University of Bremen Doctoral Thesis Human Computation and Human Subject Tasks in Social Network Playful Applications Supervisors: Author: Dr. Rainer Malaka Aneta Takhtamysheva Dr. Andreas Breiter A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Engineering (Dr.-Ing.) in the Digital Media Mathematics and Informatics March 2016 Declaration of Authorship I, Aneta Takhtamysheva, declare that this thesis titled, ’Human Computation and Human Subject Tasks in Social Network Playful Applications’ and the work presented in it are my own. I confirm that: This work was done wholly or mainly while in candidature for a research degree at this University. Where any part of this thesis has previously been submitted for a degree or any other qualification at this University or any other institution, this has been clearly stated. Where I have consulted the published work of others, this is always clearly at- tributed. Where I have quoted from the work of others, the source is always given. With the exception of such quotations, this thesis is entirely my own work. I have acknowledged all main sources of help. Where the thesis is based on work done by myself jointly with others, I have made clear exactly what was done by others and what I have contributed myself. Signed: Date: ii UNIVERSITY OF BREMEN Abstract Mathematics and Informatics Doctor of Engineering (Dr.-Ing.) Human Computation and Human Subject Tasks in Social Network Playful Applications by Aneta Takhtamysheva Universal connectivity has made crowdsourcing - an online activity of a crowd toward the completion of a goal requested by someone in an open call - possible. The question rises whether users can be motivated to perform those tasks by intrinsic rather than extrinsic factors (money, valuables). The current work explores the gamification approach in order to appeal to the intrinsic motivation of players Namely, instead of bringing the serious task into the major focus of the contributors, it proposes to use storytelling and playful metaphorsastheelementsthatcanmasktheserioustasksandatthesametimemay attract the attention of potential contributors. Furthermore, it explores the possibilities of constructing such system as social network playful applications and employs Facebook as a distribution platform. The results demonstrate a positive feedback of the players. Identified are also differences in female and male players’ attitudes, which gives space for a deeper research of the players’ profiling and motivation in the future. Acknowledgements This project would have never happened without a generous funding of the Klaus Tschira Stiftung (KTS), and a support of the graduate school ”Advances in Digital Media”. I would love to express my gratitude to Professor Dr. Rainer Malaka for guidance and encouragement throughout the stages of doubt and insecurity, Professor Dr. Andreas Breiter for the great feedback to improve my thesis paper, Kostya for enormous support with the programming/technical side of the project, Till for the database and image processing tips, Markus for his unceasing enthusiasm and programming help, Jan for his great article co-editing efforts, Irmgard for the friendliest technical support, Krystal for proofreading this work and helping to stuff it with as many articles as it could bear, all Digital Media group members for the feedback and encouragement, numerous usability pre-testers from the University of Bremen for their time and insightful feedback, and a few more great programmers that helped me throughout different stages of the project. Finally, my family members and closest friends gave me the patience, encouragement, and support to continue and have a great time! iv Contents Declaration of Authorship ii Abstract iii Acknowledgements iv List of Figures ix List of Tables xi 1 Introduction 1 2 Collective Intelligence Contribution Systems 3 2.1 Research Question ............................... 3 2.2 Taxonomy of Collective Intelligence ...................... 4 2.2.1 Human Computation Tasks Types .................. 4 2.2.2 Forms of Motivation .......................... 5 2.3 Crowdsourcing from the Perspective of Human Computation Tasks .... 6 2.4 Human Computation Tasks on Content Sharing Platforms ......... 10 2.5 Playful Human Computation Applications .................. 10 2.6 Collective Intelligence and Games ....................... 12 2.6.1 Ontology and Data Labeling ..................... 13 2.6.2 Spatial Reasoning and Cognition ................... 16 2.6.3 Human-Computer Interaction Research ............... 17 2.6.4 Geotagging ............................... 18 2.7 Players Response to the Playful Human Computation Platforms ..... 18 2.8 Conclusions ................................... 20 3 Motivation in Games 23 3.1 Definition of Game ............................... 23 3.2 Game Motivation: User-Centered Perspective ................ 24 3.2.1 Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) ................ 24 3.2.2 User Gratification Approach ..................... 25 3.2.3 Social Influence Model (SIM) ..................... 27 3.2.4 Self-Determination Theory ...................... 28 3.3 Game Motivation: Game Experience Prospective .............. 28 v Contents 3.3.1 Flow Theory .............................. 28 3.3.2 Variety of Experience ......................... 31 3.3.3 Aesthetics Aspect of the MDA framework .............. 33 3.3.4 Typology of Players .......................... 36 3.3.5 Game Immersion ............................ 37 3.4 General Game Heuristics: Usability and Playability ............. 38 3.4.1 Major Heuristics systems ....................... 38 3.4.2 Evaluation process ........................... 43 3.5 Conclusions ................................... 43 4SocialNetworkGames 45 4.1 The Definition and Essence of Social Network Games ............ 45 4.2 Social Game Heuristics and Models ...................... 48 4.3 Social Network Game Construction Guidelines ............... 51 4.4 Maturity Stages of Players ........................... 53 4.5 Social Game Players: Categorization and Motivation ........... 56 4.5.1 Statistical Overview .......................... 56 4.5.2 Social Player Attitudes and Behavioral Patterns .......... 57 4.6 Issues of Social Games ............................ 58 4.7 Conclusions ................................... 59 5 Research Studies 61 5.1 Motivation ................................... 61 5.2 User Study ................................... 62 5.2.1 Methodology .............................. 62 5.2.2 Results ................................. 64 5.2.3 Conclusions and Discussion ...................... 73 5.3 Current Social Network Games Overview .................. 74 5.3.1 Simulation Games ........................... 75 5.3.2 Action and Arcade Games ....................... 76 5.3.3 Family and Adventure Games ..................... 77 5.3.4 Board and Card Games ........................ 78 5.3.5 Puzzle, Trivia, and Word Games ................... 79 5.3.6 Strategy ................................. 80 5.3.7 Sports .................................. 80 5.4 Conclusion ................................... 81 6 Playfulness in Serious Applications 83 6.1 Introduction ................................... 83 6.2 Playful Questionnaire ............................. 84 6.2.1 Design Principles ............................ 84 6.2.2 Quality Control ............................. 87 6.3 Controlled Evaluation ............................. 88 6.3.1 Self-evaluated distraction of playful elements ............ 89 6.3.2 Perception of Applications ....................... 90 6.3.3 Latency to Recommend ........................ 90 6.3.4 Application Preference ......................... 91 vi Contents 6.3.5 Earnestness in Responses ....................... 92 6.3.6 Usability Issues ............................. 92 6.3.7 Performance in a Time-Constrained Environment .......... 93 6.4 Facebook Studies ................................ 94 6.4.1 First Facebook Study: General Evaluation of the Playful Appli- cation’s Performance Among Female Facebook Users ........ 94 6.4.2 Second Facebook Study: Performance Comparison of Plain and Playful Applications Among Female Users .............. 97 6.4.3 Third Facebook Study: Comparison of the Performance of the Plain and Playful Applications for Both Genders ..........100 6.5 Conclusions and Discussion ..........................103 7 Social Network Game with Human Computation Elements 107 7.1 Introduction ...................................107 7.2 Image Tagging .................................108 7.3 Architect Game .................................113 7.3.1 Theoretical Models of Motivation ...................113 7.3.2 Aesthetics, Engagement and Motivation ...............114 7.3.3 Game Activities ............................117 7.3.4 Image Database ............................119 7.3.5 Selection of Materials and Order Placement .............119 7.3.6 Shipping Materials Activity ......................120 7.3.7 Asset Construction Activity ......................122 7.3.8 Rating Activity .............................122 7.3.9 Facebook Integration ..........................123 7.3.10 Technical Aspects ...........................124 7.4 Facebook User Studies .............................125 7.4.1 Performance with Female Users Only .................125 7.4.2 Performance with Male Users Involved ................129 7.5 Tag Quality Evaluation ............................130 7.5.1 Tag Quality Reporting .........................130 7.5.2 Image Quality Study ..........................131 7.6 Conclusions, Discussion