actions. It is a safe space for learners to practice, where failures function as learning opportunities. Despite their potential, ISL often fail to engage learners effectively due to poor execution. Learning designers face the challenge of ensuring narrative engagement while enhancing learner capability, but may lack the necessary skills to craft high-quality interactive stories. This gap is particularly clear when the ISL deals with intricate human interactions, such as healthcare provider-patient conversations. Scholars advocate for better narratives to enhance the potential of ISL in healthcare-referred to as virtual patients-for teaching non-technical skills, including empathy and compassionate care. However, crafting advice is scarce and fragmented, and too focused on learning from linear, not interactive storytelling. This study endeavoured to enhance ISL by learning the craft from narrative design in video games, where expertise and innovation in producing high-quality interactive narratives has been fostered since the earliest games, more than 50 years ago. In the first phase of this research, disseminations from narrative design experts were collected, analysed and synthesised. The expert advice emphasised the pivotal role of emotions and player self-expression in crafting interactive narrative, along with the importance of designing believable characters and meaningful choices. A comprehensive heuristics framework to craft ISL was developed based on the insights from this phase. Through iterative prototyping and reflection, the heuristics framework was evaluated and refined, and subsequently applied to the recrafting of a virtual patient for compassion training. The recrafted and original version were presented to nurses in the final phase of this study. An online survey measured the participants' narrative transportation in the virtual patient story and asked about their learner experience. Additionally, their decision-making during playthroughs was recorded. While no statistically significant differences for narrative transportation were found, the results from the playthrough data and open-ended questions demonstrated that incorporating emotional depth into virtual patient design significantly impacted learner engagement and empathy. Participants exhibited more compassionate care when interacting with the recrafted virtual patient, showing highly improved decision-making to promote patient outcomes. This study contributes valuable insights into leveraging game narrative techniques to enhance the crafting of virtual patients for compassionate care training. By bridging the gap between learning design and game narrative expertise, educators can create more immersive and effective ISL experiences, ultimately enhancing learner outcomes and experiences. 3
... It is evident that immersion in video games can take at least a dual form, encompassing sensory and mental/imaginative immersions (Ermi & Mäyrä, 2005;Sherman & Craig, 2003;Takalato et al., 2010). While some scholars suggest that these types of immersion can occur conjointly (Calleja, 2011;Ermi & Mäyrä, 2005;Isbister, 2016), others report that mental and sensory immersions, along with their related psychological states, might contradict each other (Balakrishnan & Sundar, 2011;Despain, 2009;Pressgrove & Bowman, 2020). Even when combined, it is not entirely clear why or when the balance between them is maintained. ...
... At the same time, many video games scholars suggest that mental and sensory immersions are combined (Calleja, 2011;Ermi & Mäyrä, 2005;Isbister, 2016;Jennett et al., 2008;Law et al., 2018), because "our bodies dramatically shape our emotional experience" (Isbister, 2016:107). Which means, for instance, that 'being a character' in a video game implies "physically enacting a fantasy role and receiving visceral feedback that corroborates the fantasy" (Isbister, 2016:102). ...
... It seems like I can get inside the world only through him but when go deeper inside it is like I replace him, and then Geralt stops from existing". (Lev) Even though the last example still represents an interplay between the two side of immersive experiences via physically enacting the role of the character (Isbister, 2016), it appears to be a temporary transient state that ultimately leads to a more dominant me-focused type of immersive experience, which is presence. ...
Immersion in video games is a complex psychological process often defined as a unitary phenomenon, but it actually takes at least a dual form, as video games encompass both narratives and simulations. This study aimed to understand the relationship between sensory and mental immersive experiences in video game play. A mixed-methods, interview-based study was conducted with eight dedicated players. Phenomenological analysis revealed a dynamic relationship between sensory and mental immersion, with one type sometimes becoming dominant or both combining and transitioning throughout gameplay. Recognizing and measuring these distinct experiences is crucial for advancing video game scholarship and understanding the effects of gameplay.
... A common limitation developing of exergames is the tendency to design them from a narrow, single-domain scientific perspective, focusing primarily on specific objectives relevant to that domain. These perspectives, while grounded in valuable methods and theoretical frameworks, fail to fully leverage the extensive potential of exergames (Subramanian et al., 2020;Martin-Niedecken et al., 2020;Isbister, 2016;Florian'Floyd'Mueller, 2017;Marshall et al., 2016;Kajastila and Hämäläinen, 2015). It is crucial to create interdisciplinary solutions that combine discipline-specific goals into a common approach to unlock the full potential of exergames. ...
... The effectiveness of exergames arises from their composition, which incorporates both motor and cognitive challenging dual tasks (Oh and Yang, 2010;Schott and Klotzbier, 2018;Martin-Niedecken et al., 2019;Wang et al., 2021). Enjoying and positive player experiences can be created through the application of game design methods (Belchior et al., 2012;Marston, 2013;Lyons, 2015;Isbister, 2016;Kappen et al., 2019;Martin-Niedecken et al., 2020). The player experiences are multidimensional, encompassing various aspects such as need fulfillment, psychological state attainment, and the consequences of player actions (Abeele et al., 2020). ...
... While these guidelines and approaches can address specific aspects of exergame design or indicate which criteria or domains should be integrated and considered, they do not offer a comprehensive and holistic design process and show how to collaborate across disciplines in exergame design. Hence, interdisciplinary approaches are crucial to bridge these gaps (Subramanian et al., 2020;Martin-Niedecken et al., 2019;Florian'Floyd'Mueller, 2017;Isbister, 2016;Marshall et al., 2016;Kajastila and Hämäläinen, 2015) and strengthen all aspects of EEM beyond the boundaries of a single discipline (Retz et al., 2023a). ...
Introduction: Motor-cognitive learning is crucial for achieving and maintaining wellbeing. Exergames can effectively facilitate this type of learning due to their inherent qualities of exertion and game-related disciplines. These qualities can create effectiveness, enjoyment, and meaning in the lives of individuals. To address these aspects equally, the design process for exergame interventions needs to be interdisciplinary from the beginning.
Objective: This paper aims to (1) enhance an exergame design process model for interdisciplinary co-creation (CIEM) by an Extended Reflection part (CIEMER). Furthermore, it aims to (2) show a formal process for making the abstract model applicable. In doing so, (3) this paper will also derive methods for conducting the process in an academic seminar.
Methods: The study employed the CIEMER to conduct a 2-month academic seminar with 20 students. The seminar consisted of a 3-day intensive workshop, a 6-week work phase, and a 1-week testing phase, creating four Extended Reality prototypes. We used a mixed methods approach to evaluate the model, including feedback interviews with external experts, internal surveys, and written reflections from student designers.
Results: Four motor-cognitive learning prototypes in Extended Reality were created using the CIEMER. External expert evaluations highlighted the prototypes’ alignment with effective, enjoyable, and meaningful objectives and potential efficacy while noting shortcomings in discipline-specific theoretical application. Internal feedback from students, collected via surveys and reflections, consistently showed positive outcomes in interdisciplinary collaboration and learning, underscoring the importance of an integrated approach in achieving project goals.
Conclusion: The formal process within CIEMER effectively yielded four promising prototypes, demonstrating its sufficiency. Students positively acknowledged the benefits of interdisciplinary collaboration, finding it supportive and competence-enhancing. Additionally, the Extended Reflections enabled rapid and targeted iterations, streamlining the reflection of the current state and Creation process.
... tell complex and responsive stories that can emotionally impact players deeply [28,56]. Isbister [28] argued that "games can actually play a powerful role in creating empathy and other strong, positive emotional experiences." ...
... tell complex and responsive stories that can emotionally impact players deeply [28,56]. Isbister [28] argued that "games can actually play a powerful role in creating empathy and other strong, positive emotional experiences." With digital games in particular, Karpouzis & Yannakakis [56] said that we now have the "ability to sense player emotion, through cameras, microphones, physiological sensors and player behaviour within the game world, and utilise that information to adapt gameplay accordingly or generate content predicted to improve the player experience and make the game more engaging or interesting. ...
... As some of our participant responses took a more player-centric focus for emotional challenge, we realized that there is a limitation in the existing academic definitions of "emotional challenge". Emotion in games is a highly subjective experience [28], and therefore, future work in emotional challenge research could potentially explore the expansion of existing emotional challenge definitions to consider how specific characters, actions, or objects may resonate differently with different players. Similarly, terms in the current definition such as "captivating story" should be more clearly operationalized. ...
Emotional challenge contrasts the common perspective of challenge in games, which focuses on performance. It instead presents players with heavy themes that induce complex emotions. To explore its impact on player experience, we examined the relationship between player reflection and affective game design patterns-conducting a survey with 53 respondents that prompted recalling an emotionally challenging situation in a video game. We then scored perceived emotional challenge ratings and coded the responses according to referenced affective game design patterns to categorize levels of reflection achieved. We found a significant difference (p < 0.011) in emotional challenge ratings and mean ranks increased across the five reflection groups, from lowest reflective level (non-reflective description) to highest (critical reflection). This demonstrates that the more emotionally challenged participants felt, the greater the depth of their reflection was. We also discovered the following design patterns to be prominently referenced in respective reflection levels: emotional decision-making, identification, and negative/uncomfortable feelings such as guilt.
... The course design was inspired by the NSF-funded project "The Anywear Academy", which was designed as a 5-day summer camp for youth 18 as a way to teach STEAM skills through the design and creation of social wearables. In this camp, educational live action roleplay provided a frame and narrative context for the learning [13,14]. ...
... The course was project-based with weekly assignments to either complete critical reflections based on in-class larps or readings. While the course was focusing on edu-larp in particular, each assignment (and week) was covering a different topic drawing from research in a broad range of domains surrounding edu-larp: education and roleplay [5,17], larp and edu-larp [13,26,34,37], social and emotional design [18], and others. The readings for the course drew from the vast number of resources available on the Nordic larp wiki 19 and the Knutepunkt books 20 , which are compendiums of talks and insights from the Knutepunkt conference series taking place in Scandinavia each year. ...
... Early research in the field demonstrated that players enjoyed experiencing negatively-valenced emotions [15], [30]. They also found that emotional challenge evoked a wider range of negative emotions and was appreciated significantly more by players compared to traditional challenge [13]. ...
... While the concept of emotional challenge had been primarily examined through solo experiences, there is much to be explored about the ways that people play and feel games together. As games are increasingly accepted as a form of media to experience a wide range of emotions [14], [30], it makes sense that people want to share those experiences with each other. As this is an exploratory study, we do not want to head in with explicit expectations or hypotheses, instead letting our analysis and insights emerge organically from the data. ...
Multiplayer gaming research has most often been examined from a prosocial perspective due to its benefits in encouraging cooperative behaviors. Apart from online toxicity research, negatively-valenced dynamics are less studied. To explore these types of multiplayer experiences, we conducted an exploratory survey through the lens of what players considered "emotionally challenging" in their gaming experiences relating to the game's social, narrative, and difficulty elements. We discovered interaction patterns in recounted multiplayer experiences that we named prosocial and antisocial dynamics, which helped us refine the definition of "social challenge". We also found that it was common for multiplayer experiences to inspire reflection on one's decisions, skill level, playstyles, and relationships. We also found support for tandem play experiences. We argue that these findings reveal venues for further research into those topics to expand our knowledge on social-emotional challenges in multiplayer experiences.
... However, as Ruckenstein (2013, 476) writes, "technological developments, products, and services are an inescapable element of children's everyday life. " Indeed, technologies saturate our world (Isbister 2016a(Isbister , 2016b and require new operational skills and literacies to develop alongside their use. Eckhoff (2017) finds a critical exploration of the role of digital media in contemporary childhood as necessary. ...
... The exploration of the artifacts of digital play must begin with an elaboration on games. Isbister (2016aIsbister ( , 2016b positions games as a "rich terrain" and realm for experience design, which plays an increasing role in our everyday socio-technological experience. ...
The 21st century has been described as the Century of Play.
The change in current play is particularly noticeable when
looking at technological developments. This thesis deals with
the technologization, digitalization, and connectedness of play
between 2010–2020. The research explores forms of contemporary play, playthings, and players in a time when digitalization and connectedness have extended to various tools and realms of play— devices, toys, games, apps, and mediated playful environments. At the heart of the research are playthings and technologies conceptualized here as play machines, players using these tools within their communities and contexts, and, due to technological evolution, play research that increasingly, expands our knowledge about How Play Moves Us physically, cognitively, and emotionally.
... The belief that she is more than either a narrative contrivance or a ludic device lays the groundwork for strong parasocial bonds with players, wherein players invest in the illusion that their interactions with Ellie are personal and unique. This, in turn, elicits the 'emotions of agency' (Isbister 2016): players feel a sense of ownership of their unfolding relationship with Ellie and a sense of responsibility towards Ellie. ...
In this article, I analyse the function of supporting child-characters in contemporary videogames. I integrate Stephen Zimmerly’s typology of sidekicks in Young Adult literature with critical writing on the ‘Daddening’ of videogames, a coinage that refers to the rise in the number of videogames that centre on the filial bond between a father figure and a child. Bringing these ideas into conversation with each other allows me to expand Zimmerly’s sidekick typology to include the ‘Ludic Gateway’, the ‘Morality Certificate’, and the ‘Disciplinary Tool’. I explore each category in greater depth using two case studies: The Last of Us series (2012; 2014; 2020) and the God of War series (2008; 2018; 2022). These commercially successful, critically acclaimed franchises rely on young deuteragonists to humanize and redeem the gruff, aggressive, violent male player character. Furthermore, the child sidekicks also serve to regulate the player’s in-game behaviour by way of a parasocial relationship. Using a close reading approach, I demonstrate that the supporting child-characters function as meta-critical devices to discipline gaming communities and the video game medium itself.
... Las funciones de accesibilidad son críticas para garantizar que el juego sea jugable para personas con diversas discapacidades [24]. Esto puede incluir opciones como subtítulos para jugadores sordos o con problemas de audición, controles personalizables para jugadores con discapacidades motoras, y opciones de texto grande o de alto contraste para jugadores con discapacidades visuales. ...
En el ámbito educativo contemporáneo, la integración de la inteligencia artificial (IA) ha suscitado un creciente interés debido a su potencial para trans-formar la enseñanza y el aprendizaje. Uno de los aspectos más destacados de esta convergencia entre IA y educación es la creación de juegos inclusivos en el aula, una iniciativa que busca no solo enriquecer la experiencia de aprendizaje, sino también promover la equidad y la participación de todos los estudiantes, independientemente de sus habilidades o características individuales. Este artículo se sumerge en la investigación y desarrollo de juegos inclusivos en el contexto educativo, con un enfoque particular en la utilización de ChatGPT, una de las últimas innovaciones en inteligencia artificial, como herramienta central en este proceso. La premisa subyacente es que la IA, cuando se aplica de manera reflexiva y estratégica, puede potenciar la creación de entornos educativos más inclusivos y accesibles para todos los estudiantes. En este sentido, este estudio adopta un enfoque interdisciplinario, combinando principios de la educación inclusiva, teorías de diseño de juegos y avances en IA, con el fin de explorar cómo ChatGPT puede ser integrado de manera efectiva en la creación de juegos educativos que atiendan las necesidades y diversidad de los estudiantes. Al abordar esta temática, el artículo se propone identificar y analizar estrategias innovadoras y mejores prácticas para el diseño de juegos inclusivos en el aula, con un énfasis en la adaptabilidad, la accesibilidad y la participación activa de todos los estudiantes. Además, se examinarán los desafíos y consideraciones éticas asociadas con el uso de la IA en contextos educativos, así como las implicaciones pedagógicas de esta integración. En última instancia, este artículo aspira a contribuir al cuerpo de conocimiento existente sobre la creación de juegos inclusivos en el aula, proporcionando insights valiosos para educadores, investigadores y desarrolladores interesados en aprovechar el potencial de la IA para promover la equidad y la inclusión en la educación.
... Finally, there already exists a growing body of research into how games are designed to elicit emotions that cuts across various approaches (Bednorz 2020, 108-112) from rhetorical and formalist game studies (Bogost 2008;Isbister 2016), philosophical ones (Tavinor 2010) and cognitive-neuroscientific ones (Perron and Schröter 2016). Some of this research overlaps with earlier work on stories and emotions in film or literature (Tan 1996;Plantinga 2009;Hogan 2018). ...
This chapter discusses the emotional structure of What Remains of Edith Finch, an acclaimed exploration video game. I argue that the game offers a working through of negative emotions associated with death, decay, dark family history and personal tragedies and attempts to convert them into a more appreciative outlook on everyday existence by way of eliciting emotions of wonder and awe. This occurs largely owing to the distinct visual storytelling of the game. Players are invited to suspend their instinctive puzzle-solving or sense-making operations involving the narrative mystery of the Finch family and are encouraged to enter a state of cognitive dissonance with respect to the utility and value of storytelling as a tool for thinking. In the service of these ends, the game foregrounds unrealistic enactments of the Finches’ deaths that defamiliarize visual aesthetics, embodiment and interactivity in the attempt to instil a sense of cognitive refreshment and wonder about human beings and their choices.
... Design features can elicit both positive and negative emotions, affecting user satisfaction and engagement with technology [22], [23]. Affective computing focuses on the recognition, interpretation, and expression of emotions in computer systems to improve user experiences [24]. ...
Computational models can advance affective science by shedding light onto the interplay between cognition and emotion from an information processing point of view. We propose a computational model of emotion that integrates reinforcement learning (RL) and appraisal theory, establishing a formal relationship between reward processing, goal-directed task learning, cognitive appraisal, and emotional experiences. The model achieves this by formalizing four evaluative checks from the component process model (CPM) in terms of temporal difference learning updates: suddenness, goal relevance, goal conduciveness, and power. The formalism is task independent and can be applied to any task that is represented as a Markov decision problem (MDP) and solved using RL. We evaluate the model by predicting a range of human emotions based on a series of vignette studies, highlighting its potential to improve our understanding of the role of reward processing in affective experiences
... In contrast, the guardian's task feature in Sleepland, which involves repairing damaged villages, did not seem to foster the same association with the healing benefits of sleep for humans, possibly due to a lack of similarity and relevance between repairing a lifeless object and human recovery. The importance of establishing an emotional connection in serious games has been previously highlighted in [45][46][47]. Our findings contribute further evidence within the context of sleep health. ...
Background
Sleep games are an emerging topic in the realm of serious health game research. However, designing features that are both enjoyable and effective at engaging users, particularly university students, to develop healthy sleep habits remains a challenge.
Objective
This study aims to investigate user preferences for 3 sleep game prototypes, that is, Hero’s Sleep Journey, Sleep Tamagotchi, and Sleepland, and to explore their popularity and perceived utility in promoting sleep health.
Methods
A mixed methods approach was used in this study. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through a co-design workshop involving 47 university students. Participants were presented with storyboard cards of game features and were asked to provide an overall rating on each game, as well as ratings for individual features. They were also encouraged to provide free-form comments on the features and suggest improvements. In addition, participants were asked to express their preferences among the 3 games regarding which game they would most like to play and which one they found most useful for promoting sleep health.
Results
Surprisingly, while Hero’s Sleep Journey was the most popular choice among participants, Sleep Tamagotchi was perceived as the most beneficial for improving sleep health. Relevance emerged as an overarching theme in the qualitative data analysis, with 3 interconnected dimensions: psychological relevance to users’ personal lives, logical relevance to sleep health, and situational relevance to users’ circumstantial context. We discussed how the 3 dimensions of relevance address the autonomy and relatedness constructs outlined in the self-determination theory and proposed 3 design recommendations.
Conclusions
Our serious sleep game prototypes demonstrated the potential to engage university students to develop healthy sleep hygiene. Future sleep game designs should aim to create a sense of relevance to users’ personal lives, sleep health goals, and situational contexts. Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, it is essential to develop a wide range of game genres and features to cater to diverse users. Aligning game features with sleep health goals and educating users on the design rationale through sleep knowledge are also important aspects. Furthermore, allowing users to customize their game experience and manage technology boundaries is necessary to nurture a sense of control and autonomy in the process of forming good sleep hygiene.
... These games allow female players to engage deeply with idealized male characters, offering a safer alternative to real-life dating by reducing emotional risks, such as rejection (Karniol, 2001). Isbister (2016) also mentioned that players can feel "loved" through interactions with non-player characters, forming a sense of intimacy. These interactions satisfy romantic fantasies and unmet social and emotional needs (Greenwood & Long, 2011), potentially evolving from transient parasocial interactions to long-term parasocial relationships. ...
This study conducts qualitative research on female players of otome games, exploring the mechanisms of romantic relationship formation within these games and their impact on perceptions of real-life intimate relationships. The findings reveal that the parasocial romantic relationships formed in otome games are not entirely detached from reality; instead, they are embedded in daily life through game interaction mechanisms and the players’ internalized imagination, thereby influencing the reconstruction of real-life intimate relationships. Female players show a high degree of acceptance and immersion in these romantic relationships, focusing on the emotional support provided by male characters. These relationships play a positive role in fulfilling emotional needs, regulating negative emotions, constructing self-identity, and redefining perceptions of intimacy. The intangibility of physical contact remains the only significant shortcoming, as perceived by a minority of players, pointing to a primary direction for the future development of otome games.
... Designing a game to create the intended emotional experiences is a main target for game design [1]. Therefore it is important to understand how game experiences and players' emotions are linked [2]. ...
... Perceived stress is interpreted as a positive emotion [51] that allows users to focus on their well-being (emotions and stress), helping them to know themselves better and regulate their emotions [52]. This highlights the significance of the social aspect of gaming, as most players engage with others [53] and prefer to play with others [54]. After all, communication, involvement, and bonding are more fun [55]. ...
Everyone forms a perception about everything, including the Metaverse. Still, we may expect a gap or disconnection between what has been expressed by various researchers and the widespread perceptions of technology and related concepts. However, the degree to which these two frames of representation differ awaits further investigation. This study seeks to compare the Metaverse perceptions between the scientific findings and the common people's perceptions using the data from two previous qualitative studies about the representations of the Metaverse from a scientific perspective versus a common perspective (by adults). Is there a common ground between these two perspectives? Or are they in opposition? As goals for this research, we aim to contrast the depiction of the Metaverse in pertinent studies (published in indexed journals) with the portrayal of the Metaverse among adults (non-researchers); ascertain the most prevalent depiction of virtual reality; and determine the significance of gaming within the representations of the Metaverse and virtual reality. This investigation encapsulates crucial findings on the Metaverse concept, contrasting the discoveries made by researchers in prior studies with the common public's interpretation of this concept. It helps with understanding the differences between the Metaverse representations, the immersion and perception concepts, and a disagreement from the past vs. future perspective.
... In comparison to maps that are found in analogue board games, console-based or computer-based games, mobile maps in location-based games make the player's engagement with the (real-world) environment more explicit, showing their position in the world as a part of the game (Lammes and Wilmott 2018). Successful game designs work to create specific emotional experiences in their players (Isbister 2016). In locationbased games, if the game is well designed, these emotions can extend to the locations in which the games play out (Oleksy and Wnuk 2017). ...
... Video games offer players immersive, interactive, and challenging environments that enable the development of social-emotional skills. In this regard, different strategies in video games allow players to progress and explore the narrative of their characters, including decision-making and coping with complex situations, sometimes ethically debatable, where players must demonstrate not only their skills but also logic, empathy, emotional resilience, and perspective-taking (Isbister, 2016). ...
... In contrast, the guardian's task feature in SL, which involves repairing damaged villages, did not seem to foster the same association with the healing benefits of sleep for humans, possibly due to a lack of similarity and relevance between repairing a lifeless object and human recovery. The importance of establishing an emotional connection in serious games has been previously highlighted in [45][46][47]. Our findings contribute further evidence within the context of sleep health. ...
BACKGROUND
Sleep games are an emerging topic in the realm of serious health game research. However, designing features that are both enjoyable and effective at engaging users, particularly university students, to develop healthy sleep habits remains a challenge.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to investigate user preferences for three sleep game prototypes—Hero’s Sleep Journey (HSJ), Sleep Tamagochi (ST), and Sleepland (SL)—and to explore their popularity and perceived utility in promoting sleep health.
METHODS
A mixed-method approach was employed in this study. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through a co-design workshop involving 47 university students. Participants were presented with storyboard cards of game features and were asked to provide an overall rating on each game, as well as ratings for individual features. They were also encouraged to provide free-form comments on the features and suggest improvements. Additionally, participants were asked to express their preferences among the three games regarding which game they would most like to play and which one they found most useful for promoting sleep health.
RESULTS
Surprisingly, while HSJ was the most popular choice among participants, ST was perceived as most beneficial for improving sleep health. Relevance emerged as an overarching theme in the qualitative data analysis, with three interconnected dimensions: psychological relevance to users’ personal lives, logical relevance to sleep health, and situational relevance to users’ circumstantial context. We discussed how the three dimensions of relevance address the autonomy and relatedness constructs outlined in the self-determination theory and proposed three design recommendations.
CONCLUSIONS
Our serious sleep game prototypes demonstrated potential in engaging university students to develop healthy sleep hygiene. Future sleep game designs should aim to create a sense of relevance to users’ personal lives, sleep health goals, and situational contexts. Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, it is essential to develop a wide range of game genres and features to cater to diverse users. Aligning game features with sleep health goals and educating users on the design rationale through sleep knowledge are also important. Furthermore, allowing users to customize their game experience and manage technology boundaries is necessary to nurture a sense of control and autonomy in the process of forming good sleep hygiene.
... Proposed as a layer between reality and individuals, the Metaverse is a 3D, virtual, shared world enabling various activities through augmented and virtual reality technologies [19]. Rooted in the physical world but without physical limitations, it facilitates interaction between people through avatars, fostering engagement in social, economic, and cultural activities [20]. It integrates physical and digital virtuality as a post-reality universe, supporting multisensory interactions compatible with multiplayer online video games [21,22]. ...
In a rapidly evolving digital landscape, the Metaverse emerges as a transformative force, integrating augmented reality, virtual reality, and the internet, to redefine online interactions. This collective virtual shared space promises to revolutionise global collaboration, communication, and information engagement. Our study consisted of the application, through an online form builder, of a questionnaire to Portuguese adult gamers, analysing the results with descriptive statistics. Our research question was the following: how is the Metaverse perceived and represented by gamers? In this context, we trace four objectives: (1) verify the representations of the Metaverse; (2) verify the representations of immersion; (3) verify the representations of the multiverse; and (4) verify the importance of these concepts in daily reality. Our findings explored the Metaverse, immersion, and multiverse concepts, uncovering gamers' perceptions with emphasis on animation, gaming, and virtual worlds as foundational elements. The Metaverse arises as an evolving force that bridges emotional experiences, offering limitless possibilities for experimentation and exploration.
... In an apparently antagonistic way, digital games are a potential avenue for bridging this gap by facilitating engagement with digital technologies [10]. These games offer opportunities to overcome new challenges [11], interact with other realities, and stimulate learning new knowledge and developing cognitive skills [12,13]. With their increasing popularity among older audiences [14], these games represent a promising frontier for exploring novel solutions to impact older adults' digital competences. ...
The growing ubiquity of Information and Communication Technologies and the lack of older adults' digital competences created new challenges and research opportunities. Used to promote the acquisition of knowledge and deeply AQ1 engage in learning activities, games are a potential medium to be explored. So far, research studies have mainly focused on cybersecurity and younger generations. Tapping into an underexplored research field and leveraging on the DigComp 2.2. framework, this research reports on a two-part workshop with eight experts in the fields of games, digital technologies, digital competences, and ageing. Its aim was to thoroughly delve into this underexplored research field, crafting game mechanics that not only consider the target audience but also directly respond to the areas outlined by DigComp. The results show six new game solutions, such as (i) identifying phishing emails and malware threats, (ii) assessing the authenticity of news items, (iii) acting as hackers to understand and create stronger passwords, (iv) optimizing search queries through interactive story search, (v) interpreting error messages, and (vi) navigating a simulated social media platform with persona-based rewards. Therefore, the range of areas to be explored is expanded, including a wider variety of audiences and new solutions to be implemented. Moreover, the identified game offers practical tools for enhancing digital competences among older populations, and provide a roadmap for future research in designing empa-thetic digital solutions. Overall, this research highlights the unexplored potential AQ2 at the intersection of these research fields, paving the way for future developments.
... This timely musical feedback makes players feel that their actions are meaningful, thus increasing the appeal of the game [18]. In addition to this, the music of Traveler does not only reflect the physical environment of the game, but more importantly, the emotional arc of the game [19]. From the beginning of the lonely journey, to the chance encounters with other players, to the final climactic section, the music changes to closely follow the player's emotional experience, enhancing the emotional depth of the game's narrative. ...
In the context of the digital era, video games, as an emerging form of entertainment, have become the focus of research in terms of their design and optimization of user experience. This study focuses on the application of digital music in games and its impact on player experience, aiming to reveal how music elements deepen the immersion and emotional resonance of games. According to the analysis, digital music significantly enhances game immersion and players' emotional engagement through dynamic music systems, close integration with game narratives, and innovative applications in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) games. In particular, games such as Traveler provide players with a unique empathic experience and deep emotional impact through well-designed music and sound interactions, demonstrating the central role of music in enhancing game narratives and building game worlds. However, the study also points out the technical, subjective, and culturally sensitive limitations of digital music in game design, challenges that need to be faced and overcome by future game developers and music creators alike.
... By food design, we can help to cultivate those qualities in our meals, empowering people to play a more active, conscious, and creative role in them. Finally, play can bring people together (Isbister, Márquez Segura & Melcer, 2018), which is highly relevant as social interaction is key to our wellbeing (Isbister, 2016) and a key reason why people eat (Douglas, 1972). ...
... The chapters capture what we consider the most central medium-specific elements of digital fiction, thus echoing existing formalist scholarship of digital narrative while simultaneously offering empirical insights into their cognitive implications. These elements include second-person narration (Harrigan & Wardrip-Fruin 2010;Montfort 2005), immersion and multimodality (Ryan 2015(Ryan , 2001Murray 1997), reader-character interaction (Murray 1997), hyperlinks (Landow 2006), as well as affective engagement and empathy -especially in relation to prosocial narrative game play (Isbister 2016;Chen et al. 2018) and VR narrative (Milk 2015). 3 Chapter 2, "Second-Person Narration in Ludic Hypermedia Fiction", explores the way in which "you" is used in second-generation digital fiction and offers a new transmedial method for gathering reader responses to individual uses of "you". ...
... Numerous scholars and designers have approached game design from various perspectives, including those based on game mechanics (Adams/Domans, 2012), those focused on rulesets (Tekinbas/Zimmerman, 2004), those exploring emotion (Freeman 2004;Isbister 2016), and those exploring psychological approaches to character design (Isbister 2006). Some scholars have also approached design through a broader context and multi-disciplinary approach (Shell 2008; Fullerton 2013). ...
... Numerous scholars and designers have approached game design from various perspectives, including those based on game mechanics (Adams/Domans, 2012), those focused on rulesets (Tekinbas/Zimmerman, 2004), those exploring emotion (Freeman 2004;Isbister 2016), and those exploring psychological approaches to character design (Isbister 2006). Some scholars have also approached design through a broader context and multi-disciplinary approach (Shell 2008; Fullerton 2013). ...
»Fictional Practices of Spirituality« provides critical insight into the implementation of belief, mysticism, religion, and spirituality into worlds of fiction, be it interactive or non-interactive. This first volume focuses on interactive, virtual worlds - may that be the digital realms of video games and VR applications or the imaginary spaces of life action role-playing and soul-searching practices. It features analyses of spirituality as gameplay facilitator, sacred spaces and architecture in video game geography, religion in video games and spiritual acts and their dramaturgic function in video games, tabletop, or LARP, among other topics. The contributors offer a first-time ever comprehensive overview of play-rites as spiritual incentives and playful spirituality in various medial incarnations.
... Many research studies in identity construction utilising commercial video games have focused on the relationship between player and game avatars in role-playing games (RPGs) or games with characters and avatars. Isbister (2016) argued that through role-play in video games, players try on different identities they may not have had the opportunity to experience in real life, supporting them to form non-virtual and meaningful relationships. However, character identification is not the only way to enjoy media. ...
International students face many challenges transitioning to post-graduate study in UK institutions. Students often need to adapt to a range of cultural practices and curricular norms, often without the differences between UK and their home countries being made explicit. Building on Vygotskian concepts of scaffolded learning and the importance that group interaction plays within learning, this research reports on an initiative to embed Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles through group work to develop research skills within a research methods module on an international Masters in Education programme. This small-scale case study across two campuses, with 11 survey respondents and nine focus group participants, analyses questionnaires and focus group interviews and yields important theoretical insights into the interaction of UDL components. The three UDL principles of multiple choices of learning materials, learning activities, and expression of learning outcomes each impacted on the other. The study also provides significant findings about hybrid learning at a crucial point in its development post COVID-19. Technology played an enabling role as students used a range of modalities to negotiate social and cultural diversity. However, the study indicates that on campus learning time is indispensable for students to fully access the power of digital technology. This paper contributes to advancing the understandings of international education and its interactional challenges and opportunities.
... Many research studies in identity construction utilising commercial video games have focused on the relationship between player and game avatars in role-playing games (RPGs) or games with characters and avatars. Isbister (2016) argued that through role-play in video games, players try on different identities they may not have had the opportunity to experience in real life, supporting them to form non-virtual and meaningful relationships. However, character identification is not the only way to enjoy media. ...
This study investigates how video game play influences gamers’ formal education through perceptions of their ‘gamer’ and ‘learner’ identities. Based on identity foundation in symbolic interactionism, we take gamer and learner identities as meaning structures with both dynamic and stable dimensions. The basis of this gamer identity perspective is identity has a crucial role in investigating learning. Applying a life history approach, we interviewed 10 participants in one-to-one interviews, with three interviews for each participant. Applying the narrative portrait, we analysed participant data. We found that gamer identity construction from video game playing, as a vital meaning structure, has four main aspects, namely in-game identification, social community expansion, restorative effect and meaning recognition, providing gamers with expansive ways to build learner and personal identity as that can benefit their formal education.
This chapter presents the results of a basic research carried out on the user experience applied to the videogames. It is key to identify parameters of videogames that allow us to know the general needs of users. In the same way, it is necessary to know the elements used to cover the needs detected. That is why an analysis has been carried out to obtain certain parameters that must be considered as fundamental in videogames in terms of user experience: usability, engage-ability, motivation, emotion, immersion, and commitment to the game. With them, we have worked on a specific heuristic evaluation, with a contrasted basis and foundation. The result has been to obtain a new version of it, adding to the principles on which it is based, questions to improve the evaluation of videogames. This extension becomes optional, as it can only be considered when the software to be analyzed is a videogame.
In her widely noticed book, Forms: Whole, Rhythm, Hierarchy, Network (2015), Caroline Levine prefaces her work by claiming that “hierarchies of value” concerning “unjust arrangements of power” are embodied in the creative forms generated by art in general and that as a consequence to think formalistically about artworks is also to think about these arrangements. Levine has nothing to say about video games, but her speculations about forms as articulating or embodying morality implicitly ask questions about whether video games could be brought into such a discussion. This chapter will attempt to examine the usefulness of Levine’s four categories to storytelling video games, particularly given the fact that power and morality are not only central to all stories, visual or otherwise, but are often invoked in outsiders’ vision of what video games are or do as cultural experiences: that is, video games supposedly challenge established moralities in harmful ways. The chapter will also touch on the development of generic labels in the world of video games and what they might add to the categorisations through which we mediate our encounters with stories.
The term "perspective" in the context of media practices generally implies a focus on visual perspective and "point of view" However, an investigation into listener perspective reveals a wealth of considerations for and insights into the design and perception of a variety of media experiences. This chapter will provide an introduction into such topics with the focus on games and virtual reality, as these both require an understanding of the implications of medium-specific affordances for embodiment and listening perspective. Focusing on emerging technologies not only provides a glimpse of what is to come, but also a useful lens with which to re-evaluate the status quo concerning audio use in other media.
A partir de diálogo com autores da filosofia pragmatista, dos game studies e da comunicação, este artigo tenciona compreender a relação entre experiência estética e mídias lúdicas, em particular os videogames, no que esta relação se distingue das experiências estéticas proporcionadas por mídias diversas, como a literatura, a música, o cinema e as artes em geral. Para melhor compreender esta relação, propõe-se a apresentação e o desenvolvimento de três eixos (ou chaves) epistemológicas, quais sejam: i) estética e agência; ii) estética e apropriação; iii) estética e política. Ademais, o presente artigo tenciona apresentar e comentar obras selecionadas de videogames, a fim de ilustrar a relação entre experiência estética e ludicidade em cada um daqueles respectivos eixos.
En los videojuegos, específicamente en los llamados artgames, se conjuntan distintas disciplinas artísticas para crear posibilidades de experiencias para los usuarios. Lo lúdico, lo visual, lo sonoro, lo háptico y lo textual sirven como estímulos para comunicar ideas. Aunque los videojuegos se asocian comúnmente con el entretenimiento, con el paso de los años las intenciones discursivas de las obras de este tipo se han diversificado, incluso a los terrenos del arte. Dentro del mundo de los videojuegos, existen los denominados artgames, en donde, según John Sharp, se busca crear experiencias de juego que exploren cuestiones metafísicas sobre la vida, la ética y la condición humana. La intención de este artículo es explicar los tipos de relaciones que se establecen entre los textos y los videojuegos artgames a partir de las categorías que Claus Clüver establece en su texto “Intermediality and Interarts Studies”: transposición, yuxtaposición, combinación y unión/fusión. La aplicación de esta teoría en el terreno de los videojuegos servirá para entender de qué modo los textos pueden contribuir al desarrollo de dinámicas lúdicas más allá de lo descriptivo. En este artículo se analizarán las obras The Legend of Zelda (1986), Dark Souls (2011), Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes (2015) y Undertale (2015).
Digital games, which constitute a part of new media studies, offer different reality experiences and new expressive environments to a player with multimodal interactions and hybrid reality practices offered by game engines. The alternative environments offered by digital game art create a kind of 'transitional space' in the participant's experience process with ambiguous structures such as reality-fiction. The phenomenon of the transitional area, discussed by Donald W. Winnicott, is the cultural manoeuvring space in which the subject experiences both internal and external reality while constructing the initial fiction of the self, and is closely related to Jean Baudrillard's concept of simulation in which fiction and reality are mixed. In contemporary art, where the artistic image becomes a virtual reality, phantasmagoria, in which meaning and reality are reconstructed and staged in new media works referencing digital game practices, takes place in the transitional areas that Winni-cott sees as a dynamic and experiential playground. This research focuses on digital game art works of different artists such as Olafur Eliasson, Hesam Jalili, Theo Triantafyllidis, Ian Cheng, and Joon Yong Moon, who create a transitional space in their work with practices such as 'gamification of space' and 'counter gaming'.
Imagine you could speak to divinity through Artificial Intelligence.
Inspired by Hindu mythology and motifs, as well as the Hindu custom of scattering ashes of the deceased in the River Ganges, this project explores the gamification of communication with AI and humans.
It features a melancholic tale about two estranged siblings who embark on a journey to scatter their parent’s ashes in a river, only to be challenged by an embodiment of the river itself, a deity driven by AI, who has an agenda of her own.
In a world where faith and technology often clash, AI emerges as both an object of fascination, as well as a reflection of our society’s complexities. This research reimagines AI as a companion on the edge of deism and humanity. "Me and You versus AI" invites us to interact with AI, while scrutinizing its motives.
The project introduces a novel cooperative gaming experience where players interact with an AI character. This interaction is powered by advanced natural language processing (NLP), enabling real-time dialogue, and role-playing that embeds NLP deeply into the gameplay, not just for chatting but as a fundamental part of the game.
The game design is tested through a prototype developed using a complex game architecture featuring speech recognition, text and image generation, and speech synthesis, all working seamlessly in real time. The gameplay focuses on puzzles themed around relationship building techniques, and through the integration of AI, it adapts the puzzles to match the players' interests and intentions, making every playthrough unique and personalized.
The project also highlights the indispensable role of human developers in crafting interactive spaces, utilizing the judgment and analytical capabilities of NLP models to innovate human-AI interactions and even gamifying them.
This Master thesis project, "Me and You versus AI," is an experimental approach to game design, casting generative AI and NLP in the role of a mythological being—an "AI god"—guiding, mediating, and conversing with two players while controlling the game world around them.
This book is aimed at educators, researchers, and designers who want to use games to enhance equity and justice for marginalized students, and create communities where everyone feels like they belong.
For the fourth volume in the Learning, Education & Games book series, we explore 50 games to use for inclusion, equity, justice, diversity, and belongingness. The list of 50 games includes popular ones like Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Chess, Minecraft, and Among Us, as well as other commercial, indie, PC, mobile, live-action role-playing (LARP), and card and board games. This list is not exhaustive and is just one small contribution to an important field.
This article identifies and examines a couple of selected issues regarding speculative digital games which endeavor to deal with serious subject matter. Due to the fact that speculative games are exceptionally well suited for symbolic representation of sensitive topics, they allow their creators to conceive ambitious projects that aspire to be great works of audiovisual art. However, because game texts belong to a very specific medium, it is not always possible to realize this ambition in the context of gameplay. For reasons of space and focus this article uses one particular game, The Medium (2021), to serve as the primary example of how the problems which occur in the process of combining specific, engaging gameplay with serious, sensitive subject matter, lead to situations in which a game can fail to fulfill the player’s expectations. By analyzing the structure, gameplay, and storytelling tools employed in The Medium , the article places emphasis on the significance of the possible tensions between the intention of the designers of the game experience and the experiences, ideas, and interpretations the players themselves bring to the game text.
Based on a dialogue with authors of pragmatist philosophy, game studies, and communication, this article intends to understand the relationship between aesthetic experience and ludic media, in particular digital games, in what this relationship distinguishes from the aesthetic experiences provided by different media, such as literature, music, film and the arts in general. To better understand this relationship, we propose the presentation and development of three epistemological axes (or keys), namely: i) aesthetics and agency, ii) aesthetics and appropriation, and iii) aesthetics and politics. Furthermore, this article intends to present and comment on selected works of digital games to illustrate the relationship between play and aesthetic experience in each of those respective axes.
L’un des premiers philosophes du cinéma, Béla Balázs, fonde son éloge sur une caractéristique esthétique de l’image cinématographique, rendue possible par la technique de la projection d’images animées : on y découvre d’immenses visages dévoilant nouvellement dans leurs mouvements expressifs la vie de l’esprit. Sur l’écran apparaît l’âme humaine dans une clarté que nous pensions impossible, une nouvelle visibilité de l’homme. Qu’en est-il aujourd’hui avec ce nouveau type d’images que proposent les jeux vidéo ? Si les jeux vidéo sont cette pratique esthétique correspondant au stade numérique de l’évolution des techniques, pouvons-nous en attendre autant pour la réflexion philosophique que ce que le cinéma apporta au vingtième siècle ? L’hypothèse que cet article entend élaborer a pour but de chercher à penser les jeux vidéo en tant que leur pratique consiste en une relation homme-machine non utilitaire dont la finalité esthétique implique la perception de cette relation. À partir de l’analyse simondonienne de ce type de relation, nous cherchons à défendre l’idée selon laquelle dans certains jeux vidéo, l’usage « mineur » de l’objet technique (c’est-à-dire automatisé) que nécessite la manipulation de l’image, implique un type d’interaction dans laquelle les schèmes de fonctionnement de l’esprit humain et ceux de la machine apparaissent indiscernables. La description de telles interactions dans des séquences de jeu, nous montre que cette indiscernabilité ressentie révèle esthétiquement une obscurité de l’homme non pas en opposition mais au-dedans de sa visibilité. Ainsi, nous défendons que l’apport esthétique des jeux vidéo consiste à nous donner à percevoir la réalité humaine en tant qu’elle n’est pas isolable dans l’intériorité d’une âme, mais relationnelle, c’est-à-dire se manifestant dans l’obscurité de la relation homme-machine.
Niklas Nylund argued that videogames lacked a coherent descriptive framework required to understand their complex position as museum artifacts. He proposed a matrix model consisting of three overlapping aspects of games display: objects, context, and experience. Although a starting point for exploring the role of videogames in museums, this required further detailed analysis. The present article extends the matrix model by exploring the area of ‘experience’, separating this aspect of display into three sub-categories: (a) playable experience, (b) collective experience, and (c) situational experience. These sub-categories of experience are discussed regarding videogame display in European museums. It is argued that this extended view of experience, rather than distracting from contextual information, is central to videogame display. Extending this category beyond playable games enables exhibitions to use the area of experience within a wider framework.
As interactive multimodal texts, video games can teach SEL because of their unique affordances. This chapter investigates how playing video games can teach literacy to adolescent children while also cultivating their opportunities to develop SEL skills. SEL is defined, as is the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) SEL Framework, a set of five competencies that also considers the nested environments that children inhabit. Next, emerging research on adolescent neuroplasticity when video games are used as an SEL intervention is reviewed. How the consumption of interactive media, like video games, affects well-being is explored, followed by the ways in which video games teach literacy through a variety of modalities. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how games and games genre map and align to CASEL's SEL framework.
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