Doing It Themselves! A Mixed-Method Study into the Motivations of Players to 'Create' in the Context of Gaming

In this paper we explore how user-generated content in digital games can be conceived within the conventional knowledge of player motivations and uses. In this study we focus on players of two particular games: Spore (PC, Mac) and LittleBigPlanet (PS3). Both titles have been promoted as creative game experiences and have introduced several popular user-generated content principles into mainstream gaming. Consequently, we can ask ourselves if and how these new game mechanics have an impact on players‟ uses and gratifications? Our data have been collected through a multi-method approach, combining in-depth interviews (N = 8) and an online survey (N = 97). The results show that the appeal of create-games lies in a mixture of traditional gaming motives and the will to create new gaming experiences.

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