Video Game Research and the GRAD Framework

 

In the context of scientific study, video game research is a new subject of interest. And, like all new scientific inquiry, researchers must determine a valid and reliable way of producing new knowledge within the relevant subject. Many early video game studies vary on relevant operational definitions and methodology, which has produced results that are inconsistent. The creation of the Gamer Response and Decision (GRAD) Framework is a response to the lack of consistent ways to study within the realm of video games.

GRAD Framework and Purpose

According to Gillern (2016), the purpose of the GRAD framework is to understand the decision-making processes and interactive experiences that individual gamers have. The successful use of the GRAD framework in future research studies provides researchers with a tool that may create a higher level of consistency and validity.

GRAD Theoretical Foundations

Reader Response Theory

Rosenblatt’s reader response theory posits that each individual has a unique interaction with written text. This is because every person draws from a specific set of experiences, beliefs, values, and engagement that is their own. Gillern (2016) believes that this theory can be translated to the world of video games as well as reading, meaning that gamers have diverse experiences with game content.

Theory of Affordances

Gibson created the theory of affordances to explain the act of an individual seeking out things within their environment that may be used for a certain purpose (which are called affordances), as well as the decisions they make based on the observed affordances and their main goals and abilities. Gillern (2016) uses the foundation of this theory to describe the way gamers analyze the video game environment in an effort to determine the best course of action to take to complete their goals.

GRAD Framework 

Decisions

A player’s decisions during gameplay are affected by an individual’s “experiences, knowledge, skills, agency, self-efficacy, and goals” (Gillern, 2016, p. 670). These aspects, and a person’s in-game decisions, create a unique interactive experience, as well as the specific meaning a gamer takes away from the game.

Gamer Profile

The profile of a video game player is constructed using their diverse “experiences, knowledge, skills, goals, agency, and self-efficacy” (Gillern, 2016, p. 672). Because each gamer differs regarding these elements, this affects the disadvantages and affordances they experience when playing a game.

Game Features and Design

Video game developers spend a large amount of time trying to create a specific interactive experience for their audience. Game features and design include “game rules, system, and mechanics; story and dramatic elements; opportunities for personalization; and opportunities for socialization” (Gillern, 2016, p. 674). Therefore, a game’s design and features determine they ways in which players can interact with the games format.

Environmental Context

Each individual is affected by the environment that surrounds them, and that environment also affects the way they play a video game. Environmental context may include elements such as social beliefs, political ideas, cultural norms, etc., which differ for video game players around the world.

Research using GRAD Framework

Because the GRAD framework is a new theoretical concept, there haven’t been many studies that use it to analyze those within the gaming community. However, Manero, Torrente, Freire, and Fernandez-Manjon (2016) took the opportunity to use this new framework to conduct a study that strived to cluster video game players according to their personal game preferences and habits. Researchers also sought to validate the use of the GRAD framework within the arena of scientific study.

Study Description

Manero et. al used the framework to assign gamers to one of four categories:

• Well-rounded gamers (those who play a diverse number of games at a high frequency)

• Hardcore gamers (those who mostly play first-person shooters and sports games)

• Casual gamers (those who play social, musical, and thinking games in a moderate manner)

• Non-gamers (those that do not usually play games of any kind)

The study included a sample of 754 high school students from eight different schools located in Spain. They were assessed using a 7-point Likert scale questionnaire that was designed to measure both gaming preferences and gaming frequency.

Study Results

Results of the study showed that participants were successfully clustered into the four categories described above. The differentiation between four clusters provided more successful results than the differentiation between three or five clusters. Well-rounded gamers accounted for 172 participants, while there were 226 hardcore gamers, 199 casual gamers, and 157 non-gamers. Gender distribution showed that female participants made up the majority of the casual and non-gamer population and male participants made up the majority of hardcore and well-rounded gamers.  

Implications

Previous research studies suggest that an individual’s video game preferences are influenced by personality traits. Therefore, future research using the GRAD framework may provide insight into why gamers prefer specific games and why they play as often as they do. This may further psychological and medical research regarding video game addiction, and may further affect the way game developers create gaming concepts and market them to the public.

Don't Get Crazy: Mental Health Depictions in Video Games

 

The subject of mental health stigmatization has become an increasingly hot topic. Popular media’s portrayal of individuals with mental disorders continues to be scrutinized, as research-based character depictions are few and far between. According to Shapiro and Rotter (2016), 10% of films each year display some type of mental illness, and those portrayals are more often than not criminal and violent.

In fact, researchers have created six categories to describe the most common stereotypical depictions of characters with mental disorders in the media (Hyler, Gabbard, & Schneider, 1991, as cited by Shapiro & Rotter, 2016). These groupings are:

• ·         The rebellious free spirit

• ·         The homicidal maniac

• ·         The female patient as seductress

• ·        The enlightened member of society

• ·         The narcissistic parasite

• ·         The zoo specimen

In an effort to analyze how video games, specifically, portray mental illnesses, Shapiro and Rotter compiled a list of the 50 top selling games from 2011 to 2013. After removing duplicate game titles, researchers were left with 96 games. The goal was to determine whether these games featured characters with mental disorders, as well as whether these characters fit into the six categories used to describe depictions in other media formats. 

Depictions of Mental Illness in Video Games

After using specific Internet search terms and YouTube videos to analyze the 96 video game titles researchers compiled, results showed that 23 out of 96 games, or approximately 24%, depicted at least one character with a mental illness. While not all the characters reviewed fit within the six categories used for other mediums, 85 of the games’ characters fit one of the six groupings. 

What are We Afraid of? 

The unknown is one of the scariest things a human being can face. The most frightening aspects of the human condition are the dark depths of our minds. Perhaps that is why game developers often rely on the mental illness trope when developing villains. While I don’t necessarily believe that depictions of characters with mental disorders should be shied away from, I do believe that a stronger sense of accuracy needs to be promoted. If a game developer decides that they want their criminal to be a psychopath, they need to research what psychopathy details and portray a character that is diagnostically accurate. 

However, video game developers, as well as those who work in other mediums, have a unique opportunity to promote awareness regarding mental illnesses. Proper character development and in-game interactions can create opportunities for gamers to learn the truth about different diagnoses and build empathy. A collaborative relationship between mental health practitioners and artists working in popular media has the possibility to diminish stigmatization and stereotyping, as well as promoting a deeper understanding for all.

Personality and Video Game Genre Preferences

What is personality?

Every person has a unique set of traits, beliefs, and schemata that make up the foundation of who we are. The American Psychological Association (APA, 2017) refers to personality as “individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving.” (para. 1). Nonetheless, depending on what aspect is being studied, the definition of personality may evolve. For instance, in regards to video game studies, Quick, Atkinson, and Lin (2012) describe personality as “a set of individual characteristics that explain how a person will perceive video game experiences” (p.13).

One of the most well-recognized personality dimension and assessment tools is the Five Factor Model (FFM). The five dimensions of the FFM can be remembered by the acronym OCEAN:

• Openness to experience

• Conscientiousness

• Extraversion

• Agreeableness

• Neuroticism

When studying an individual’s personality traits, the results of these dimensions are viewed in a scale-like format. For instance, someone who scores high on the openness to experience factor may be more willing to try a little known indie game, whereas someone who scores low on the same factor may opt to save their money for the new game in a series they are already a fan of.

Do certain personalities prefer certain genres?

Most gamers tend to favor a specific type of video game, such as first-person shooters (FPS) or role-playing games (RPG), but often play games in numerous other genres. So why is it that gamers will continue to play games from one genre, even though all of the games tend to stick to specific and similar game environments and aspects. Triberti, Villani, and Riva (2015) posit “people seek out entertainment that reflects and reinforces aspects of their personalities” (p. 2). Perhaps the fact that your entertainment center is full of fighting games reveals more about your personality than you know.

In an effort to learn more about how personality traits and video game preference correlate, DeGraft-Johnson et. al (2013) used the results of participants’ FFM to analyze video game genre preferences. Game genres included in the study were:

• Dancing

• Racing

• Fighting

• FPS

Researchers found that the agreeableness and extraversion traits were positively correlated with dancing genre video games. A negative correlational relationship between conscientiousness and FPS was exhibited. However, no significant results were found regarding game genres and the openness to experience and neuroticism traits.

In another study, Peever, Johnson, and Gardner (2012), similar to DeGraft-Johnson et. al, used the FFM to study participants’ preference for specific game genres. Numerous genre options were included: action-adventure, action RPGs, board/card games, casual, education, fighting, flight, MMORPG, music, party, platformer, puzzle, racing, real-time strategy, RPG, shooter, simulation, sport, text-adventure, and turn-based strategy.

Results showed that party, music, and casual games were positively correlated with extraversion scores, while RPGs and strategy games were negatively correlated with the same trait. The action-adventure and platformer genres were positively correlated to openness to experience. And lastly, conscientiousness was positively correlated with sport, racing, simulation, and fighting games.

While these, and numerous other studies, have methodological downfalls or inconsistent analyses, results provide researchers and game developers alike the chance to learn more about gamers and genre-specific audiences. Therefore, if an individual’s personality may affect the type of video game they prefer to play, it may also affect how an individual interacts with any specific video game.

References

American Psychological Association. (2017). Personality. American Psychological Association.

DeGraft-Johnson, C., Wang, Y., Sutherland, M. B., & Norman, K. L. (2013). Relating Five Factory 

Personality traits to video game preference. Human-Computer Interaction Technical Report, 1-15.

Peever, N., Johnson, D., & Gardner, J. (2012). Personality and video game genre preferences. 

University of Minnesota. (n.d.). Five Factor Model. [photo].