Paper Information
| Title | Rules of Engagement: Influence of Co-Player Presence on Player Involvement in Digital Games |
| Presenter(s) | Brian Gajadhar, Yvonne de Kort and Wijnand IJsselsteijn |
| Session | Player Involvement |
| Time | Saturday, October 11, 10:15a-11:15a |
| Location | Parlor A |
| Format | Paper Presentation |
| Description | Our research focuses on measurable differences in player experience between solitary and social play, and explores experiences of playing digital games together. The role of co-player presence in player experience is still largely unknown. Recent studies indicate that social components enrich player enjoyment, yet at the same time several scholars consider social presence a threat to player involvement. The current paper presents an empirical study of social presence as a determinant of player experience. In particular it reports effects on player involvement. Results showed players' involvement was maintained and even increased with mediated or co-located co-players as compared to solitary play. We conclude that co-players do not break the spell of a game, but become part of the magic circle. |
| Top Paper Award | This paper was selected by the program committee as a Meaningful Play 2008 Top Paper. It has been submitted to the Meaningful Play 2008 Special Issue of the International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations (IJGCMS), which will be available in July-September 2009 issue. Due to the copyright requirements of the journal, only the abstract is available in the conference proceedings. |