Proposal

IMMERSION & ADDICTION

IN VIDEO GAMES

A Research Proposal

By

Chong Tze Zhern, Joel

Interactive Media Design Pathway

Level 6

Critical & Cultural Studies

(6FTC1075)

Assignment 1: Essay Proposal

703 words

for

The School of Creative Arts

Faculty of Creative Arts

University of Hertfordshire, UK

in partnership with

The One Academy, Malaysia.

in

partial fulfilment of the requirements for the

Degree of Bachelor Arts (Honours)

on 7th July, 2017

Research Introduction & Question(s)

Video gaming is a common leisure activity in the world today, not only amongst

tech-savvy children and youths, but grown adults as well. A reason for the popularity

of video games can be attributed to their entertainment value and immersive

qualities, offering many people a chance to break away from reality. According to

Statista.com, there are 2.6 billion people worldwide who are playing some form of

electronic game on their personal computers, consoles, and mobile devices.

Unfortunately, a percentage of players take their break too far and become addicts.

Sciencedaily.com estimated back in the year 2009, one in tenth player interviewed

identified themselves as being a video game addict. Numerous studies and experts

have offered various reasons for this extreme. Some may blame the players, while

others suggest that game developers may have unintentionally innovated the

immersiveness of their game too far, or could be intentionally designing user

experiences that encourages addictive behavior.

Given the worrying number of game addicts, the essay proposed will seek to :

- Examine the main elements behind a successful immersive gaming experience.

- Identify and discuss the features that may make a game so immersive that it

becomes addictive.

Research Topic Concepts & Experts

A common concept shared by games considered to be critically-acclaimed ranges

from stylistic art presentations and gameplay mechanics to gameplay narrative. All

this is part of the immersive experience. But what defines immersion? Immersion is

generally understood as the experience of being ‘lost’ in a particular experience

(Brown, 2004). Certain common key elements that help expand on immersion come

into play as well; from rules of the game, the player’s role, the challenges the player

will face, etc (Rollings, 2003). Another interesting point to note is Narrative in

gaming. While some games such as Tetris, Blix and Snood has proven that you

don’t need narrative to create an immersive game, Narrative in gaming holds such a

huge role of importance that one would only get rid of narrative as a framework for

thinking about games only at one’s own risk. (Jenkins, 2003).

Research Scopes and Format

The focus of this study is to help us achieve an understanding behind the main

elements and strategies employed my gaming developers to create immersive game

design. This essay is written from the perspective of a fellow designer. There is a

possibility that this research would cover multiple discussions over the psychology of

gamers in order to understand how developers exploit these traits to create the ideal

game for target audiences and how these factors lead to addiction. There are

several challenges I expect to encounter in this line of research namely; Having one

too many experts state their opinion on this subject, and it’s up to me to crossexamine

each one in order to find the best reliable source to fortify my research. I

selected this area of study because I have a personal interest in gaming

development myself and this provides me much needed insight.

Research Outcome & Relevance

In this research, we hope to discover the elements behind the popularity of video

games. We also hope to identify the importance of narrative in gaming and its

relevance in creating immersive gameplay. It is important for designers in the field of

immersive and interactive media to understand the key elements and tactics used to

create immersive media. This research also hopes to shed more light by going

beyond what’s inside the game and explore other factors that may create immersive

gaming including marketing, user reward, multi-player platforming, etc.

Research and Industry Ethics

There should be minimal ethical concerns as I mainly use secondary sources without

need for explorative or first-hand experience and research. There are some

concerns regarding Industry Ethics however as I’m required to research the target

audience and may have to conduct surveys to affirm my understanding of gamers.

Research Feasibility & Timeline

The proposed research is highly feasible as the understanding of design, concept

and development in gaming is imperative when seeking to design immersive media.

Annotated Bibliography

Aarseth, E., S. Smedstad, and L.Sunnana. "A Multi-Dimensional Typology of

Games." In Level Up: Digital Games Research Conference 2003, Utrecht, The

Netherlands, 2003.

Adams, E., Rollings, A. On Game Design. New Riders Publishing, 2003.

Charlton, J. P. (2002). A factor-analytic investigation of computer ‘addiction’ and

engagement. British Journal of Psychology, 93, 329–344.

A very informative book on defining the term ‘addiction’ and its connection to

computing (and gaming to an extent).

Charlton, J. P., & Danforth, I. D. W. (2007). Distinguishing addiction and high

engagement in the context of online game playing. Computers in Human Behavior,

23(3), 1531–1548.

Crawford, C. The Art of Computer Game Design. Osborne/McGraw-Hill, Berkeley,

1984.

Ermi, L. Mayra, F (2004) "Fundamental Components of the Gameplay Experience:

Analyzing Immersion." Worlds in Play: International Perspectives on Digital Games

Research, pp. 37-54.

A compilation of expert opinions on subject of gaming and the factors behind

its commercial success.

Gomes, R. (2007) "The Design of Narrative as an Immersive Simulation" Worlds in

Play: International Perspectives on Digital Games Research, pp. 55-62.

Jenkins, H. (2005) “Game Design Narrative Architecture” First Person, pp. 118-129.

An informative section regarding the importance of narrative in gaming. Also

contains a cross-examination of the subject alongside the arguments of two separate

experts.

Salen, K., and E. Zimmerman. Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals.

Cambridge, Massachusetts, The MIT Press, 2004.

Zagal, J., M. Nussbaum, and R.Rosas. "A model to Support the Design of

Multiplayer Games." Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments 9(5) (2002):

448-462.