Adaptive Technologies in Digital Games: The Influence of Perception of Adaptivity on Immersion Alena Denisova Doctor of Philosophy University of York Computer Science November 2016 ii The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ’Eureka!’ but ‘That’s funny...’ — Isaac Asimov Abstract Digital games with adaptive technologies offer more tailored experiences to their play- ers, as gameplay is based on the players’ performances and behaviours in the game. This could potentially lead to better gaming experiences. Though it is also possible that just the mere expectation of clever AI could affect players’ first impressions and sub- sequently their perceived experiences. At the present moment, there is little empirical evidence supporting this claim. This research aims to gather empirical evidence to test the hypothesis that players’ expectations of an adaptive digital game have an effect on their immersion. For this, three studies were conducted. First, preferences were explored as a form of expecta- tions that could influence immersion. The results show no effect of preferences with regards to the visual perspective on immersion. A more controlled manipulation in the form of game descriptions was then used in the subsequent experiments. Participants played a game without adaptive features while being told that the game was adapting to their performance. As a result, players who believed that the game had adaptive AI experienced higher levels of immersion than the players who were not aware of it. Sim- ilarly, when playing the game twice people felt more immersed in the session that was supposedly adapting to their behaviour, in spite of experiencing the same gameplay as in the other session. This effect was then explored in more detail in games with adaptive features. For this, two games were developed to adapt in two distinct ways to players’ performance in the game. Immersion was affected differently depending on the precision of information about these adaptive features. More detailed information prompts players to change their tactics to incorporate the adaptation into their play and experience the benefits of this feature. Merely being aware of the adaptation leads to more immersion, regard- less of its presence in the game. Similarly, the presence of an adaptive feature in the game leads to heightened sense of immersion, which is enhanced by the precision of information players receive about it. Evidence also suggests that this effect is durable. Overall, this research provides empirical evidence to support the hypothesis that play- ers’ expectations of adaptive features in single-player games have a positive effect on immersion. This is a valuable contribution to the theoretical understanding of immer- sion, while it also provides some insights into the potential precautions that should be considered when conducting experiments into player experience in the lab and ‘in the wild’, both in academic studies and during player testing sessions run by game developers. v Contents Abstractv Table of Contents vii List of Figures xii List of Tables xiii Acknowledgements xv Declaration xvii 1 introduction1 1.1 Research Motivation . 2 1.2 Research Question and Objectives . 4 1.3 Research Approach and Methodology . 5 1.4 Research Scope . 8 1.5 Research Contributions . 10 1.6 Ethical Statement . 11 i background 13 2 digital games and player experience 15 2.1 Digital Games . 17 2.2 Player Motivations . 19 2.2.1 Player Experience of Need Satisfaction . 21 2.3 Player Experience Research . 23 2.3.1 Flow .............................. 24 2.3.2 Presence . 26 2.3.3 Engagement . 28 2.3.4 Immersion . 30 2.4 Immersion in Digital Games . 31 2.4.1 Immersion Definition . 32 2.4.2 Models of Immersion . 34 2.5 Measuring Player Experience . 41 2.5.1 Questionnaires Measuring Player Experience . 43 2.6 Influence on Immersion . 47 2.6.1 Environmental and Hardware Influence . 48 2.6.2 Games Influence on Player Experience . 49 2.7 Player Predispositions . 51 2.7.1 Expectations in Digital Games . 52 2.8 Summary . 55 vii viii contents 3 adaptive technologies in digital games 57 3.1 Challenge in Digital Games . 57 3.2 Adaptive and Adaptable Technologies in Games . 60 3.3 Perception of Adaptive Technology in Digital Games . 64 3.4 Summary . 66 ii measuring gaming experience 67 4 study i: measuring player experience 69 4.1 Measuring Immersion . 69 4.2 Choosing from Existing Questionnaires . 70 4.3 Experimental Method . 72 4.3.1 Participants . 72 4.3.2 Materials . 72 4.3.3 Procedure . 74 4.4 Results . 74 4.4.1 Scale Reliability . 74 4.4.2 Principle Component Analysis . 75 4.4.3 Scale Correlations . 78 4.4.4 Item Correlations . 80 4.5 Discussion . 83 4.6 Choosing Immersion Questionnaire . 85 iii expectations in digital games 87 5 study ii: preferences in visual perspectives 91 5.1 Visual Perspectives . 91 5.2 Experimental Method . 94 5.2.1 Participants . 94 5.2.2 Materials . 95 5.2.3 Procedure . 96 5.3 Results . 98 5.3.1 Perspectives . 98 5.3.2 Previous Experience . 99 5.4 Discussion . 101 5.5 Conclusions . 104 6 studies iii & iv: information accuracy about adapta- tion and immersion 105 6.1 Expectations and the Placebo Effect . 105 6.1.1 “Scientific” Explanation . 106 6.1.2 Adaptive Technologies . 107 6.2 Study III: Placebo Effect when Comparing Two Gaming Sessions108 6.3 Experimental Method . 109 contents ix 6.3.1 Participants . 109 6.3.2 Materials . 110 6.3.3 Procedure . 110 6.4 Results . 113 6.4.1 Previous Experience . 114 6.4.2 Quantitative Comparison of Two Sessions . 115 6.4.3 Qualitative Comparison of Two Sessions . 116 6.5 Discussion . 117 6.6 Study IV: Placebo Effect during One Gaming Session . 118 6.7 Experimental Method . 119 6.7.1 Participants . 119 6.7.2 Materials . 120 6.7.3 Procedure . 120 6.8 Results . 121 6.8.1 Quantitative Evaluation of Adaptation . 122 6.8.2 Qualitative Evaluation of Adaptation . 123 6.9 Discussion . 124 6.10 Conclusions . 126 iv information about adaptive technology in digital games 129 7 study v: adaptive timer 133 7.1 Time pressure in Digital Games . 133 7.2 Experimental Method . 135 7.2.1 The Game . 136 7.2.2 Procedure . 137 7.3 Results . 138 7.4 Discussion . 141 8 study vi: information precision about adaptation and immersion 143 8.1 Expectations of Adaptive Technology . 143 8.2 Experimental Method . 144 8.2.1 Participants . 145 8.2.2 Materials . 145 8.2.3 Procedure . 146 8.3 Adaptation and Information about Adaptation . 148 8.3.1 The Influence on Immersion . 148 8.3.2 The Influence on Scores . 150 8.4 Mediating the Effect of Adaptation and Information on Im- mersion . 151 8.5 Scores and Play Duration . 154 x contents 8.5.1 The Influence on Immersion . 154 8.5.2 The Influence on Scores . 154 8.6 Perceived Expertise . 156 8.6.1 The Influence on Immersion . 157 8.6.2 The Influence on Scores . 159 8.7 Achievement of the Goal . 160 8.8 Qualitative Results . 161 8.8.1 Question 1: Timer Adaptation Interpretation . 162 8.8.2 Question 2: Influence on Performance . 164 8.8.3 Question 3: Influence on Gaming Experience . 165 8.9 Discussion . 167 8.10 Conclusions . 171 9 study vii: durability of the effect of adaptation on immersion 173 9.1 Introduction . 173 9.2 Experimental Method . 174 9.2.1 Participants . 174 9.2.2 Materials . 175 9.2.3 Procedure . 177 9.3 Quantitative Results . 178 9.4 Qualitative Results . 184 9.4.1 Question 1: Changes in the Game due to DDA . 185 9.4.2 Question 2: Difficulty in the Game Based on the DDA . 186 9.4.3 Question 3: DDA Matching Skills of Players . 186 9.4.4 Question 4: Fairness of the DDA . ..