A systematic review of quantitative studies on the enjoyment of digital entertainment games

Elisa D. Mekler; Julia Ayumi Bopp; Alexandre N. Tuch; Klaus Opwis

doi:10.1145/2556288.2557078

A systematic review of quantitative studies on the enjoyment of digital entertainment games

Elisa D. Mekler, Julia Ayumi Bopp, Alexandre N. Tuch, Klaus Opwis

Not published at Aalto University

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference article in proceedings › Scientific › peer-review

149 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Enjoyment has been identified as a central component of the player experience (PX), but various, overlapping concepts within PX make it difficult to develop valid measures and a common understanding of game enjoyment. We conducted a systematic review of 87 quantitative studies, analyzing different operationalizations and measures of game enjoyment, its determinants, and how these were related to other components of PX, such as flow, presence and immersion. Results suggest that game enjoyment describes the positive cognitive and affective appraisal of the game experience, and may in part be associated with the support of player needs and values. Further, we outline that enjoyment is distinct from flow in that it may occur independently of challenge and cognitive involvement, and argue that enjoyment may be understood as the valence of the player experience. We conclude with a discussion of methodological challenges and point out opportunities for future research on game enjoyment.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	CHI 2014
Subtitle of host publication	One of a CHInd - Conference Proceedings, 32nd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Publisher	ACM
Pages	927-936
Number of pages	10
ISBN (Print)	9781450324731
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/2556288.2557078
Publication status	Published - 1 Jan 2014
MoE publication type	A4 Conference publication
Event	ACM SIGCHI Annual Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Toronto, Canada Duration: 26 Apr 2014 → 1 May 2014 Conference number: 32 http://chi2014.acm.org/

Conference

Conference	ACM SIGCHI Annual Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Abbreviated title	ACM CHI
Country/Territory	Canada
City	Toronto
Period	26/04/2014 → 01/05/2014
Internet address	http://chi2014.acm.org/

Keywords

Digital Games
Enjoyment
Flow
Player Experience

Access to Document

10.1145/2556288.2557078

Cite this

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title = "A systematic review of quantitative studies on the enjoyment of digital entertainment games",

abstract = "Enjoyment has been identified as a central component of the player experience (PX), but various, overlapping concepts within PX make it difficult to develop valid measures and a common understanding of game enjoyment. We conducted a systematic review of 87 quantitative studies, analyzing different operationalizations and measures of game enjoyment, its determinants, and how these were related to other components of PX, such as flow, presence and immersion. Results suggest that game enjoyment describes the positive cognitive and affective appraisal of the game experience, and may in part be associated with the support of player needs and values. Further, we outline that enjoyment is distinct from flow in that it may occur independently of challenge and cognitive involvement, and argue that enjoyment may be understood as the valence of the player experience. We conclude with a discussion of methodological challenges and point out opportunities for future research on game enjoyment.",

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Mekler, ED, Bopp, JA, Tuch, AN & Opwis, K 2014, A systematic review of quantitative studies on the enjoyment of digital entertainment games. in CHI 2014: One of a CHInd - Conference Proceedings, 32nd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. ACM, pp. 927-936, ACM SIGCHI Annual Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 26/04/2014. https://doi.org/10.1145/2556288.2557078

A systematic review of quantitative studies on the enjoyment of digital entertainment games. / Mekler, Elisa D.; Bopp, Julia Ayumi; Tuch, Alexandre N. et al.
CHI 2014: One of a CHInd - Conference Proceedings, 32nd Annual ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. ACM, 2014. p. 927-936.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference article in proceedings › Scientific › peer-review

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AB - Enjoyment has been identified as a central component of the player experience (PX), but various, overlapping concepts within PX make it difficult to develop valid measures and a common understanding of game enjoyment. We conducted a systematic review of 87 quantitative studies, analyzing different operationalizations and measures of game enjoyment, its determinants, and how these were related to other components of PX, such as flow, presence and immersion. Results suggest that game enjoyment describes the positive cognitive and affective appraisal of the game experience, and may in part be associated with the support of player needs and values. Further, we outline that enjoyment is distinct from flow in that it may occur independently of challenge and cognitive involvement, and argue that enjoyment may be understood as the valence of the player experience. We conclude with a discussion of methodological challenges and point out opportunities for future research on game enjoyment.

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ER -

A systematic review of quantitative studies on the enjoyment of digital entertainment games

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Keywords

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