Pre-Thesis Week 5 Research week 01
video game uses and gratifications as predictors of use and game preference
For this week I started to dive into some deep research on my topic. The first reading I did was one called “video game uses and gratifications as predictors of use and game preference” It talked about five different factors that correlated with the number of hours people would spend playing video games. (a) gameplay is preferable to human companions, (b) gameplay teaches about people, (c) gameplay provides companionship, (d) gameplay provides activity/action, and (e) gameplay provides solitude/escape. These five factors were significantly correlated with the amount of gameplay. Wigand et al found that the main reasons for video games at arcades were excitement, the satisfaction of doing well, and tension-reduction. Gameplay, fantasy, curiosity(novelty), challenge, and interactivity were all factors that significantly related to the amount of gameplay with challenge having the greatest impact. Arousal: A frequently stated reason for playing video games was to stimulate emotions as a result of fast action and high-quality graphics. Challenge: Many respondents also enjoy playing video games to push themselves to a higher level of skill or personal accomplishment. Some respondents said that the desire to solve the puzzles in order to get to the next level or beat the game can be addicting. Many of the players prefer to play a familiar set of games that they feel confident playing. Competition: One of the most frequently cited reasons for playing video games was to prove to other people who have the best skills and can react or think the fastest. Typically, competition response came from male respondents who spoke of competing for pride or money. Hence, video game competition served the function of a dominance display among males most often seen in sports. This gratification derives its power from the reactions of others to the dominance shown by the player, establishing a relative position in the peer group’s hierarchy. Diversion: Video games are frequently used to avoid stress or responsibilities. Respondents reported playing video games to fill time, relax, escape from stress, or because there is nothing else to do. Fantasy.: Video games allow players to do things that they normally would not be able to do, such as drive race cars, fly, and so on. Focus group participants spoke frequently about the appeal of being able to do things they cannot do in real life. Social Interaction: Social interaction is the main reason many individuals got involved in playing video games as a child. Respondents mentioned that the arrival of Nintendo brought sleepovers where video games were played, and the need to keep up on the games to be “cool.” Many now use video games to interact with friends and learn about the personalities of others. This reading was kind of more to get a better understanding of what really drive people to play games and breaks down the ideas pretty well.Building Persistence through failure
The Second reading was research done to see which kinds of players are more attracted to challenge in a video game. It turned out that those types of players had more positive reactions to failure. They also wanted to see how this behavior affected the players beyond the game. “He points out that in playing a game, players do not desire to simply win, but to experience a “well-played game”. This requires players to search for the optimal level of challenge, often inviting failure with it. Juul showed that players are not just drawn to winning a game, but that they are also drawn to be challenged to the level that they are likely to fail at it first. Upon failing, Dweck, Chui, & Hong [7] describe two mindsets related to mastery orientation that makes up the implicit theories of intelligence: a growth mindset and a fixed mindset.” They talk about the two types of mindsets, the fixed mindset in which someone believes that they have a level of ability that they can’t change which is associated with anxiety, boredom, and depression when encountering failure. The growth mindset on the other hand has an increased value of success or failure and energy when facing a challenge. The ones that find a challenge important showed a higher level of mastery orientation than the ones that didn’t. An example of this was Dark Souls which attracted players that are more capable of persisting through challenging situations and the failures that come with them. Video games also provide players with environments that are able to push their abilities to the limit. Failing is normal and helps players develop strategies to deal with it in better ways. Psychological research has shown this sort of process leads to beneficial outcomes like better grades in school and makes them better at persisting. “However, it is unclear if playing these games is the cause of adopting a mastery orientation, or if those with a higher mastery orientation are more attracted to play these games.” In the end, this wasn’t quite definitive but in my opinion, I believe that it’s at least half of people who play these hard games who develop these good habits.
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while (!deck.isInOrder()) {
print 'Iteration ' + i;
deck.shuffle();
i++;
}
print 'It took ' + i + ' iterations to sort the deck.';