Online Game Elements, Players and the Bond Between Them Sandra Schweizer Master of Science in Computer Science Submission date: August 2017 Supervisor: Pekka Abrahamsson, IDI Co-supervisor: Anh Nguyen Duc, IDI Norwegian University of Science and Technology Department of Computer Science Sandra Schweizer Online Game Elements, Players and the Bond Between Them TDT4900 Computer Science, Master Project Trondheim, August 2017 Supervisor: Prof. Pekka Abrahamsson Co-supervisor: Anh Nguyen Duc Former Co-supervisor: Prof. Juhani Risku Norwegian University of Science and Technology Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering Department of Computer Science Abstract English In our modern life, playing games has become a common habit for almost everybody. Especially online games have experienced a big boom the last years, with millions of people playing each day. But what makes online games so successful? Why are they so popular? What it is that makes player passionate about gaming, even addicted? These are just a few questions which this research paper is trying to answer. This research is looking at the very components of each video game, dividing it into its essential game elements. At the same time, the player’s emotions and experiences in gaming are analyzed, trying to find the reason behind the player’s passion for games. Also, the effect of games on the player has been put into focus, finding the mechanisms which affect the player’s experience of reality. A theoretical framework has been created and validated through a case study. In total, 14 online video games players have been interviewed about their experiences in gaming. Additionally, five of all players have participated in further observations and follow-up interviews. The results have been analyzed in this research paper. The results are that socializing, achievements and immersion play a big role for players to feel motivated to play, as well as the way an online game stimulates a player’s brain. Norwegian I vårt nåværende liv kan dataspill ikke tenkes bort lenger. Dem har blitt til en viktig del av livet til de fleste, med mange millioner spillere i hele verden. Men hvorfor er spill så populært og suksessfulle? Hvordan gjør dem at gamerne mister følelse for tid og sted mens dem spiller? Hva gjør at folk utvikler en så stor lidenskap for spill at dem glemmer alt annet i livet deres? Disse spørsmålene og mange andre prøver dette studie å svare på. Oppbygning til ethvert dataspill har blitt analysert for å dele det opp i sine essensielle spill elementer. Samtidig ble det satt fokus på spillerens opplevelse og erfaringene for å forklare lidenskapen som ligger bak for dataspill. I tillegg har spillets effekt på 14 deltaker blitt undersøkt med både intervju og observasjoner, for å finne de mekanismene som påvirker spillerens opplevelse av realiteten. iii iv Acknowledgement I would like to thank my supervisors, Prof. Pekka Abrahamsson and Prof. Juhani Risku, for their continuous advice, suggestions, discussions and most of all, the jokes which kept me lighthearted and motivated throughout writing this thesis. I appreciate the way Prof. Pekka can get to the point right away, as much as the endless discussions I had with Prof. Juhani, while drifting further and further away from the actual topic. Both have provided me with the most useful and insightful advice, which I needed to make this research possible in the first place. I would also like to thank Anh Nguyen, who worked with me to make a good case study for this thesis. His advice was both useful and meaningful, teaching me how to reduce the number of questions to half their size, while even making them better in the process. Furthermore, I would like to thank Daniel Graziotin, for the time he spends on the useful feedback which made this thesis better. Last but not least, I need to thank Sibylle Schweizer, who never let me down when I was completely stuck in my research, while all I needed was a little push in the right direction. Her logic sees right through the thick layers of chaos, untainted with what she is confronted with. It is true what they say: Mom Knows Best. v vi Table of Contents List of Tables ............................................................................................................................ xi List of Figures .......................................................................................................................... xi Acronyms ............................................................................................................................... xiii 1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background ................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Research Problem ...................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Scope of Research ...................................................................................................... 3 1.4 Research Method ....................................................................................................... 3 1.5 Structure of Thesis..................................................................................................... 3 2 Related Work .................................................................................................................... 4 2.1 Key Concepts.............................................................................................................. 4 2.1.1 Definition of Hobby and Habit ............................................................................. 4 2.1.2 Definition of Passion: The dualistic Model of Passion ........................................ 4 2.1.3 Difference between hobby, habit and passion ...................................................... 5 2.1.4 Definition of Internet Addiction ........................................................................... 6 2.1.5 Correlations between Internet Addiction and Online Video Game Addiction .... 9 2.2 History of gaming ...................................................................................................... 9 2.2.1 Arcade Games .................................................................................................... 10 2.2.2 Console systems ................................................................................................. 12 2.2.3 Home computers/ LAN Games .......................................................................... 13 2.2.4 Internet Connectivity .......................................................................................... 14 2.2.5 Unstructured Games ........................................................................................... 15 2.2.6 Games with Player Generation of Content ......................................................... 15 2.2.7 Massive Multi-Player Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG) ...................... 16 2.2.8 Social networking sites ....................................................................................... 17 2.2.9 Open virtual worlds ............................................................................................ 18 vii 2.2.10 Summary ............................................................................................................ 19 3 Framework ...................................................................................................................... 21 3.1 Game Elements ........................................................................................................ 21 3.2 General Definition ................................................................................................... 21 3.3 List of Game Elements ............................................................................................ 22 3.3.1 Components ........................................................................................................ 25 3.3.2 Environment ....................................................................................................... 25 3.3.3 Game Mechanics ................................................................................................ 25 3.3.4 Balance Principle - An Addictive Game Element .............................................. 26 3.3.5 Game Rewards ................................................................................................... 26 3.3.6 Game Goals ........................................................................................................ 29 3.4 Player Experience .................................................................................................... 30 3.4.1 Brain Activity while Playing Games .................................................................. 30 3.4.2 Personality of the Player .................................................................................... 32 3.4.3 Gender Differences and Similarities in Socializing ........................................... 34 3.4.4 Motivation .......................................................................................................... 34 3.4.5 The Impact of flow ............................................................................................. 37 3.4.6 Immersion ........................................................................................................... 38 3.4.7 Social interaction ...............................................................................................