Emotional Response Patterns and Sense of Presence
during Video Games: Potential Criterion Variables for
Game Design
Niklas Ravaja
M.I.N.D. Lab/CKIR, Helsinki School of
Economics
Tammasaarenkatu 3, 00180 Helsinki, Finland
ravaja@hkkk.fi
Mikko Salminen
M.I.N.D. Lab/CKIR, Helsinki School of
Economics
Tammasaarenkatu 3, 00180 Helsinki, Finland
misalmin@hkkk.fi
Jussi Holopainen
Nokia Research Center
Visiokatu 1, 33721 Tampere, Finland
jussi.holopainen@nokia.com
ABSTRACT
We investigated the emotional response patterns and sense
of presence elicited by video games with different
characteristics (i.e., Tetris, Super Monkey Ball 2, Monkey
Bowling 2, and James Bond 007: NightFire) among 37
undergraduates. We also examined the moderating
influence of the sensation seeking and self-forgetfulness
traits on the responses. Participants self-reported their
emotional responses, defined in terms of joy, pleasant
relaxation, anger, fear, and depressed feeling, and sense of
presence. The results showed that games with different
characteristics elicit differential emotional response
patterns, and the engagement elicited by the games varies as
a function of the Sensation Seeking trait of the player.
Measuring emotional response patterns may have practical
implications for game design, given that they give
information on the game characteristics that maximize
entertainment and pleasure, and may potentially be used in
pre-testing different versions of the games.
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NordiCHI '04, October 23-27, 2004 Tampere, Finland
Copyright 2004 ACM 1-58113-857-1/04/10... $5.00
339
Timo Saari
M.I.N.D. Lab/CKIR, Helsinki School of
Economics
Tammasaarenkatu 3, 00180 Helsinki, Finland
saari@hkkk.fi
Jari Laarni
M.I.N.D. Lab/CKIR, Helsinki School of
Economics
Tammasaarenkatu 3, 00180 Helsinki, Finland
laarni@hkkk.fi
Aki Jrvinen
Veikkaus, The Finnish National Lottery
Karhunkierros 4, 01009 Veikkaus, Finland
aki.jrvinen@veikkaus.fi
Author Keywords
Video games, game design, emotional responses, sense of
presence, personality.
ACM Classification Keywords
H5.m. Information interfaces and presentation (e.g., HCI):
Miscellaneous.
INTRODUCTION
Emotions are biologically based action dispositions that
have an important role in the determination of behavior
[e.g., 1). Given that this would be expected to be the case
also in connection with gaming behavior, emotional
responses to games are an important target of investigation.
The sense of presence (i.e., the perceptual illusion of
nonmediation) is another construct that is likely to be of
central importance in connection with game playing, given
that games providing a strong sense of presence would be
expected to be highly entertaining [2].
The majority of prior psychological game research has
focused on two specific areas of investigation: (a) the
effects of excessive playing on children and adolescents and
(b) whether or not playing (violent or nonviolent) video
games makes children and adolescents more violent [e.g.,
3]. However, at the present time, a large number of video
game players are in fact adults who are leading perfectly
normal lives in terms of their psychological and social
functioning [4]. Thus, examination of the emotional
response patterns elicited by games may also be of import
both in its own right and because the response patterns
might be used to predict the success of a video game. That
is, people seek, and are eager to pay for, games that elicit
optimal emotional responses (or response patterns) [see also
5]. Surprisingly, there is no evidence to suggest that the
developers of video games have used psychological
research to make their games more appealing [6]. We
believe, however, that emotional response patterns might be
used in pre-testing the games, for example.
The present study was designed to examine whether there
are reliable differences in the emotional response patterns
and sense of presence elicited by games with different
characteristics (e.g., the view from which the game is
played, naturalness of the game, amount of violence). We
also investigated the moderating influence of the players
dispositional characteristics (i.e., sensation seeking and
self-forgetfulness traits) on the responses elicited by the
games; that is, it was asked whether the responses to the
games differ as a function of the players personality.
Examining these issues may have practical implications for
game design, given that it gives information on the game
characteristics that maximize pleasure for a given
individual.
Dimensions of Emotion
Most theorists endorse the view that emotions are
constituted by three aspects or components: subjective
feeling, expressive behavior, and physiological arousal;
others add motivational state or action tendency and/or
cognitive processing [1, 7]. A dimensional theory of
emotion holds that all emotions can be located in a two-
dimensional space, as coordinates of valence and arousal
(or bodily activation) [e.g., 1, 8]. The valence dimension
reflects the degree to which an affective experience is
negative (unpleasant) or positive (pleasant). The arousal
dimension indicates the level of activation associated with
the emotional experience, and ranges from very excited or
energized at one extreme to very calm or sleepy at the
other.
Other theorists have, however, suggested that the two main,
orthogonal dimensions of emotional experience are
negative activation (NA) and positive activation (PA) that
represent a 45 rotation of the original main axes [9, 10].
The NA axis extends from highly arousing negative
emotion (e.g., fear and anger) on one end to low-arousal
positive emotion (e.g., pleasant relaxation) on the other,
while the PA axis extends from highly arousing positive
emotion (e.g., joy) to low-arousal negative emotion (e.g.,
depressive feeling). The self-report NA and PA dimensions
have been suggested to represent the subjective components
of the two primary brain motivational systems underlying
behavior and affect, i.e., the withdrawal-oriented behavioral
inhibition system (BIS) and approach-oriented behavioral
activation system (BAS), respectively [e.g., 10, see also
11]. In the present study, mood elicited by the games was
340
defined in terms of the five affective feeling states that
provide high and low end points on the aforementioned
axes: fear, anger, pleasant relaxation, joy, and depressive
feeling.
Emotional Responses to Games
There is a paucity of studies examining the emotional
responses to games from the point of view of user
experience. However, as mentioned above, some studies
have investigated negatively valenced emotions elicited by
video games in trying to unravel their potential adverse
effects. Ballard and Weist [12] and Anderson and Dill [3]
found that a violent video game elicited hostile affect, while
three other studies showed virtually no effect [13, 14, 15].
Anderson and Ford [16] found, in turn, that a high-
aggression game elicited higher anxiety (fear) compared to
a low-aggression game, but they found no differences in
depressed affect. They suggested that anxiety may arise
from a (temporary) change in world view brought about by
the aggressiveness level of the game. Alternatively, anxiety
may arise from the observation of the level of symbolic
aggression enacted by oneself in the game.
In regard to the physiological component of emotions, it is
well established that tasks requiring cognitive effort or
active coping elicit emotional arousal accompanied by
sympathetic nervous system (SNS) arousal and tonic heart
rate (HR) acceleration [17]. In the research on
psychophysiological reactivity to stress, video games have
frequently been used as a stressor. Several studies have
shown that different video games elicit considerable
cardiovascular reactivity [e.g., 18, 19, 20]. In addition,
Johnston, Anastasiades, and Wood [21] found that a two-
person soccer video game elicited higher HR reactivity
compared to a squash practice video game against a
machine, suggesting that the social-competitive situation
related to the former game results in increased arousal.
Sense of Presence
Presence has been defined as the perceptual illusion that a
mediated environment is not mediated [2]. Although a
complete sense of presence may be elicited only by
emerging technologies, such as virtual reality, more
traditional media, such as video games, offer a lesser degree
of presence as well [2]. Factors such as a first-person view
and naturalness may contribute to the experience of
presence. Video games that engender a greater sense of
presence are likely to elicit greater physiological arousal (at
least when the game content is arousing), involvement, and
attention (real-world stimuli, or stimuli that are perceived
more or less as such, are likely to elicit greater attentional
engagement compared to stimuli that are readily perceived
as mediated presentations of real-world stimuli) [see e.g.,
22, 23]. Importantly, games contributing to a high sense of
presence have been suggested to be highly entertaining and,
simply put, fun (greater enjoyment) [2]. The sense of
presence may also facilitate game performance [see 2].
Thus, examining the factors in games that may contribute to
higher presence is important.
The Moderating Role of Personality
Peoples responses to different kinds of media have often
been shown to vary as a function of their personality [e.g.,
23]. One logical candidate for a personality trait that may
moderate the sense of presence elicited by video games is
Self-Forgetfulness (i.e., a dispositional openness to
absorbing experiences). According to Cloninger, self-
forgetful individuals are prone to be totally absorbed,
intensely concentrated, and fascinated by one thing [24].
They may also forget where they are and loose all sense of
the passage of time. Given these characteristics, highly self-
forgetful individuals would also be expected to experience
higher presence when playing video games.
Video games also vary wildly in terms of thrill and
violence. It is likely that whether or not players find a
thrilling, violent game as more entertaining and engaging
compared to a nonviolent game with a happy atmosphere
depends on the players enduring personality traits. In this
connection, the Sensation Seeking trait might be
particularly relevant, given that high sensation seekers have
a high general need for thrills and excitement [25]. Given
these considerations, we also examined the potential
moderating influence of personality traits on the players
responses to games.
METHODS
Participants
Participants were 37 (26 male and 11 female) Finnish
undergraduates with varying majors (1 participant was
about to apply to the University), who ranged from 20 to 30
years of age. All participants played video or computer
games at least once a month. They participated in return for
three movie tickets.
Design
A 4 (Game) 2 (Level) within-subjects design was
employed.
Games
Four games were used in the study: (a) Tetris (Tetris
Worlds; THQ International Ltd., Woking, UK), (b) Super
Monkey Ball 2 (Sega Corporation, Tokyo, Japan), (c)
Monkey Bowling 2 (Sega Corporation, Tokyo, Japan), and
(d) James Bond 007: NightFire (Electronic Arts Inc.,
Redwood City, CA). The games were played with the
Nintendo GameCube (Nintendo Co., Ltd., Kyoto, Japan)
and presented on a screen using the Panasonic PT-LC75E
Multimedia Projector (Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.,
Ltd., Osaka, Japan). The image size was 114 cm (width)
85 cm (height), and the distance between the players eyes
and the screen was about 200 cm.
341
Tetris
Of the different variations of Tetris included in Tetris
Worlds, we used the basic version of the game. We also
used settings that kept the game as similar to the original
Tetris as possible. Tetris is a well-known puzzle game in
which blocks with various shapes fall from the top to the
bottom of the game area. The player' s task is to rotate and
move the blocks so that full rows of blocks are formed;
filled rows are removed and the blocks from above fall to
take their place. A point is earned for each line cleared, and
if the player can clear more than one line at a time, he or
she earns bonus points.
To proceed to a higher level, the player has to earn a given
number of points within 2 min. The higher the level, the
faster the blocks drop. The game continues even if the time
limit is reached and the player has not earned enough
points. When the required number of points is earned, the
player gets a new chance to try advancing to the next level
(time starts again from zero and the game area is cleared
from all blocks). Thus, the aim is to form as many full rows
as possible as fast as possible, and to proceed to as high a
level as possible. The game is over when the blocks pile up
to the top of the game area. The practice session was played
with handicap 1 (i.e., the game starts from level 1), and the
actual two play sessions, easy and difficult, were played
with handicaps 3 and 6, respectively. Tetris is a non-violent
game that requires mental rotation and psychomotor
coordination.
Super Monkey Ball 2
The game takes place in a surrealistic world with bright
colors and includes a game board hanging in the air and a
cute little monkey trapped in a transparent ball. The game
view is from behind the monkey. The players task is to tilt
the board to roll the ball towards a particular goal without
falling off the edge of the board to the deep. The player
needs to avoid obstacles and pick objects (bananas) as the
monkey rolls around the stages. The aim was to clear each
stage with as high a score as possible. The player had 1 min
to clear each stage and earned extra points for clearing the
stage in 30 s or less. The practice session was played at the
Beginner level, and the actual two play sessions, easy and
difficult, were played at the Beginner and Advanced levels,
respectively. The Advanced-level stages were somewhat
more challenging than the Beginner stages, but the points
were awarded similarly at both difficulty levels. Super
Monkey Ball 2 is a relatively nonviolent game with happy
background music and atmosphere. It requires fast reflexes
and some strategy.
Monkey Bowling 2
This game takes place in a surrealistic world with bright
colors, a bowling lane situated in outer space, and a cute
little monkey inside a transparent (bowling) ball. The game
view is mainly from behind the monkey. Before each
throw, a number of selections have to be made: (a)
throwing position, (b) direction, (c) strength, and (d) spin.
As a result of a poor throw, the monkey may fall off the
edge of the lane to the depth of outer space. There is little
the player can do after the throw when the monkey is
rolling on the lane.
The practice session and the easier one of the actual play
sessions were played using the Normal mode and Strike
rule. The game was almost like normal bowling. On each
turn, the player faced ten pins, had one throw to try
knocking the pins, and was awarded one point for each
fallen pin. The more difficult one of the actual play sessions
was played with Challenge mode. The player faced
different formations of three pins. The player had to start
from formation 7 and was allowed to proceed to formations
8, 9, etc. only when he or she had cleared the previous
formation. Here also the player was awarded one point for
each fallen pin. This game requires motor coordination and
evaluation ability.
James Bond 007: NightFire
In this game, the player acts as James Bond, a secret agent,
and has to use different weapons and spy-craft gadgetry. As
Bond, the player operates in the snow-capped French Alps
to defeat the criminal mastermind Rafael Drake. The
practice session was played at the Operative difficulty level,
and the two actual game sessions, easy and difficult, were
played at the Agent and 00 Agent difficulty levels,
respectively. At the higher difficulty levels, the opponents
are more intelligent and they can do more damage to the
player character.
All game sessions were played starting from the Exchange
mission. The aim of this mission is to attend the VIP party
Drake is hosting at his castle and to find out if Drake has
stolen the missing missile guidance hardware. The goal was
to proceed as far as possible. The player earned one point
for each killed enemy (this was defined by the researchers
to enable the evaluation of the players performance). The
game is played from the first-person view and is fairly
natural looking. The game is rather violent and requires
psychomotor coordination and strategy.
Procedure
When arriving to the laboratory, the participant returned a
number of questionnaires that had been sent to him or her
beforehand. The participant was seated in a comfortable
armchair, and after a brief description of the experiment, he
or she filled out an informed consent form. There were
three 5-min game sessions for each of the four games; that
is, a practice session and two actual play session (i.e., easy
and difficult). The games were played in a random order.
The participant was told that the three best male and female
gamers would be awarded one movie ticket as a bonus.
After each of the actual game sessions, the participant rated
the game as well as his or her emotional responses to the
game, mood, and sense of presence (the items were
presented on a computer screen). The room was dimly
illuminated when playing the games.
342
Game Ratings
The games were rated using two items: (a) How
interesting the game was? and Did you find the game
poor or good? Participants rated the items on 7-point
scales, ranging from 1 (not interesting at all or very poor)
to 7 (very interesting or very good).
State Measures
Valence and arousal
Participants rated their emotional reactions in terms of
valence and arousal to each of the games using 9-point
pictorial scales. The valence scale consists of 9 graphic
depictions of human faces in expressions ranging from a
severe frown (most negative) to a broad smile (most
positive). Similarly, for arousal ratings, there are 9
graphical characters varying from a state of low visceral
agitation to that of high visceral agitation. The ratings are
made by selecting a radio button below an appropriate
picture. These scales resemble P. J. Lang' s Self-Assessment
Manikin [26].
Momentary mood
According to Watson, Wiese, Vaidya, and Tellegen [10],
PA and NA are the basic dimensions of self-rated mood.
Thus, we defined mood in terms of the five affective feeling
states that provide high and low end points on the PA and
NA axes: joy, pleasant relaxation, fear, anger, and
depressed feeling. Given that high NA encompasses both
anger and fear that are differentiated on the dominance
dimension [27], and are related to distinct autonomic
response patterns, fear and anger were assessed separately.
We constructed 2- or 3-item scales consisting of affect
terms to assess the affective feeling states. Specifically, the
scales consisted of joyful, lively, and enthusiastic (Joy);
relaxed and calm (Pleasant Relaxation); fearful and nervous
(Fear); angry, annoyed, and aggressive (Anger); and
depressed, tired, and dull (Depression). The participants
were asked to indicate to what extent they felt this way
during the preceding game. Each of the items was rated on
a 7-point scale, ranging from 1 (not at all) to 7 (extremely
much). These affect terms have previously been identified
as indicators of the targeted emotional dimensions [e.g., 10,
23, 28).
Presence
The sense of presence of the participants was measured
after each game with the ITC-Sense of Presence Inventory
(ITC-SOPI), a 44-item self-report instrument [29]. Previous
work with the ITC-SOPI has identified four separate
factors: (a) Spatial Presence (19 items; e.g., I had a sense
of being in the game scenes, I felt I was visiting the game
world), (b) Engagement (13 items; e.g., I felt involved [in
the game environment], My experience was intense), (c)
Ecological Validity/Naturalness (5 items; e.g., The content
of the game seemed believable to me, The game
environment seemed natural), and (d) Negative Effects (6
items; e.g., I felt dizzy, I felt nauseous). In the present
study, we used only the 37 items addressing the first three
factors. The wording of some of the items was slightly
altered to adapt the instrument specifically for use with
video games. Each of the items was rated on a 5-point
scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly
agree). The psychometric properties of the instrument have
been shown to be acceptable.
Trait Measures
Impulsive sensation seeking
The Impulsive Sensation Seeking (ImpSS) scale is part of
the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire
(ZKPQ) [25]. The ImpSS scale consists of 19 items and it
can be divided into two subscales: (a) the impulsivity
dimension describing a lack of planning and a tendency to
act impulsively (e.g., I tend to begin a new job without
much advance planning on how I will do it) and (b) the
sensation seeking dimension describing a general need for
thrills and excitement (e.g., I like doing things just for the
thrill of it). The items were rated on a 5-point scale,
ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).
Self-forgetfulness
The self-forgetfulness trait would be expected to reflect an
individuals disposition to experience presence. It was
measured with the Self-Forgetful vs. Self-Conscious
Experience subscale of the Self-Transcendence scale
included in the Temperament and Character Inventory [24].
This subscale includes 11 items (e.g., I often become so
fascinated with what Im doing that I get lost in the
received the lowest ratings (Ms = 5.2, 4.9, 4.1, and 4.6 for
Tetris, Super Monkey Ball 2, Monkey Bowling 2, and
James Bond, respectively). (Note that throughout this paper,
only those effects that were significant are reported.)
Emotional Ratings
Valence
The GLM Repeated Measures procedure revealed a
significant main effect for game in predicting valence
ratings, F(3,35) = 10.57, p < .001, eta2 = .48. As shown in
Figure 1 (top panel), Super Monkey Ball 2 elicited the most
positively valenced emotional responses, while Monkey
Bowling 2 and James Bond 007: NightFire elicited the least
positive responses.
Arousal
There was a significant main effect for game in predicting
arousal ratings, F(3,35) = 17.93, p < .001, eta2 = .61. Super
Monkey Ball 2 and James Bond elicited higher arousal
compared to Monkey Bowling 2 and Tetris (see Figure1,
bottom panel). In addition, games played with a higher
difficulty level elicited higher arousal compared to easy
games, F(1,37) = 17.42, p < .001, eta2 = .32.
7.2
7.0
6.8
Valence Rating

moment, like Im detached from time and place) rated on a 6.6

5-point scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 6.4
(strongly agree). 6.2

6.0
Data Analysis
5.8
All data were analyzed by the General Linear Model 5.6
(GLM) Repeated Measures procedure in SPSS. Analyses Tetris Monkey Bowling
included two within-subject factors, i.e., game (4 levels: Monkey Ball Bond 007
Tetris, Monkey Ball, Monkey Bowling, James Bond) and Game
difficulty level (2 levels: easy, difficult). When analyzing
the moderating role of personality, there was also one 7.4
between-subject factor, i.e., impulsive sensation seeking or 7.2
self-forgetfulness (2 levels: low, high). The participants 7.0
were classified as low or high impulsive sensation seeking
Arousal Rating

6.8
and self-forgetfulness scorers on the basis of median splits. 6.6
6.4
RESULTS 6.2
6.0
Game Ratings
5.8
There was a significant main effect for game in predicting 5.6
interest ratings, F(3,35) = 15.14, p < .001, eta2 = .57. Tetris Monkey Bowling
Monkey Ball Bond 007
Monkey Bowling 2 elicited lower interest ratings compared
to Tetris, Super Monkey Ball 2, and James Bond (Ms = 3.9, Game
4.8, 4.7, and 4.8, respectively). The games were also
significantly differentiated by the overall goodness ratings, Figure 1. Valence (top panel) and arousal (bottom
F(3,35) = 15.45, p < .001, eta2 = .57. Tetris received the panel) ratings for the different games.
highest goodness ratings, while Monkey Bowling 2

343
Joy
The four games were significantly differentiated by joy 2.8

ratings, F(3,35) = 5.52, p = .003, eta2 = .32. As shown in 2.6

Figure 2 (top panel), Super Monkey Ball 2 elicited the

Anger Rating
2.4
highest joy ratings, but also James Bond elicited relatively
high joy. 2.2

2.0
Pleasant relaxation
The games were also significantly differentiated by pleasant 1.8

relaxation ratings, F(3,35) = 6.64, p = .001, eta2 = .36. As 1.6

Tetris Monkey Bowling
shown in Figure 2 (bottom panel), James Bond elicited Monkey Ball Bond 007
clearly lower relaxation compared to the other three games.
Game

5.0 4.0
3.8
4.8 3.6
3.4

Fear Rating
Joy Rating

4.6
3.2
3.0
4.4
2.8
4.2 2.6
2.4
4.0 2.2
Tetris Monkey Bowling Tetris Monkey Bowling
Monkey Ball Bond 007 Monkey Ball Bond 007

Game Game
3.8 Figure 3. Anger (top panel) and fear (bottom panel)
ratings for the different games.
3.6
Relaxation Rating

3.4

3.2
Depressed mood
3.0 The differentiation of the games by depressed mood was
2.8
also significant, F(3,35) = 8.43, p < .001, eta2 = .42. Figure
Tetris Monkey Bowling 4 shows that Monkey Bowling 2 elicited the highest
Monkey Ball Bond 007 depressed mood ratings, but also Tetris elicited slightly
elevated values.
Game

Figure 2. Joy (top panel) and pleasant relaxation

(bottom panel) ratings for the different games. 2.5
Depressed Mood Rating

2.4

2.3
2.2
Anger
2.1
There was a significant main effect for game in predicting
anger, F(3,35) = 16.29, p < .001, eta2 = .58. Figure 3 (top 2.0
1.9
panel) shows that James Bond elicited the highest anger
ratings and Monkey Bowling 2 the next highest ratings. 1.8
1.7
Tetris Monkey Bowling
Fear Monkey Ball Bond 007
The games were significantly differentiated by fear, F(3,35)
Game
= 13.36, p < .001, eta2 = .53. As was the case for anger,
James Bond elicited the highest fear ratings (see Figure 3, Figure 4. Depressed mood ratings for the different
bottom panel). However, Super Monkey Ball 2 elicited the games.
next highest fear ratings.

344

Presence Ratings
Spatial presence
There was a significant main effect for game in predicting
spatial presence ratings, F(3,35) = 18.65, p < .001, eta2 =
.62. As shown in Figure 5 (top panel), James Bond elicited
highest spatial presence, but also Super Monkey Ball 2
elicited relatively high ratings. In addition, games played
Bond 007 vs. Other Games interaction contrast, F(1,36) =
7.84, p = .008, eta2 = .18. As shown in Figure 6, James
Bond elicited higher engagement among high Impulsive
Sensation Seeking scorers compared to low scorers, while
the reverse was true for the other games.
4.0

Presence-Engagement Rating
with a higher difficulty level elicited higher spatial presence
3.8
compared to easy games, F(1,37) = 78.92, p < .001, eta2 =
.68. There was also a significant Self-Forgetfulness Level 3.6

interaction, F(1,36) = 4.19, p = .048, eta2 = .10. That is, at a 3.4

lower difficulty level, highly self-forgetful players Imp. Sens. Seeking
3.2
exhibited higher spatial presence compared to low self-
forgetfulness scorers, while there was no difference 3.0 Low

between the groups at a higher difficulty level (see Figure 2.8 High
5, bottom panel). Tetris Monkey Bowling
Monkey Ball Bond 007

Game
3.2
Spatial Presence Rating

3.0
Figure 6. Presence-Engagement ratings for the
different games as a function of Impulsive Sensation
2.8 Seeking trait.

2.6

2.4
DISCUSSION
2.2
Tetris Monkey Bowling
In the present study, we examined the emotional response
Monkey Ball Bond 007
patterns and sense of presence elicited by games with
different characteristics (e.g., the view from which the
Game game is played, naturalness of the game, amount of
3.0 violence). The results showed that the four video games
(i.e., Tetris, Super Monkey Ball 2, Monkey Bowling 2, and
Spatial Presence Rating

2.9
James Bond 007: NightFire) elicited very different
2.8 emotional responses measured in terms of valence, arousal,
and discrete emotions (i.e., joy, pleasant relaxation, anger,
2.7 fear, and depressed feeling).
2.6 Self-Forgetfulness When inspecting the emotional profiles related to the
2.5 Low
present games, the following picture emerges. Tetris elicits
relatively high levels of positively valenced emotion and
High
2.4
Easy Difficult
pleasant relaxation, but also depressed mood; it elicits only
(relatively) low levels of arousal, joy, anger, and fear. Super
Level Monkey Ball 2 elicits high levels of positively valenced
emotion, arousal, joy, and pleasant relaxation, but low
Figure 5. Spatial presence ratings for the different levels of anger, fear, and depressed mood. Monkey
games (top panel). Spatial presence ratings for easy Bowling 2 elicits low levels of positively valenced emotion,
and difficult games as a function of self- arousal, joy, anger, and fear; however, it elicits high levels
forgetfulness (bottom panel). of relaxation and depressed mood. James Bond 007:
NightFire elicits low levels of positively valenced emotion,
pleasant relaxation, and depressed mood, and relatively low
Engagement levels of joy; it elicits high levels of arousal, anger, and
Engagement ratings paralleled the spatial presence ratings. fear.
That is, James Bond and Super Monkey Ball 2 elicited
If one wants to assess the goodness or badness of the
highest engagement, F(3,35) = 8.11, p < .001, eta2 = .41.
different games on the basis of the emotional responses
There was also a significant Impulsive Sensation Seeking they elicit, it is probably not sufficient to examine any

345
single emotion, but one should look at the emotional
patterns (profiles) associated with the different games. We
believe that emotional response patterns elicited by video
games can be very useful in pre-testing the different
versions of a game, for example. This is because emotions
have so central role in the determination of behavior,
including gaming. Thus, it is likely that the emotional
response pattern elicited by a video game is a more
powerful predictor of the success of the game compared to
simply asking players how good the game is. Previously, in
the context of advertising, it has been suggested that
measuring emotional responses is valuable in copy pre-
testing [17].
Obviously, one cannot categorically conclude that the best
game is the one that elicits most positive emotions.
Conversely, it is not warranted to judge a game as poor if it
elicits negative emotions (i.e., anger and fear) as did James
Bond 007: NightFire. As is the case for advertisements, a
good game is likely to elicit a strong overall emotional
response, whether positive (joy) or negative (fear and
anger) [see 17]. On the basis of the present emotional
profiles, a good guess would probably be that Monkey
Bowling 2 is not a very good game; it does not elicit strong
emotions, with the exception of depressed mood. Of course,
these suggestions should be validated by letting people to
choose how much to play each game during a longer time
period (i.e., one possible criterion variable), and by
examining the relationship of their long-term selections
with the emotional profiles related to the games.
It should also be recognized that the emotional profile
associated with Tetris may not be very flattering, even
though Tetris has (historically) been extremely popular
game. Although the popularity of Tetris may have partly
been predicated on its inexpensiveness and low hardware
requirements, it is apparent that games are not always
played in order to feel strong emotions. They may also
entail intellectual challenge and satisfaction. Also more
generally, the presence of a non-optimal emotional
response profile does not mean that a game is bad in all
situations or for all people. A willingness to play a given
game may depend on the mood and personality of an
individual.
An apparent limitation of the present results is that, on the
basis of self-report, it is not possible to determine which
specific aspects or game events (and event patterns)
contribute to the emotional profiles of the games. Of
course, given the differential characteristics of the games
(e.g., the view from which the game is played, naturalness
of the game, amount of violence, presence of a storyline,
active role of the player), one can present enlightened
guesses on this issue. Examination of emotion-related
psychophysiological responses to specific game events and
game event patterns largely resolves this problem, however.
This type of analysis gives information on the specific
game events and event patterns that elicit the targeted
346
emotional response; this information can be applied in
game design. Our next study will address these issues.
We also found that the games were differentiated by the
sense of presence (i.e., the perceptual illusion that a
mediated environment is not mediated) elicited by them.
James Bond 007: NightFire elicited highest presence (both
spatial presence and engagement), which is not surprising,
given the first-person view and naturalness of the game.
Perhaps also not surprisingly, the games played with a
higher difficulty level elicited higher spatial presence (and
arousal) compared to the easy games. A higher difficulty
level of the game taxes the cognitive resources, thereby
diminishing attention paid to cues signalling that the game
environment is not real. Likewise, it was found that a
dispositional tendency to self-forgetfulness resulted in
increased spatial presence, but only when the game was
played at an easy level; when played at a difficult level, the
task difficultness was a sufficient factor to elicit high spatial
presence (and there were no personality-related
differences). Finally, we found compelling evidence for the
suggestion that the reactions elicited by different games
may vary as a function of the personality of an individual.
That is, James Bond elicited higher engagement among
high Impulsive Sensation Seeking scorers compared to low
Impulsive Sensation Seeking scorers, while the reverse was
true for the other games. This is intelligible, given the
preference of high sensation seekers for thrills and danger.
In summary, different video games elicit very different
emotional response patterns and degrees of presence. These
constructs may be useful criterion variables in pre-testing
different versions of a game. The optimization of a game
may also be carried out so that the personality of the player
is taken into account. That is, different emotionally optimal
versions of a game can be designed for users with different
personality traits.
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