User experience in playing a digital game in different situations

Digital gaming is receiving more and more attention in the academic research. Games are studied in different situations with numerous methods, but little is known how the playing situation affects the user experience (UX) in games. In addition, it is hard to understand and study the psychology of UX in games. The aim of this study is to compare the UX in playing the first-person shooter Halo in a laboratory and at home. Multidimensional UX is profiled according to a psychological framework measuring the level of involvement, sense of presence and flow in a between-subjects design. Statistically the structure of the framework is grounded on a large and heterogeneous game-player dataset (n=2182). The results showed that the profile of the sense of presence in the laboratory included higher levels of attention and arousal as compared to that of the natural environment. This finding was independent from any of the measured background variables. Other differences between the two situations were more related to the participants’ background. For example, players at home were more involved in the game and they felt higher level of competence. There were no strong emotional differences between the two situations. In the end, the terminology used to explain experiential phenomena is discussed. The situational impact on UX in games should be considered when laboratory studies are designed, participants are recruited and results are compared across the gaming situations.

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