TY - GEN
T1 - Evaluating GameFlow in a Multiplayer Online Strategy Game under Development
AU - Sweetser, Penny
AU - Johnson, Daniel
AU - Kyburz, Jay
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 ACM.
PY - 2020/2/4
Y1 - 2020/2/4
N2 - GameFlow is a widely used model of player enjoyment, with hundreds of applications to designing and evaluating games and game-like experiences since its first publication. Derived from a general set of heuristics for creating enjoyable player experiences, GameFlow strives to be a general model of player enjoyment, applicable to all game genres and platforms. However, research so far has been focused on the single-player experience and GameFlow elements such as Challenge and Control can vary considerably in a group situation. Therefore, it is also important to test the GameFlow model's applicability to multiplayer games. In this article, we report the findings of a study that applies the GameFlow model to a multiplayer online strategy game under development. Expert reviews, using the GameFlow criteria, were conducted by 12 stakeholders (developer, players, researchers, and journalists) in the game Neptune's Pride 2: Triton. We reflect on lessons learned about evaluating a multiplayer game under development, as well as several key points of improvement for future versions of the GameFlow model and criteria.
AB - GameFlow is a widely used model of player enjoyment, with hundreds of applications to designing and evaluating games and game-like experiences since its first publication. Derived from a general set of heuristics for creating enjoyable player experiences, GameFlow strives to be a general model of player enjoyment, applicable to all game genres and platforms. However, research so far has been focused on the single-player experience and GameFlow elements such as Challenge and Control can vary considerably in a group situation. Therefore, it is also important to test the GameFlow model's applicability to multiplayer games. In this article, we report the findings of a study that applies the GameFlow model to a multiplayer online strategy game under development. Expert reviews, using the GameFlow criteria, were conducted by 12 stakeholders (developer, players, researchers, and journalists) in the game Neptune's Pride 2: Triton. We reflect on lessons learned about evaluating a multiplayer game under development, as well as several key points of improvement for future versions of the GameFlow model and criteria.
KW - GameFlow
KW - flow
KW - immersion
KW - multiplayer
KW - player experience
KW - social interaction
KW - videogames
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85079840898&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1145/3373017.3373068
DO - 10.1145/3373017.3373068
M3 - Conference contribution
T3 - ACM International Conference Proceeding Series
BT - Proceedings of the Australasian Computer Science Week Multiconference 2020, ACSW 2020
PB - Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
T2 - 2020 Australasian Computer Science Week Multiconference, ACSW 2020
Y2 - 3 February 2020 through 7 February 2020
ER -