contextual autonomy support in video game play

a grounded theory Sebastian Deterding / @dingstweets

Digital Creativity Labs, University of York May 11, 2016

cb

<1> introduction

autonomy experience is part of game enjoymentDeen 2015, Przybylski et al. 2012, Rigby & Ryan 2011, Sheldon & Filak 2008

game design supports autonomy experience

• Meaningful choice in goals, strategies, actions

• Customisation

• Open explorable worlds

• Ability to create and inhabit “ideal self”

Deen 2015, Przybylski et al. 2012, Rigby & Ryan 2011, Sheldon & Filak 2008, Turkay 2013, Weinstein et al. 2009

all about the game

what about the context?

Johan huizinga

»First and foremost, all play is a voluntary activity.«

homo ludens (1938/1950: 7)

serious games in school contexts?

gamification in work contexts?

Lopez 2011, cf. Heeter et al. 2011, Mollick & Rothbard 2013

first evidence that contexts matters: but how?

Research Question how does the situational context of video game play affect autonomy experiences?

<2> theory

Edward Deci, Richard Ryan

»To be autonomous means to behave with a sense of volition, willingness, and congruence; it means to fully endorse and concur with the behavior one is engaged in.«

motivation, personality, and development (2012: 85)

autonomy in self-determination theory

• Action is energised and directed by three basic psychological needs: autonomy, competence, relatedness

• All motives range from controlled to autonomous • We are energised by multiple motives at once; sum determines

overall autonomy experience -> autonomy need satisfaction

Ryan & Deci 2002, Deci & Ryan 2012

spectrum of motives

Deci & Ryan 2012

Perc

eive

d ex

tern

al

locu

s of

cau

salit

y Perceived internal locus of causality

External extrinsic

introjected extrinsic

internalised extrinsic

integrated extrinsic

intrinsic

overall controlled: sense of “having to”,

pressure, coercion

overall autonomous: sense of “wanting to”,

ease, enjoyment

<3> method

method

• Semi-structured episodic interviews, 90-120 min. length • 19 interviewees gaming in leisurely and presumed-low

autonomy contexts: game journalism, design, research, e-sports • Interviewees invited to narrate experiences of high/low

autonomy, voluntariness, choice, consequence; then compare contexts and situations

• Coding and analysis of transcribed interviews with MAXQDA following grounded theory

Corbin & Strauss 2008, Flick 2008

<4> findings

mark twain

»If he had been a great and wise philosopher, like the writer of this book, he would now have comprehended that Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.«

the adventures of tom sawyer (1876)

#1

»It’s still a game as such, and defined as such, but I would not say that *I* play it at that moment.«

»sometimes you just have to play, you have to get further, no matter whether you want to or not. And then, then that is, then playing is indeed work.«

autonomy not context drives work/play labelling

#1

#2

leisure play: license to reconfigure & leave situation

»Apart from Counterstrike I would never play any game when I don’t want to. [...] When Diablo 3 comes out, I will really want to play it, so I will play it very much. But if I don’t want to play it […] then I will not play it«

»At the office, [...] I have to focus on the game analytically, and not say, I let myself go and play the whole day, and at the end no results. That would be inappropriate.«

#2

leisure play: license to reconfigure & leave situation

#3

leisure play: accomplishment of a relaxed field

Interviewer: »So that’s the usual process, that you, that you pick a day, and then on that day start in the afternoon and stop in the evening? Interviewee: »If it is that way and I can focus on the afternoon, then I also plan it like that, such that I have finished everything until then, until that point, that could make me go to the door or interrupt the game.«

»in my private rooms, then I can show any emotion, because there would be nothing inappropriate in doing so, because I wouldn’t offend anyone with it«

[With a Nintendo DS] I am then mostly in a public surrounding, loud screaming or throwing that thing in the corner are not an option. Although you would really want to do it, you have to restrain yourself a bit there and, let’s put it this way, appear a bit more suited for public.«

leisure play: accomplishment of a relaxed field

#3

#4

leisure play: minimised socio-material consequence

»[When money is involved] there's the pressure that you have to win. Of course, everybody who plays wants to win somehow. […] Bu::t when it's about money, that's a real thing, and that you have to work hard for. That wouldn't have a playful character for me then.«

»when you fail and know: <<I can’t write the review tomorrow>>, because you actually haven’t reached these and these things, [...] the consequence then means for instance, that you have to get up in the morning two hours early to start the game again. And that can be incredibly infuriating.«

leisure play: minimised socio-material consequence

#4

»Especially with WoW you somehow had [...] a social coercion behind it. Because as I said, this reputation and then also the social contexts that you maintained through it. Or found there. [...Y]ou don’t feel like training in the evening, or something, and you still go there. Because you feel socially obliged somehow.«

»[When playing with friends not alone] the considerateness for the friends dominates, for the people with whom I’m sitting there. So then it’s less the case, that I focus on the game and say: <<I am now, now I am free and can determine this.>> Instead it’s also more about me being the host, and being a guest of somebody and still take regard of that.«

regard for others can make leisure play controlling

#5

private solitary play is highly autonomous play

#5a

autonomy construal as a meta-process

Play becomes controlled when provided choices mismatch spontaneous interests and perceived-controlling motives keep players from changing or leaving the situation

#6

»In::: 95 percent of the cases no. It's still a hobby. You- it's still a passion. You enjoy playing it, also because something like:: a professional level comes in, money and you get around and you get to know new people. That's nice, no question. And those remaining five percent, those are the percentages where you say: <<Hm, not training again from seven to ten pm? Now I could have gone to the movies with my girlfriend.>> For example. Where you would say: <<I so would have wanted to go with her to the movies. Damn, damn, damn. Why do I have to train now?>>«

#6

autonomy construal as a meta-process

Intrinsically motivated gameplay

License to (dis)engage & configure situation

Minimized social and material consequence

Salientautonomous motives

Salient controlled motives

++

+

–

–

Construal of action as autonomous

+–

Temporal field cleared from outer demands

Spatial field shielded from public observers

+

Self-regulation of attention & emotion

display

Autonomy need satisfaction

+

+–

Spatial field cleared from distraction

–

+

–

more in the paper ;-)

<5> ramifications

ramifications

Context affects autonomy through license to configure and leave situation, spatiotemporal relaxed field, minimised consequence ‣ How does context affect other motives and aspects of enjoyment?

‣ Hard to observe this in lab studies: What are ecologically sensitive methods for discovery and validation?

‣ How can we design autonomy-supporting contexts within controlled environment, e.g. games in school, gamification at work?

conclusions & ramifications

Leisure play can be controlling, play as work autonomous; autonomy experience drives play/work labelling ‣ Playbour, goldfarming: Explanatory process not essentialist work/play distinction

‣ The more is always not the merrier

Work contexts thwart autonomy through lack of configuration choice, high consequence, low intrinsic interest ‣ Gamification, serious games don’t (just) thwart autonomy through extrinsic

rewards undermining intrinsic motivation

‣ To control, rewards should be tied to perceived-controlling consequence

sebastian@codingconduct.cc

@dingstweets

codingconduct.cc

thank you.