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INVESTIGATING FLOW, PRESENCE, AND ENGAGEMENT IN INDEPENDENT VIDEO GAME MECHANICS

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Date Issued:
2014
Abstract/Description:
Video games are being studied today more than ever before. The engagement that they generate with the user, if harnessed, is thought to have applications across numerous other fields. Educators especially wish to implement elements of gaming into supplemental activities to help further interest students in the learning process. Many claim that this is because classroom's today are in direct contradiction with the real home life of students. Student's today were born into the fast paced world of the digital realm, frequently multi-tasking between watching television, playing games, doing homework, and socializing. As educators begin to create game like experiences to drive student engagement they will seek to create interactions that foster the psychological phenomena of flow, presence, and engagement. Each of these three processes helps play a key role in what makes video games the attention-grabbing medium that they are. When creating games it would be beneficial to know which type of game mechanics reinforce these phenomena the most. The goal of this study is to investigate, Super Meat Boy and Limbo, two very similar games with very different mechanical representations and see which game is more engaging in these three areas. Twenty- nine participants played one of the two games for forty-five minutes, completed three separate measurements, and were observed throughout the process. The results were analyzed and found one game to indeed be more engaging than the other.
Title: INVESTIGATING FLOW, PRESENCE, AND ENGAGEMENT IN INDEPENDENT VIDEO GAME MECHANICS.
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Name(s): Dunaj, Jon, Author
McDaniel, Rudy, Committee Chair
University of Central Florida, Degree Grantor
Type of Resource: text
Date Issued: 2014
Publisher: University of Central Florida
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: Video games are being studied today more than ever before. The engagement that they generate with the user, if harnessed, is thought to have applications across numerous other fields. Educators especially wish to implement elements of gaming into supplemental activities to help further interest students in the learning process. Many claim that this is because classroom's today are in direct contradiction with the real home life of students. Student's today were born into the fast paced world of the digital realm, frequently multi-tasking between watching television, playing games, doing homework, and socializing. As educators begin to create game like experiences to drive student engagement they will seek to create interactions that foster the psychological phenomena of flow, presence, and engagement. Each of these three processes helps play a key role in what makes video games the attention-grabbing medium that they are. When creating games it would be beneficial to know which type of game mechanics reinforce these phenomena the most. The goal of this study is to investigate, Super Meat Boy and Limbo, two very similar games with very different mechanical representations and see which game is more engaging in these three areas. Twenty- nine participants played one of the two games for forty-five minutes, completed three separate measurements, and were observed throughout the process. The results were analyzed and found one game to indeed be more engaging than the other.
Identifier: CFH0004625 (IID), ucf:45268 (fedora)
Note(s): 2014-05-01
B.A.
Arts and Humanities, School of Visual Arts and Design
Bachelors
This record was generated from author submitted information.
Subject(s): Flow
Engagement
Video Game
Presence
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004625
Restrictions on Access: public
Host Institution: UCF

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