Burnout sadly remains an evergreen topic in the games industry, with the current historic wave of layoffs adding major stress for almost everyone. In this piece, clinical psychologist and Clinical Director of Take This, Raffael Boccamazzo, clears up some of the misconceptions around burnout, explaining what it is, what creates the conditions for it—and why it is not a matter of personal failure.
{"title":"The Trouble with Burnout","authors":"Raffael Boccamazzo","doi":"10.1145/3651281","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3651281","url":null,"abstract":"Burnout sadly remains an evergreen topic in the games industry, with the current historic wave of layoffs adding major stress for almost everyone. In this piece, clinical psychologist and Clinical Director of Take This, Raffael Boccamazzo, clears up some of the misconceptions around burnout, explaining what it is, what creates the conditions for it—and why it is not a matter of personal failure.","PeriodicalId":517178,"journal":{"name":"Games: Research and Practice","volume":"27 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141802751","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
With the development of virtual reality (VR) technology, various VR devices are flooding the market. VR head-mounted displays (HMDs) sales are overgrowing as the primary medium for experiencing VR games. Therefore, exploring user concerns about HMDs is significant, enabling developers to design better VR devices and VR games. In this work, we conduct an empirical study of 7,413 VR games and 176,428 player reviews collected from three platforms (i.e., Oculus, Steam, and Viveport). First, we investigate the evolutionary trends of HMDs based on VR games. Subsequently, we extract nine topics (e.g., cybersickness, performance, and privacy) related to HMDs from game reviews that users are concerned about, analyze the emotional trends, and explore the voices of players. We find that users complain less about the cybersickness and immersion of HMDs and more about other topics (e.g., performance, tracking, and compatibility). In addition, more users have expressed concerns about privacy in recent years.
{"title":"An Empirical Study of VR Head-Mounted Displays Based on VR Games Reviews","authors":"Yijun Lu, K. Ota, M. Dong","doi":"10.1145/3665988","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3665988","url":null,"abstract":"With the development of virtual reality (VR) technology, various VR devices are flooding the market. VR head-mounted displays (HMDs) sales are overgrowing as the primary medium for experiencing VR games. Therefore, exploring user concerns about HMDs is significant, enabling developers to design better VR devices and VR games. In this work, we conduct an empirical study of 7,413 VR games and 176,428 player reviews collected from three platforms (i.e., Oculus, Steam, and Viveport). First, we investigate the evolutionary trends of HMDs based on VR games. Subsequently, we extract nine topics (e.g., cybersickness, performance, and privacy) related to HMDs from game reviews that users are concerned about, analyze the emotional trends, and explore the voices of players. We find that users complain less about the cybersickness and immersion of HMDs and more about other topics (e.g., performance, tracking, and compatibility). In addition, more users have expressed concerns about privacy in recent years.","PeriodicalId":517178,"journal":{"name":"Games: Research and Practice","volume":"25 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141814532","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In recent years, the boom of Virtual Reality (VR) technology has signaled fruitful applications in various fields, such as education, industry, animation, entertainment, game, and so forth. The global VR games market is projected to grow to $53.44 billion in 2028 at a CAGR of 31.4% in the 2021-2028 period. Therefore, what players care about most about VR games is a topic worthy of research. In this paper, we conduct an in-depth study of 1362 VR games and 484070 reviews on the Steam platform. Unlike other literature focusing only on monolingual reviews (such as English), we apply the topic clustering model (BERTopic) to comprehensively analyze multilingual user reviews, including English, Simplified Chinese, and French. We find that the three features people praise the most are the music, the gaming experience, and the gameplay. Meanwhile, gamers’ most common complaints are bug issues, insufficient content, and excessive pricing.
{"title":"What Are the Points of Concern for Players about VR Games: An Empirical Study based on User Reviews in Different Languages","authors":"Jiong Dong, K. Ota, M. Dong","doi":"10.1145/3663739","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3663739","url":null,"abstract":"In recent years, the boom of Virtual Reality (VR) technology has signaled fruitful applications in various fields, such as education, industry, animation, entertainment, game, and so forth. The global VR games market is projected to grow to $53.44 billion in 2028 at a CAGR of 31.4% in the 2021-2028 period. Therefore, what players care about most about VR games is a topic worthy of research. In this paper, we conduct an in-depth study of 1362 VR games and 484070 reviews on the Steam platform. Unlike other literature focusing only on monolingual reviews (such as English), we apply the topic clustering model (BERTopic) to comprehensively analyze multilingual user reviews, including English, Simplified Chinese, and French. We find that the three features people praise the most are the music, the gaming experience, and the gameplay. Meanwhile, gamers’ most common complaints are bug issues, insufficient content, and excessive pricing.","PeriodicalId":517178,"journal":{"name":"Games: Research and Practice","volume":"5 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141816574","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
To explore ‘what good looks like’ for children’s play in a digital world, the Digital Futures Commission consulted children, companies, policymakers, regulators and academics. Responding to public scepticism that play online could match the benefits of traditional free play, our research compared insights from play in non-digital and digital contexts and integrated them within a holistic account of how play possibilities emerge from the intersection of people, products and places, conceived at micro, meso and macro levels. This very complexity helps to transcend reductive judgments about digital play and suggests multiple levers for design innovation, synthesised as ‘Playful by Design’ principles. We operationalised these by co-designing an interactive tool for developers and designers of children’s digital play. Finally, by mapping the principles to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, we position play as a use case for the broader agenda of Child Rights by Design.
{"title":"Playful by Design: Embedding Children's Rights into the Digital World","authors":"Angela Colvert, Kruakae Pothong, Sonia Livingstone","doi":"10.1145/3678469","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3678469","url":null,"abstract":"To explore ‘what good looks like’ for children’s play in a digital world, the Digital Futures Commission consulted children, companies, policymakers, regulators and academics. Responding to public scepticism that play online could match the benefits of traditional free play, our research compared insights from play in non-digital and digital contexts and integrated them within a holistic account of how play possibilities emerge from the intersection of people, products and places, conceived at micro, meso and macro levels. This very complexity helps to transcend reductive judgments about digital play and suggests multiple levers for design innovation, synthesised as ‘Playful by Design’ principles. We operationalised these by co-designing an interactive tool for developers and designers of children’s digital play. Finally, by mapping the principles to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, we position play as a use case for the broader agenda of Child Rights by Design.","PeriodicalId":517178,"journal":{"name":"Games: Research and Practice","volume":" 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141828706","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Toxicity in video games, acting in a rude, abusive, bullying, or deliberately losing manner, ruins competitive team-based video game experiences for everyone involved. Companies are experimenting with the detection, regulation, and bans of toxic players. Regulation attempts are foiled by the ease with which players can switch accounts by creating new profiles to evade consequences. This paper applies the framework of Friedman and Resnick (2001), “The Social Cost of Cheap Pseudonyms”, to address the reputational and repetition cost of online pseudonyms in the niche environment of video game toxicity. Four potential solutions are discussed in the context of modern video game regulation: resource-intensive account set-up, paid dues, real-world identification, and a once-in-a-lifetime identification system that creates a permanent, traceable record of toxicity. The paper covers the strengths, weaknesses, feasibility, implementation challenges, and player impact of the potential implementation of these solutions in video game networks.
{"title":"The Toxic Cost of Cheap Usernames: Re-Applying Friedman and Resnick's Framework in Competitive Video Game Networks","authors":"Sarah Chen","doi":"10.1145/3669936","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3669936","url":null,"abstract":"Toxicity in video games, acting in a rude, abusive, bullying, or deliberately losing manner, ruins competitive team-based video game experiences for everyone involved. Companies are experimenting with the detection, regulation, and bans of toxic players. Regulation attempts are foiled by the ease with which players can switch accounts by creating new profiles to evade consequences.\u0000 This paper applies the framework of Friedman and Resnick (2001), “The Social Cost of Cheap Pseudonyms”, to address the reputational and repetition cost of online pseudonyms in the niche environment of video game toxicity. Four potential solutions are discussed in the context of modern video game regulation: resource-intensive account set-up, paid dues, real-world identification, and a once-in-a-lifetime identification system that creates a permanent, traceable record of toxicity. The paper covers the strengths, weaknesses, feasibility, implementation challenges, and player impact of the potential implementation of these solutions in video game networks.","PeriodicalId":517178,"journal":{"name":"Games: Research and Practice","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141271758","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Matti Vuorre, Nick Ballou, Thomas Hakman, Kristoffer Magnusson, Andrew K. Przybylski
Do video games affect players’ well-being? In this case study, we examined 162,325 intensive longitudinal in-game mood reports from 67,328 play sessions of 8,695 players of the popular game PowerWash Simulator. We compared players’ moods at the beginning of play session with their moods during play, and found that the average player reported 0.034 [0.032, 0.036] visual analog scale (VAS; 0-1) units greater mood during than at the beginning of play sessions. Moreover, we predict that 72.1% [70.8%, 73.5%] of similar players experience this affective uplift during play, and that the bulk of it happens during the first 15 minutes of play. We do not know whether these results indicate causal effects or to what extent they generalize to other games or player populations. Yet, these results based on in-game subjective reports from players of a popular commercially available game suggest good external validity, and as such offer a promising glimpse of the scientific value of transparent industry-academia collaborations in understanding the psychological roles of popular digital entertainment.
{"title":"Affective Uplift During Video Game Play: A Naturalistic Case Study","authors":"Matti Vuorre, Nick Ballou, Thomas Hakman, Kristoffer Magnusson, Andrew K. Przybylski","doi":"10.1145/3659464","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3659464","url":null,"abstract":"Do video games affect players’ well-being? In this case study, we examined 162,325 intensive longitudinal in-game mood reports from 67,328 play sessions of 8,695 players of the popular game PowerWash Simulator. We compared players’ moods at the beginning of play session with their moods during play, and found that the average player reported 0.034 [0.032, 0.036] visual analog scale (VAS; 0-1) units greater mood during than at the beginning of play sessions. Moreover, we predict that 72.1% [70.8%, 73.5%] of similar players experience this affective uplift during play, and that the bulk of it happens during the first 15 minutes of play. We do not know whether these results indicate causal effects or to what extent they generalize to other games or player populations. Yet, these results based on in-game subjective reports from players of a popular commercially available game suggest good external validity, and as such offer a promising glimpse of the scientific value of transparent industry-academia collaborations in understanding the psychological roles of popular digital entertainment.","PeriodicalId":517178,"journal":{"name":"Games: Research and Practice","volume":"61 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141278355","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Teleportation has been adopted as the preferred mode of navigation in many virtual reality (VR) experiences due to its ability to allow users to easily move beyond the limitations of the tracking space while minimizing the risk of inducing VR sickness. Teleportation instantly translates the user’s viewpoint to a user-selected destination and therefore eliminates any optical flow generation that could cause visual-vestibular conflict. Though teleportation is a discrete navigation method unique to the domain of VR, most VR experiences are modeled after 3D experiences found on desktop/console platforms that use continuous locomotion. How the use of teleportation affects the performance and navigation behavior of its users, especially in competitive first-person shooter environments is unknown, yet it could have a significant effect on gameplay design. We conducted a user study (n=21) that compares teleportation versus continuous locomotion using a VR first-person shooter game with other players being simulated using AI agents. We found significant differences in performance, navigation behavior, and how both locomotion methods are perceived by its users. Specifically, using teleportation, players traveled farther, but during combat were found to be more stationary and as a result got hit more frequently. These differences were profound and carry the potential to impact multiplayer games. We discuss possible strategies to balance gameplay.
{"title":"Performance and Navigation Behavior of using Teleportation in VR First-Person Shooter Games","authors":"Aniruddha Prithul, Hudson Lynam, Eelke Folmer","doi":"10.1145/3661133","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3661133","url":null,"abstract":"Teleportation has been adopted as the preferred mode of navigation in many virtual reality (VR) experiences due to its ability to allow users to easily move beyond the limitations of the tracking space while minimizing the risk of inducing VR sickness. Teleportation instantly translates the user’s viewpoint to a user-selected destination and therefore eliminates any optical flow generation that could cause visual-vestibular conflict. Though teleportation is a discrete navigation method unique to the domain of VR, most VR experiences are modeled after 3D experiences found on desktop/console platforms that use continuous locomotion. How the use of teleportation affects the performance and navigation behavior of its users, especially in competitive first-person shooter environments is unknown, yet it could have a significant effect on gameplay design. We conducted a user study (n=21) that compares teleportation versus continuous locomotion using a VR first-person shooter game with other players being simulated using AI agents. We found significant differences in performance, navigation behavior, and how both locomotion methods are perceived by its users. Specifically, using teleportation, players traveled farther, but during combat were found to be more stationary and as a result got hit more frequently. These differences were profound and carry the potential to impact multiplayer games. We discuss possible strategies to balance gameplay.","PeriodicalId":517178,"journal":{"name":"Games: Research and Practice","volume":"3 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141098742","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This case study presents a comprehensive integration process of OpenAI's GPT-3.5 large language model (LLM) into Unity 3D to enhance non-player characters (NPCs) in video games and interactive applications. The study aims to develop an architecture and open-source software framework that enables NPCs to engage in dynamic real-time interactions with players and other characters. The background and motivation for the study are provided, highlighting the existing limitations of traditional NPC programming and the potential of advanced natural language models such as GPT-3.5 to overcome these limitations. The methodology section outlines the step-by-step process, covering framework design and preparation, core architecture development, humanoid avatar integration and animation, and important feature extensions. The progression of framework design and implementation is described, emphasizing key architectural concepts, design patterns, and essential classes and interfaces. The results of the case study are discussed, focusing on the valuable insights gained and the implications for future advancements. Lessons learned from the integration process are shared, along with suggestions for potential improvements and directions for future research. This case study provides a practical resource for game developers and researchers interested in leveraging advanced natural language processing capabilities to create more immersive and interactive NPC experiences in Unity 3D environments.
{"title":"Enhancing Non-player Characters in Unity 3D using GPT-3.5","authors":"John Sissler","doi":"10.1145/3662003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3662003","url":null,"abstract":"This case study presents a comprehensive integration process of OpenAI's GPT-3.5 large language model (LLM) into Unity 3D to enhance non-player characters (NPCs) in video games and interactive applications. The study aims to develop an architecture and open-source software framework that enables NPCs to engage in dynamic real-time interactions with players and other characters. The background and motivation for the study are provided, highlighting the existing limitations of traditional NPC programming and the potential of advanced natural language models such as GPT-3.5 to overcome these limitations. The methodology section outlines the step-by-step process, covering framework design and preparation, core architecture development, humanoid avatar integration and animation, and important feature extensions. The progression of framework design and implementation is described, emphasizing key architectural concepts, design patterns, and essential classes and interfaces. The results of the case study are discussed, focusing on the valuable insights gained and the implications for future advancements. Lessons learned from the integration process are shared, along with suggestions for potential improvements and directions for future research. This case study provides a practical resource for game developers and researchers interested in leveraging advanced natural language processing capabilities to create more immersive and interactive NPC experiences in Unity 3D environments.","PeriodicalId":517178,"journal":{"name":"Games: Research and Practice","volume":"84 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141101702","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This short viewpoint piece poses the question, ‘what are the ethical implications of designing video games that address the societal causes of mental illness rather than an individual's symptoms?’
这篇观点短文提出的问题是："设计针对精神疾病的社会原因而非个人症状的电子游戏，会产生哪些伦理影响？
{"title":"Treating Symptoms or Treating Causes? Therapeutic Video Games for Mental Health","authors":"Emma Reay","doi":"10.1145/3664282","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3664282","url":null,"abstract":"This short viewpoint piece poses the question, ‘what are the ethical implications of designing video games that address the societal causes of mental illness rather than an individual's symptoms?’","PeriodicalId":517178,"journal":{"name":"Games: Research and Practice","volume":"9 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141101217","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Extant research demonstrates that playing digital games after work can have a psychologically restorative effect. This paper focuses on understanding how players can maximise this effect by strategically leveraging the immersive potential of digital games. For one week, eleven participants played games after work with the aim of developing strategies to support their post-work recovery. A follow-up laddering interview identified various ”immersion optimisation” strategies that fulfilled components of successful recovery, such as mental disengagement from work and relaxation. These strategies predominantly focused on cognitive involvement and challenge, neglecting other dimensions of immersion. Based on these findings, we contribute an initial framework of immersion optimisation strategies which can be used to enhance the recovery potential of digital games. We also suggest exploring potential boundary conditions of the immersion optimisation phenomenon and offer methodological reflections on the use of the laddering methodology in this study.
{"title":"‘Jumping Out from the Pressure of Work and into the Game’: Curating Immersive Digital Game Experiences for Post-Work Recovery","authors":"Jon Mella, I. Iacovides, Anna Cox","doi":"10.1145/3659465","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3659465","url":null,"abstract":"Extant research demonstrates that playing digital games after work can have a psychologically restorative effect. This paper focuses on understanding how players can maximise this effect by strategically leveraging the immersive potential of digital games. For one week, eleven participants played games after work with the aim of developing strategies to support their post-work recovery. A follow-up laddering interview identified various ”immersion optimisation” strategies that fulfilled components of successful recovery, such as mental disengagement from work and relaxation. These strategies predominantly focused on cognitive involvement and challenge, neglecting other dimensions of immersion. Based on these findings, we contribute an initial framework of immersion optimisation strategies which can be used to enhance the recovery potential of digital games. We also suggest exploring potential boundary conditions of the immersion optimisation phenomenon and offer methodological reflections on the use of the laddering methodology in this study.","PeriodicalId":517178,"journal":{"name":"Games: Research and Practice","volume":"23 16","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140657809","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：