This paper reports the research method of the “Game Expats Story (GES)” project that used qualitative longitudinal research (“QLR”) incorporated with art-based research (“ABR”) in the context of game research. To facilitate greater participant engagement and a higher retention rate of longitudinal participants, we created comic artworks simultaneously while researching the case of migrant/expatriate game developers (“game expats”) in Finland 2020-2023 in two phases: (i) art creation as part of the qualitative data analysis to supplement the researcher’s inductive abstraction of the patterns, and (ii) artwork as a communication and recall tool when periodically engaging with the informants over the multi-year project span. Our findings suggest that the method of QLR-ABR helps game research as it positively influences the researcher’s abstractions of longitudinal data and participants’ continuous engagement with a high retention rate of 89%. We conclude that incorporating artistic methods provides new opportunities for ethnographic research on game development.
doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642275
Social play supports children to develop essential life skills and foster friendships. However, autistic and non-autistic children often do not have equal opportunities to engage in social play. Previous research to improve these opportunities tends to invoke social skill interventions solely for autistic children or is focused on designing for only one group, rather than considering the interactions or needs of all children in neurodiverse groups. In order to understand the different experiences of children during social play, we conducted interviews with 6 professionals who support neurodiverse social play and undertook observation sessions of 36 autistic and non-autistic children during unstructured social play. Our findings move beyond the existing characterizations of autistic social play and build upon the double empathy problem to capture and consider the needs of all children in neurodiverse playgroups. We argue these findings could be used to inform future neurodiverse social play technology design in HCI.
doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642809
The ongoing ecological crisis is the current biggest threat for our species. As we attempt to address the situation through policy, interventions, and education, we urgently need to understand how people encounter and relate to nature: As it is, in the world, and portrayed through different media. As an exemplary medium facilitating digital nature, this paper focuses on video games. Using first-person research methods, we report on the first author sensitising themselves to nature as a ubiquitous feature, theme, and actor in video games. They played eight nature-focused games for three months. Through auto-ethnography, close reading and "noticing'' (after Tsing), we make sense of their experiences using the humanistic concept of ecological (in)congruence: We draw out the relational gap and potential meanings between real nature and its virtual equivalent. Based on these insights, we outline two design impulses for how the HCI community might approach nature—within games and beyond.
doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642659
Modern video game development relies increasingly on live service models and storytelling, putting strain on developer-player interactions and community management, the success of which is key to the success of such games. In this paper we report on a 2.5-year ethnography study on the Destiny player community, specifically on how players and developers interact and communicate about the game, and how is this interaction is affected by and affects ongoing rituals and storytelling in that game. Our findings indicate that rituals of play are fundamental. They reinforce the players’ collective experiences, created by the ongoing relationship between the players and developers. Players test and break boundaries of rituals, and developers continually adjust and experiment with those boundaries in turn. Our findings show that developers create positive feedback loops from the community when they lean into creativity efforts and boundary-breaking from players, and use storytelling directly as a community management tool.
doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642679
Recent research has begun exploring games as a medium for reflection due to their affordances as interactive systems of challenge. However, little effort has been put into (1) synthesizing insights across studies and disciplines and (2) translating the academic work on reflective play into practical takeaways for game developers. This article takes the first steps toward summarizing existing work on reflective play and translating insights for practical implementation by identifying key game elements present in games that evoke reflection. We divide these elements into five approaches: Disruptions, Slowdowns, Questioning, Revisiting, and Enhancers. Finally, we provide an actionable supplement for practicing game developers to apply these concepts to their games.
doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642455
Video games often pose accessibility barriers to gamers with disabilities, yet there is no standard method for identifying which games have barriers, what those barriers are, and whether and how they can be overcome. We propose and explore three phases of the “game adoption process”: Discovery, Evaluation, and Adaptation. To advance understanding of how gamers with disabilities experience this process, the resources and strategies they use, and the challenges experienced, we conducted an interview study with thirteen gamers with disabilities with differing backgrounds. We then engage with existing theories of consequence-based accessibility, of difficulty, and of identity-based gaming to better understand how these processes manifest “access difficulty” and to characterize the experience of “disabled gaming.” Finally, we present design recommendations for game developers and distributors to better support gamers with disabilities in the game adoption process by engaging with community-made resources, supporting socially-created access, and creating customizable experiences with opportunities for unconventional play.
doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642804
Procrastination is the deliberate postponing of tasks knowing that it will have negative consequences in the future. Despite the potentially serious impact on mental and physical health, research has just started to explore the potential of information systems to help students combat procrastination. Specifically, while existing learning systems increasingly employ elements of game design to transform learning into an enjoyable and purposeful adventure, little is known about the effects of gameful approaches to overcome procrastination in academic settings. This study advances knowledge on gamification to counter procrastination by conducting a mixed-methods study among higher education students. Our results shed light on usage patterns and outcomes of gamification on self-efficacy, self-control, and procrastination behaviors. The findings contribute to theory by providing a better understanding of the potential of gamification to tackle procrastination. Practitioners are supported by implications on how to design gamified learning systems to support learners in self-organized work.
doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642048
'Juicy' or immediate abundant action feedback is widely held to make video games enjoyable and intrinsically motivating. Yet we do not know why it works: Which motives are mediating it? Which features afford it? In a pre-registered (n=1,699) online experiment, we tested three motives mapping prior practitioner discourse---effectance, competence, and curiosity---and connected design features. Using a dedicated action RPG and a 2x2+control design, we varied feedback amplification, success-dependence, and variability and recorded self-reported effectance, competence, curiosity, and enjoyment as well as free-choice playtime. Structural equation models show curiosity as the strongest enjoyment and only playtime predictor and support theorised competence pathways. Success dependence enhanced all motives, while amplification unexpectedly reduced them, possibly because the tested condition unintentionally impeded players' sense of agency. Our study evidences uncertain success affording curiosity as an underappreciated moment-to-moment engagement driver, directly supports competence-related theory, and suggests that prior juicy game feel guidance ties to legible action-outcome bindings and graded success as preconditions of positive 'low-level' user experience.
doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642656
Natural motion mapping enhances the gaming experience by reducing the cognitive burden and increasing immersion. However, many players still use the keyboard and mouse in recent commercial PC games. To solve the conflict between complex avatar motion and the limited interaction system, we introduced CamTroller, an auxiliary tool for commercial one-to-one avatar mapping PC games following the concept of a natural user interface. To validate this concept, we selected PUBG as the application scenario and developed a proof-of-concept system to help players achieve a better experience by naturally mapping selected human motions to the avatars in games through an RGB webcam. A within-subject study with 18 non-professional players practiced common operation (Basic), professional player’s operation (Pro), and CamTroller. Results showed that the performance of CamTroller was as good as the Pro and significantly higher than Basic. Also, the subjective evaluation showed that CamTroller achieved significantly higher intuitiveness than Basic and Pro.
doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642511