How Awe Affects Players’ Entertainment Experiences Over Six Weeks of Playing
Résumé
Anecdotal evidence suggests that video games regularly inspire awe in players—an emotional response involving feelings of being ‘blown away’ or ‘amazed’. While game research has mostly overlooked awe, initial theoretical and empirical work just recently suggested that awe experiences substantially fuel players’ entertainment experiences. The present contribution aims to add to the deficient body of research. Specifically, it is examined whether awe is indeed a unique and reliable facilitator of both players’ enjoyment (i.e., hedonic entertainment experience) and their perception of deeper meaning and a sense of being moved (i.e., eudaimonic entertainment experience). We secondary analyzed a longitudinal study examining players’ experiences with the game Fallout 76 over a six-week period (N = 556). Results indicate that Fallout 76 reliably inspired awe in players and that the intensity of the emotion did not erode over the six-week period of the study. Furthermore, awe was found to exert a unique effect on players’ eudaimonic entertainment experience beyond well-studied gaming gratifications. However, no unique effect of awe on players’ enjoyment was found. Overall, the results suggest that awe does indeed make a unique and reliable contribution to players’ sense of entertainment.
Domaines
Informatique [cs]Origine | Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s) |
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