Just a quick note to announce that Scott Rigby’s powerpoint decks from his talks at the 2009 SF GDC, Austin GDC and LOGIN conferences are now online and available for download from - perhaps not surprisingly - our “Downloads” page. They are available in both .ppt and .pptx formats.

We’ve made the final ppt deck used at Scott’s GDC 2009 talk last week available for download (”From First Date to Committed Relationship: Designing for Engagement and Sustained Satisfaction”), along with our general PENS white paper and some other references. Check them out from our new downloads page.

The next time a loved one brandishes a virtual shotgun in their favorite video game, take heart. That look of glee, says a new study fresh from the joint research lab of Immersyve and the University of Rochester, likely stems from the healthy pleasure of mastering a challenge rather than from a disturbing craving for carnage.   
            Research published online today in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin shows that, contrary to popular belief, violence does not make video games more enjoyable. The study by our research team found that for many people, gore actually detracts from a game’s “fun factor,” decreasing players’ interest and desire to purchase a game. When designing the next generation of video games, added the authors, developers should remember: blood does not help the bottom line.
             “For the vast majority of players, even those who regularly play and enjoy violent games, violence was not a plus,” explained Andrew Przybylski, a lead author of the study. “Violent content was only preferred by a small subgroup of people that generally report being more aggressive,” added Przybylski, however, even these hostile players did not report increased pleasure when playing more gruesome games.
            Through two online surveys and four experimental studies, we found that people stayed glued to games mainly for the feelings of challenge and autonomy they experience while playing. Both seasoned video gamers and novices preferred games where they could conquer obstacles, feel effective, and have lots of choices about their strategies and actions.
            These elements, said coauthor Richard Ryan, represent “the core reasons that people find games so entertaining and compelling. Conflict and war are a common and powerful context for providing these experiences, but it is the need satisfaction in the gameplay that matters more than the violent content itself.”
            Scott Rigby, president of Immersyve and a co-investigator in the study, said the findings should be of practical help to the game development industry. “Much of the debate about game violence has pitted the assumed commercial value of violence against social concern about the harm it may cause,” explained Rigby. “Our study shows that the violence may not be the real value component, freeing developers to design away from violence while at the same time broadening their market.”
            To assess players’ experiences on a wide variety of games, the authors conducted two survey studies involving 2,670 frequent video game players. Participants rated their current favorite games based on statements like “When moving through the game world, I feel as if I am actually there” and “I would buy a sequel to this game.” The surveys focused on players’ needs satisfaction, immersion, and enjoyment, based on a psychometric model developed by Immersyve called the Player Experience of Need Satisfaction (PENS). Respondents were 89 percent male and between 18 and 39 years of old.
            Four additional experimental studies involving more than  300 undergraduates allowed the investigators to study the effects of violence under controlled conditions.  In three of the tests, researchers modified the video programs to create violent or non-violent formats of the same game. One study used the commercially available game Half-Life 2 and assigned subjects to play either a bloody battle against computer-controlled adversaries or a low violence alternative, in which the robots were tagged and teleported serenely back to base. Another study using House of the Dead III varied the gore level from no blood to realistic wounds and graphic violence. A fourth experimental study took a closer look at subjects’ aggressive tendencies. Using a 29-item scale, including such statement as “Given enough provocation, I may hit another person” and “I sometimes feel like a powder keg ready to explode,” the study measured participants’ hostility before having them play the bloodier version of House of the Dead III.         
            Across all of the studies and both surveys, added violent content added little and in some cases detracted from the enjoyment reported by players. Violent content was preferred, though not enjoyed more, by a small subgroup of people who scored high in aggression traits.
            “Video games,” concluded the authors, “are enjoyable, immersive, and motivating insofar as they offer opportunities for psychological need satisfaction, specifically experiences of competence and autonomy, to which violent content per se is largely unrelated.”
                This same research team has been studying the factors that motivate people to play games of all types, both as casual players or intense long-term fans.  “Initially, many games are perceived as being fun,” Rigby says. “Much of our work is focused on understanding when games reach to deeper levels of satisfaction that often sustain engagement over time, and to identify both the healthy and unhealthy aspects of that play.” 

Scott Rigby, Founder and President at Immersyve, will be giving a talk at the upcoming Game Developer’s Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, March 23^rd-27^th entitled “From First Date to a Committed Relationship: Designing for Engagement and Sustained Satisfaction.” 

The talk will present details and data from years of research at Immersyve looking at what matters most to sustaining player interest in games, and maximizing their enthusiasm and perceived value. Hope those attending the conference can make it! Here’s the scoop…. 

Session Description
Based upon multiple studies with over 10,000 gamers, this session defines and reviews three specific motivational needs that are directly related to sustained engagement and value. The Player Experience of Need Satisfaction model (PENS) focuses specifically on experiences of competence, autonomy and relatedness satisfactions: 

Moreover, they will leave with specific guidance on how to implement this model on their own projects, along with measurement strategies to collect data during development and to use that data to drive more successful decisions. 

The NASAGA (North American Simulation and Gaming Association - trying saying that five times fast!) has invited Scott Rigby, founder of Immersyve, to keynote at their 40th anniversary conference in October, 2008. The talk will focus on the application of PENS (”Player Experience of Need Satisfaction”) to simulations and other “serious games” applications that are designed to educate and train. Information on the talk can be found at the NASAGA site.

Scott Rigby, founder/president here at Immersyve, will be giving a talk again this year at the GDC conference in Austin on how developers can design for the satisfaction of key psychological needs that have great predictive value for sustained engagement. Hope those of you heading over to the conference will be able to attend! If not, we’ll be making the support materials available to anyone who is interested. Here’s the scoop directly on the GDC website, and a summary of the talk is just below…
Session Description
This session presents specific motivational needs that, when satisfied in the MMO player, are proven predictors of enjoyment, value, and sustained subscriptions. Going deeper, these intrinsic needs form a paradigm for understanding the fundamental appeal of the RPG structure, suggesting ways to innovate new designs while still supporting player needs. New data from thousands of players worldwide highlights not only how core game features and content support these needs, but how a game’s design influences critical dynamics in groups & guilds that can enhance or cut short a player’s satisfaction and engagement. Numerous game examples will be reviewed (including aspects of solo/group play and story/NPC interaction), and practical (and scalable) measurement strategies will be given.

Idea Takeaway
Attendees will learn three specific motivational needs that are highly predictive of value, enjoyment, and sustained subscriptions, along with concrete examples from existing MMO’s that enhance or thwart the satisfaction of these needs. In addition, attendees will take away specific strategies for measurement of need satisfaction in their player population that can be implemented immediately. Data from multiple research studies with international player samples will be presented in support of the global value of the model.

Violence in video games is a huge topic that is sparking global controversy and new legislation that promises to have a significant impact on the industry. But how objectively have we looked at the role that the violent content itself plays in motivating gameplay and satisfying player’s needs? We’re finishing up several studies that have been looking closely at this issue, specifically from the standpoint of player satisfaction and the commercial value in violent content (i.e. how much the violence itself drives interest, purchase decisions, and sustained play). The early word from the lab is that violence adds appeal for some players, but may be buying developers much less than many assume. If you’d like to be on our mailing list for more info on this work, contact us today at info@immersyve.com

Immersyve’s new motivational paradigm for understanding and measuring the player experience was featured this week on gamasutra.com, one of the leading online publications for game developers. The article, “Rethinking Carrots: A new method for measuring what players find most rewarding and motivating about your game” details both the theoretical approach of the model, and reviews the data showing its strong value to developers in predicting outcomes such as enjoyment, sustained play, and value.

Immersyve, Inc., in collaboration with the University of Rochester, asked 1,000 gamers what motivates them to keep playing. The results published in the journal Motivation and Emotion this month suggest that people enjoy video games because they find them intrinsically satisfying. Dozens of news sites and blogs dedicated to gaming and to understanding the psychology and science behind games have been citing this work throughout the holiday week.

Read more details at the original post summarizing the recent publication of this work, or contact us for more information or to request a reprint.

Both in the media and in casual conversations, video games are frequently associated with ideas of violence, addiction, and unproductive “zoning out.” New research from Immersyve, Inc, in collaboration with the University of Rochester, suggests that there may be more to the strong attraction of games than that. “We find that people who are really drawn to video games stay there because it satisfies some very basic psychological needs. Certain games provide opportunities to feel a sense of achievement, freedom and even connection with other players” says Dr. Richard Ryan, one of the investigators. Four studies, published this month in the academic journal Motivation and Emotion, show that players are most attracted to games that give them positive experiences that are akin to “real world” challenges, rather than merely a shallow sense of fun. In fact, the research showed that a video game, insofar as it allows one to experience need fulfillment, can even promote short-term well being in some players. Ryan adds, however, that “not all video games are created equal” in this ability to satisfy more basic psychological needs.

Dr. Scott Rigby, President of Immersyve and co-investigator sees potential value for the model across many areas in the world of gaming. “There is still more work to do, but our data suggests that when games meet the underlying needs in our model, they not only predict better psychological outcomes for players, but better commercial success for games.”

“So what’s good for players,” Rigby added, “may well be good for the industry too.”

Contact us for more information or to request a reprint of this article.