An exploratory study of player performance, motivation, and enjoyment in massively multiplayer online role-playing games

Kyong Jin Shim; Jaideep Srivastava; Kuo Wei Hsu

doi:10.1109/PASSAT/SocialCom.2011.156

An exploratory study of player performance, motivation, and enjoyment in massively multiplayer online role-playing games

Kyong Jin Shim, Jaideep Srivastava, Kuo Wei Hsu

Computer Science and Engineering

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

Enjoyment is a vital component in the business model of the game industry. Despite research on their relationship to the success or failure of a game, little attention has been paid to the effect of player performance on player enjoyment. This study investigates how player motivation, player performance, and player enjoyment are connected in EverQuest II, a popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Sony Online Entertainment. It investigates the impact of task difficulty and player performance on player enjoyment. Estimation of task difficulty and player performance was performed by the analysis of the game's operational data such as game logs, while assessment of player enjoyment was based on a large-scale survey. Our findings indicate that the correlations do not fully conform to the flow theory and additionally suggest that the knowledge of player motivations is critical in accurately predicting player enjoyment.

Original language	English (US)
Title of host publication	Proceedings - 2011 IEEE International Conference on Privacy, Security, Risk and Trust and IEEE International Conference on Social Computing, PASSAT/SocialCom 2011
Pages	135-140
Number of pages	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/PASSAT/SocialCom.2011.156
State	Published - Dec 1 2011
Event	2011 IEEE International Conference on Privacy, Security, Risk and Trust, PASSAT 2011 and 2011 IEEE International Conference on Social Computing, SocialCom 2011 - Boston, MA, United States Duration: Oct 9 2011 → Oct 11 2011

Publication series

Name	Proceedings - 2011 IEEE International Conference on Privacy, Security, Risk and Trust and IEEE International Conference on Social Computing, PASSAT/SocialCom 2011

Other

Other	2011 IEEE International Conference on Privacy, Security, Risk and Trust, PASSAT 2011 and 2011 IEEE International Conference on Social Computing, SocialCom 2011
Country	United States
City	Boston, MA
Period	10/9/11 → 10/11/11

Keywords

Enjoyment
Massively multiplayer online games
Motivation
Player performance
Video games

Access

10.1109/PASSAT/SocialCom.2011.156

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Cite this

Shim, K. J., Srivastava, J., & Hsu, K. W. (2011). An exploratory study of player performance, motivation, and enjoyment in massively multiplayer online role-playing games. In Proceedings - 2011 IEEE International Conference on Privacy, Security, Risk and Trust and IEEE International Conference on Social Computing, PASSAT/SocialCom 2011 (pp. 135-140). [6113105] (Proceedings - 2011 IEEE International Conference on Privacy, Security, Risk and Trust and IEEE International Conference on Social Computing, PASSAT/SocialCom 2011). https://doi.org/10.1109/PASSAT/SocialCom.2011.156

An exploratory study of player performance, motivation, and enjoyment in massively multiplayer online role-playing games. / Shim, Kyong Jin; Srivastava, Jaideep; Hsu, Kuo Wei.

Proceedings - 2011 IEEE International Conference on Privacy, Security, Risk and Trust and IEEE International Conference on Social Computing, PASSAT/SocialCom 2011. 2011. p. 135-140 6113105 (Proceedings - 2011 IEEE International Conference on Privacy, Security, Risk and Trust and IEEE International Conference on Social Computing, PASSAT/SocialCom 2011).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

Shim, KJ, Srivastava, J & Hsu, KW 2011, An exploratory study of player performance, motivation, and enjoyment in massively multiplayer online role-playing games. in Proceedings - 2011 IEEE International Conference on Privacy, Security, Risk and Trust and IEEE International Conference on Social Computing, PASSAT/SocialCom 2011., 6113105, Proceedings - 2011 IEEE International Conference on Privacy, Security, Risk and Trust and IEEE International Conference on Social Computing, PASSAT/SocialCom 2011, pp. 135-140, 2011 IEEE International Conference on Privacy, Security, Risk and Trust, PASSAT 2011 and 2011 IEEE International Conference on Social Computing, SocialCom 2011, Boston, MA, United States, 10/9/11. https://doi.org/10.1109/PASSAT/SocialCom.2011.156

Shim KJ, Srivastava J, Hsu KW. An exploratory study of player performance, motivation, and enjoyment in massively multiplayer online role-playing games. In Proceedings - 2011 IEEE International Conference on Privacy, Security, Risk and Trust and IEEE International Conference on Social Computing, PASSAT/SocialCom 2011. 2011. p. 135-140. 6113105. (Proceedings - 2011 IEEE International Conference on Privacy, Security, Risk and Trust and IEEE International Conference on Social Computing, PASSAT/SocialCom 2011). https://doi.org/10.1109/PASSAT/SocialCom.2011.156

Shim, Kyong Jin ; Srivastava, Jaideep ; Hsu, Kuo Wei. / An exploratory study of player performance, motivation, and enjoyment in massively multiplayer online role-playing games. Proceedings - 2011 IEEE International Conference on Privacy, Security, Risk and Trust and IEEE International Conference on Social Computing, PASSAT/SocialCom 2011. 2011. pp. 135-140 (Proceedings - 2011 IEEE International Conference on Privacy, Security, Risk and Trust and IEEE International Conference on Social Computing, PASSAT/SocialCom 2011).

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