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Game User Experience Evaluation pp 87–111Cite as

Understanding Presence, Involvement, and Flow in Digital Games

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Part of the book series: Human–Computer Interaction Series ((HCIS))

Abstract

Digital games elicit rich and meaningful experiences for the gamers. This makes games hard to study solely with usability methods that are used in the field of human–computer interaction. Here is presented a candidate framework to analyze multidimensional user experience (UX) in games. Theoretically the framework is grounded both on previous game studies as well as relevant psychological theories. Methodologically it relies on multivariate data analysis of approximately 320 games (n = 2182), with the aim of revealing the subcomponents of UX in games. The framework captures the essential psychological determinants of UX, namely, its quality, intensity, meaning, value, and extensity. Mapping these determinants to the game mechanics, the narrative and the interface offers a rich view to UX in games and provides added value to those who want to understand why games are experienced in certain ways and how these experiences shape the numerous consequences related to games.

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Acknowledgments

We thank prof. Takashi Kawai, Antti Hulsi, Heikki Särkelä, Jeppe Komulainen, Miikka Lehtonen, Maija Pekkola, Jaakko Sipari and Jari Lipsanen for help in collecting and analyzing the data and sharing thoughts. This work has been supported by the User Centered Information Technology graduate school, Oskar Öflund’s Foundation and the Kone Foundation. The work in this edition has been supported by the Emil Aaltonen’s Foundation and Ella and Georg Ehrnrooth’s Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology of Digital Life (PDL)/Psychology of Evolving Media and Technology (POEM), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Jari Takatalo, Jukka Häkkinen & Göte Nyman

Authors
  1. Jari Takatalo
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  2. Jukka Häkkinen
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  3. Göte Nyman
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Correspondence to Jari Takatalo .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut de Recherche en Informatique de Toulouse (IRIT), ICS Group, Toulouse, France

    Regina Bernhaupt

Appendices

Appendix A: The Final PFA of the Presence and Involvement Measurement Model (Table A.1)

Table A.1 Total variance explained
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Appendix B: The Final PFA of the Flow Measurement Model (Table A.2)

Table A.2 Total variance explained
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Takatalo, J., Häkkinen, J., Nyman, G. (2015). Understanding Presence, Involvement, and Flow in Digital Games. In: Bernhaupt, R. (eds) Game User Experience Evaluation. Human–Computer Interaction Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15985-0_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15985-0_5

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