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2016 | Buch

Gamer Psychology and Behavior

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This book provides an introduction and overview of the increasingly important topic of gamer psychology and behavior by presenting a range of theoretic perspectives and empirical evidence casting new light on understanding gamer behavior and designing interactive gaming experiences that maximize fun. This book aims to provide a snapshot on research approaches/advances in player psychology and behavior, discuss issues, solutions, challenges, and needs for player behavior research, and report gameplay experience and lessons as well as industry case studies from both social sciences and engineering perspectives. The nine chapters in this book, which are divided into three sections: Neuro-Psychology and Gaming; Player Behavior and Gameplay; Player Psychology and Motivations, do not represent all the topics in the psychology of gaming, however, they include a variety of topics in this field: the effects of violent video games on cognitive processes, the reward systems in the human brain and the concept of 'fun', goal-directed player behavior and game choices, psychological player profiling techniques, game design requirements and player psychology, motivational gamer profiles, and many more.

This book is suitable for students and professionals with different disciplinary backgrounds such as computer science, design, software engineering, psychology, interactive media, and information systems. Students will be interested in the theory of gamer psychology and its impact on game design. Professionals will be interested in the fundamentals of gamer behavior and how interactive virtual environments can improve user experience.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Neuro-psychology and Gaming

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Violent Video Games and Cognitive Processes: A Neuropsychological Approach
Abstract
The effects of violent video games on cognitive processes are still not clear. The main goal of this study was to investigate the effect of violent video games on different cognitive processes. A neuropsychological battery which consists of response inhibition, emotional memory, working memory, object recognition, and visual-spatial perception task was used to measure cognitive functions. Ninety eight participants were separated into three groups (namely addicted, risk group, and controls) based on the amount of time they spent for violent game playing (per week). DSM-based pathological game addiction symptoms and their scores are measured on game addiction scale. We found significant effects of excessive video game playing on working memory, object recognition, and response inhibition, whereas no significant differences were found among the groups on emotional memory and visual spatial perception.
Metehan Irak, Can Soylu, Dicle Çapan
Chapter 2. Why Games Are Fun? The Reward System in the Human Brain
Abstract
Why sugar is sweet? Why sexual activities are pleasurable? Why computer games are fun? Answers to such questions may end up in circular reasoning unless findings from evolutionary biology and neuroscience are not utilized. The brain circuits that determine and modulate the hedonic impact of events and substances are relatively well described and evolutionary theories help us understand the advantages of assigning such a value to “pleasurable” things and activities. The question “Why games are fun,” however, seems to require a further understanding of human neuropsychology and evolution because computer games are a very novel part of our lives as a species and quite alien to our past. This concise yet rather dense chapter aims to present a brief introduction and a road map for further reading toward our current scientific understanding of play behavior and how it lays the foundations of the modern phenomena called gaming. Diverse topics ranging from the evolution and adaptive value of play to the neuronal circuits that enable us to derive pleasure from it will be briefly discussed along with examples from experimental studies conducted in humans and animals to elaborate on the “fun” and sometimes addictive nature of games.
Mustafa Balkaya, Guven Catak

Player Behavior and Gameplay

Frontmatter
Chapter 3. Pleasure in Pain: How Accumulation in Gaming Systems Can Lead to Grief
Abstract
This chapter applies the concepts of regulatory focus and regulatory fit into gaming structures and articulates their effects especially inside massively multiplayer games to understand the behavior of players inside gaming structures, as well as emotional transitions associated with them.
Selcen Ozturkcan, Sercan Sengun
Chapter 4. Goal-Directed Player Behavior in Computer Games
Abstract
This study applies a motivated action model to analyze the basics of goal-directed player behavior in computer games and uses a motivational framework to investigate the relation of various gaming situations with different player needs. The game selected for this study is an action-adventure game named Middle-earth: Shadows of Mordor. The first section attempts to find the relationship between psychological needs and game mechanics, showing that the restrictions imposed by the game mechanics significantly reduce the number of player needs satisfied by a game. The second section investigates the anatomy of choices made by players in different gaming situations. Each gaming situation from Shadows of Mordor is described with appropriate incentives, goals, motivations, actions, reinforcers, and punishers.
Barbaros Bostan, Sercan Altun
Chapter 5. Designing and Playing to Protest: Looking Back to Gezi Games
Abstract
This chapter is about the design, development, and perception of videogames produced during Gezi Park Protests in 2013 as a form of civic participation. The chapter first outlines the production history of these games which came to a sudden end due to the changes in the political atmosphere. A detailed description is given of the theoretical approaches on design and use of political games and newsgames in the following section. Based on these approaches, five games produced during the protests were tested by a small group of participants.
Tonguc Ibrahim Sezen, Digdem Sezen
Chapter 6. Psychological Player Profiling with Action Patterns
Abstract
Profiling aims to deliver personalized content to each player, fitting his or her preferences. Although the aim of profiling and the techniques used for the profiling process vary, the governing idea is to monitor user choices/actions in an environment and compare/process these choices with hypothesized profiles to understand his/her preferences. In this article, our aim is to define patterns (sequence of player actions) that can be matched with player profiles using pattern–motivation pairings. The real-time profiling technique intends to adapt to the psychology of the player by rapidly matching patterns. In this regard, four different types of patterns have been developed for an interactive storytelling project.
Barbaros Bostan, Gokhan Sahin

Player Psychology and Motivations

Frontmatter
Chapter 7. Game Design and Gamer Psychology
Abstract
Gaming is often criticized as being a mindless addiction, but playing a computer game is not a mindless act. Games require complex and different talents such as focusing on a virtual world, thinking as a different person, making strategies, planning, and most importantly interacting with the virtual. Players become the hero of a computer game, try to act, think, and react like him/her. Players have a complicated psychology and to understand computer games, first we need to understand the psychological components specific for this communication medium. It is also important to understand what is fun, what motivates or entertains the player. It is impossible to design a game that pleases the player without understanding the gamer psychology. In this regard, we selected The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt game for analyzing gamer psychology under five sections: Realism/Believability, Complexity/Playability, Satisfaction/Fun, Presence/Immersion, and Freedom/Choice.
Barbaros Bostan, Ozhan Tingoy
Chapter 8. Self-Determination Theory in Digital Games
Abstract
Self-determination theory (SDT; Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior, New York, 1985; The oxford handbook of human motivation, New York, pp 85–107, 2012) is a broad motivational theory that has been developing for the last four decades. The theory makes the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and identifies three basic psychological needs that are essential for well-being. When people are intrinsically motivated, they engage in an activity because the activity itself is interesting, enjoyable, and congruent with their selves. In contrast, when people are extrinsically motivated, they engage in an activity because the activity is instrumental in obtaining rewards or avoiding punishments. In this chapter, we will discuss digital games within a SDT framework, with a focus on how satisfaction of basic psychological needs in games can enhance user experience. We start with the behavioral psychology principles and the use of rewards in games that fuel extrinsic motivation. Next, we discuss intrinsic–extrinsic motivation and the three basic psychological needs—autonomy, competence, and relatedness—that facilitate intrinsic motivation and enhance player experience. Finally, we discuss some basic game features and their relation to basic needs.
Ahmet Uysal, Irem Gokce Yildirim
Chapter 9. Explorations in Player Motivations: Gamer Profiles
Abstract
Research on player psychology is gaining increasing attention and this study aims to fill this gap in the literature by empirically exploring the motivational factors of gameplay and defining independent player profiles. Using the psychological need framework defined by Explorations in Personality, 1938, this research collected data from game players (n = 503), using a questionnaire. Results of the study found five motivational factors: Affiliation, Power, Achievement, Self-Protection, and Curiosity, and defined six player types: Casual Players, Affiliation Seekers, Power Seekers, Impression Managers, Aggressors, and Intellectuals. This study is unique in that it is capable of recognizing player behavior within a computer game by matching motivational components with individual player actions.
Barbaros Bostan, Guven Catak
Metadaten
Titel
Gamer Psychology and Behavior
herausgegeben von
Barbaros Bostan
Copyright-Jahr
2016
Electronic ISBN
978-3-319-29904-4
Print ISBN
978-3-319-29903-7
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29904-4

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