What is the Meaning of this? Understanding the contentious(?) relationship between videogame play and videogame narrative

WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITYDEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION STUDIES

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS? UNDERSTANDING THE CONTENTIOUS(?) RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VIDEOGAME PLAY AND VIDEOGAME NARRATIVE

ND Bowman

Indiana University

24 Jan 2014

Media and Interaction Lab


ABSTRACTVideo games have enjoyed sustained economic and cultural success for nearly four decades, with their success often attributed to their interactive nature: passive audiences become active users with a vested stake in the on-screen experience. However, as games continue their evolution from singular challenge/skill puzzles to narrative-rich virtual worlds, the manner in which we play and are affected by this play has been called into question. Specifically, given that users do not have an unlimited ability to process stimuli, one might challenge the implicit assumption that gamers interact with and are influenced by all on-screen content in a similar fashion. The following presentation outlines emerging theory and research into the ways in which gamers attend to different on-screen content, and how this implicit and explicit attention can impact the overall entertainment experience.


PREAMBLE: S O RResearch Rant


S O R

Stimulus Response

Organism

Meaning is created here!


S O R

VIDEO games

• Narrative worlds

Video GAMES

• Ludic systems


S O R

• So, do we get to BE Batman, or do we get to PLAY Batman? Can’t we do BOTH? [NO]

http://www.slideshare.net/bowmanspartan1/video-games-as-meaningful-entertainment-exeriences


VIDEO GAMESIU Guest Lecture



VIDEO GAMES

• Games = challenge + skill


VIDEO GAMES

• In video game, skill is based on our ability to control the interactivity (form + content)

• One such control is our cognitive abilities

(a few) cognitive skills found to correlate w/ game performance:

2D mental rotation3D mental rotationMoving targetingFixed targetingEye-hand coordinationFine motor skillWord completion


VIDEO GAMES

• Challenge/skill balances are key to understanding how we engage activities


VIDEO GAMES

• We tap our skills when we want to attain or sustain a state of flow…

• …but other “things” can also impact skill

@JenovaChen

http://jenovachen.com/flowingames/thesis.htm


VIDEO GAMES

• Arousal can impact skill via drive: E = f (HxD)

• As drive increases, we respond with our dominant (cognitive) skill


VIDEO GAMES

• Arousal from

Audience Presence!* *At high levels of difficulty, audience presence had no effect on performance because drive was maximized by task challenge!


VIDEO GAMES

• Arousal from

Task Demand!


VIDEO GAMES

• Interactivity is Demanding– Cognitively demanding– Behaviorally demanding– Affectively demanding– Socially demanding?

LC4MP


VIDEO GAMESIU Guest Lecture



VIDEO GAMES“…games have said goodbye to the tired alien invasions and over-the-top fantasy

stories so often found in video games. Instead, they peer into the dark reaches of the very real human heart to deliver

stories that are thrilling, chilling and utterly absorbing” ~ Winda Benedetti

@WindaBenedetti

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/36968970/ns/technology_and_science-games/


VIDEO GAMES

“Are we going to have a Shakespeare of games? A game that was told so perfectly, and so well, that 200 years later people will insist we play it exactly as it was?“ ~ Jesse Schell (2013)

“When you’re using action as a tool, it’s easy to disassociate from what that action is…with a shooter, that action is killing another person.” ~ Walt Williams (2013)

@waltdwilliams

@jesseschell

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b7TaLjdXMc

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/189370/Jesse_Schells_search_for_the_Shakespeare_of_video_games.php

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/188964/Video_Spec_Ops_The_Line_contextualizes_violence_through_story.php


VIDEO GAMES “Indeed, to say that one ‘‘enjoyed’’ or was ‘‘entertained by’’ a filmsuch as Hotel Rwanda would seem decidedly odd, at best” (Oliver & Raney, 2011).


VIDEO GAMESYou make a game

meaningful by drawing us into the

emotion …

…but you have to dial back to the gameplay to do this?

“72 percent of players who started Heavy Rain finished it … if you compare it to the industry

average completion rate, which is 20-25 percent, it's downright

astounding.” ~ Kristine Steimer

@steimer

http://www.ign.com/articles/2011/03/03/gdc-72-percent-of-players-finished-heavy-rain


VIDEO GAMES

• So, if we don’t enjoy these media products, then what do we do with them?

• Selection is driven by a different set of motivations


VIDEO GAMES

Hey, this is really:• Arousing• Exciting• Pleasurable• Diversionary

Hey, this is really:• Reflective• Inspiring• Expressive• Meaningful


VIDEO GAMES

• 97.6% fun vs. 71.9% meaningful

• “insight” as separate need• “Pleasure of Control”• “Pleasure of Cognition”


VIDEO GAMES Enjoyment AppreciationStep 1: Controls Gender -.05 -.22***

Age -.09 -.10+

∆R2 .01 .06***

Step 2: Intrinsic Needs Competence .47*** -.02 Autonomy .13* .02 Relatedness .01 .36***

Insight -.05 .58***

∆R2 .28*** .69***

Step 3: CA Identification -.08 -.01 Suspension of Disbelief .00 .03 Control .12* -.06+

Responsibility -.08 .10**

∆R2 .02+ .01+


VIDEO GAMES

• Implications

??


MOVING FORWARD IU Guest Lecture


MOVING FORWARD

• Perspective Demand? – Assumption is that “forced

perspective” drives presence, driving up enjoyment

– Lots of (anecdotal) evidence suggesting forced perspective to be detrimental to fun (task demanding?)


MOVING FORWARD

Task DemandUser Agency0 = Yes, 1 = No

User Perspective0 = 2D; 1 = 3D

Performance

Presence

Enjoyment

- +

++

+-

-?

+R2 ~ 1.00

User experience drives down task demand.


MOVING FORWARD

• Recall Demand? – Entertainment = Enjoyment +

Appreciation– If you can’t process the

narrative, then you don’t have anything to appreciate.


VIDEO GAMES (REMEMBER?) Enjoyment AppreciationStep 1: Controls Gender -.05 -.22***

Age -.09 -.10+

∆R2 .01 .06***

Step 2: Intrinsic Needs Competence .47*** -.02 Autonomy .13* .02 Relatedness .01 .36***

Insight -.05 .58***

∆R2 .28*** .69***

Step 3: CA Identification -.08 -.01 Suspension of Disbelief .00 .03 Control .12* -.06+

Responsibility -.08 .10**

∆R2 .02+ .01+


MOVING FORWARD

Narrative Recall Task Demand

Enjoyment

Appreciation

Evaluation

+

+

+

- (?) R2 ~ 1.00-

-

- (?)


EPILOGUEIU Guest Lecture


WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?

• As we try to understand the psychology of the video game experience, we have to understand our capacity to play as well as our capacity to reflect …

• …and our capacity period.


WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?

• Not…

• …but?

Unenjoyable Very Enjoyable

Non-meaningful Very Meaningful

Very Enjoyable Very Meaningful


FOR MORE INFORMATION

• Nick Bowman, Ph.D. [CV]Twitter (@bowmanspartan)Skype (nicholasdbowman)[email protected]

Media and Interaction Lab

Need references for cited materials? Contact me!

http://ndbowman.info/cv.htm

mailto:[email protected]


COLLABORATORS AND INSPIRATIONS• Andrew Billings• Frank Biocca• Jennings Bryant• Mun-Yun Chung• Mary Beth Oliver• Art Raney• Ryan Rogers

• John Sherry• Brett Sherrick• Ron Tamborini• Rene Weber• Julia Woolley• [everyone mentioned

via Twitter!]

Education

What is the Meaning of this? Understanding the contentious(?) relationship between videogame play and videogame narrative