Audience experience in social videogaming: effects of turn expectation and game physicality

Videogames are often played socially with both co-players and audiences. Audience members' experiences are not well understood, nor are the factors of videogaming sessions that influence their experience. We conducted a study to examine the effects of game physicality and turn anticipation on audience members' experiences in social videogaming sessions. Pairs of participants played games under three conditions of physicality (controller-based, Wii, and Kinect) and their expectation of turn-taking was manipulated. Their enjoyment, game engagement, social engagement and sense of participation were measured. We found that the introduction of turn-taking into the session had positive effects for audience members -- both anticipated and residual play effects -- and that Kinect gameplay resulted in a more enjoyable experience for audience members. We argue that audience members' experience changes as they become more active within a session, and suggest there are design opportunities between purely active 'players' and passive 'audience members'.