Running head: THE EFFECTS OF DIGITAL GAMES ON ENTERTAINMENT EXPERIENCES The Effects of Digital Games on Hedonic, Eudaimonic and Telic Entertainment Experiences Anna Sophie Kümpel & Julian Unkel LMU Munich Author Note Anna Sophie Kümpel (MA, LMU Munich) is a researcher and Ph.D. student of communication at the Department of Communication Studies and Media Research at LMU Munich. Her research interests are focused on media effects in the context of social media, online news and video games. Contact: Department of Communication Studies and Media Research, LMU Munich, Oettingenstr. 67, 80538 Munich, Germany. E-mail:
[email protected] Julian Unkel (MA, LMU Munich) is a Ph.D. student of communication at the Department of Communication Studies and Media Research at LMU Munich and a research team member at the Munich Center for Internet Research at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities. His research interests are focused on selection processes online and media effects in the context of search engines, video streaming sites and video games. Contact: Department of Communication Studies and Media Research, LMU Munich, Oettingenstr. 67, 80538 Munich, Germany. E-mail:
[email protected] 1 THE EFFECTS OF DIGITAL GAMES ON ENTERTAINMENT EXPERIENCES Abstract This study extends current research on media entertainment by examining the effects of (perceived) game characteristics on hedonic, eudaimonic and telic entertainment experiences. Furthermore, differentiating between meaningful and nonmeaningful games, we investigated whether these game types lead to the experience of different gaming-related emotions and what determines their discontinuation. Building on an online survey with 325 German gamers, we found a game’s narrative, its mechanics, the satisfaction of basic needs and perceived cognitive and affective challenge are associated with the three entertainment experiences in distinct ways.