The effects of observation in video games: how remote observation influences player experience, motivation, and behaviour

Abstract

Surveillance is ubiquitous. It is well known that the presence of other people (in-person or remote, actual or perceived) increases performance on simple tasks and decreases performance in complex tasks (Zajonc 1965). But little is known about these phenomena in the context of video games, with recent advances finding that they do not necessarily extend to games (Emmerich and Masuch 2018). In Experiment 1 (N=1489; No Observation vs. Researcher Observing), we find that participants observed by a researcher played significantly longer, and performed significantly better, across three video games. Moreover, we find some support that participants observed by a researcher score higher on player experience and intrinsic motivation. In Experiment 2 (N=843; Researcher Observing vs. Professor Observing), we seek to understand whether different roles differing in their perceived evaluativeness would influence the effects of observation. We find that participants observed by a professor had, at times, significantly lower performance, player experience, intrinsic motivation, playing time, and higher anxiety. In Experiment 3 (N=1358; No Observation vs. Researcher Observing), we further validate Experiment 1 by extending our results to three additional game genres. Here, we provide the largest study on observation in video games to date. The study is also the first to show that observer type can significantly influence player outcomes.

Enhancing adolescent reasoning skills through a video game program

“…These studies indicated that playing action video games reduced the sex difference in spatial cognition, but girls did not outperform boys, as was the case in this research. This could be explained due to the motivation generated in the girls by playing video games (Barreto et al, 2017;Breien & Wasson, 2021;Kao, 2021). This makes them more interested in the game, the sport, and the rules, which helps them to perform better than when they do physical activity.…”

“…For their part, Merino-Campos and del Castillo (2016) explain that active video games are an equally effective or even more appropriate learning tool than traditional learning instruments. Their success is based on the motivation that video games awaken among students (Barreto et al, 2017;Breien & Wasson, 2021;Kao, 2021). Video games rely on constant learning and can have alternatives to adapt to the learning capabilities of different players (Contreras et al, 2011).…”

“…Sport-based video games, such as FIFA 17 or Madden NFL, or NBA 2 K are the favorite games without violence for adolescents (Funk et al, 2018). This motivation generates a greater predisposition to use them (Breien & Wasson, 2021;Kao, 2021).…”

Exploring the effect of the Group Size and Feedback of non-player character spectators in virtual reality exergames

“…They found gameplay performance was not influenced by the presence of any social entity (Emmerich and Masuch, 2018 ). A recent study suggests that purposefully integrating observation and surveillance based on text phrases shown in games can improve players' performance, experience, and motivation (Kao, 2021 ). NPC Spectators have also been employed in VR cycling games, where Haller et al ( 2019 ) have found that having NPC spectators cheer and clap for the player could improve player performance and maintain high intrinsic motivation.…”

Social Buffering Effects during Craft Activities in Parallel Group Session Revealed by EEG Analysis and Parasympathetic Activity

“…Social facilitation is a phenomenon in which the mere presence of others improves performance on skilled tasks and decreases performance on complex tasks [1][2][3]. The type of observer influences the effect, increasing its effectiveness when the observer is evaluative [4] and decreasing performance and increasing state anxiety when the observer is an authority figure [5]. Electrophysiological studies have reported that the late positive components of the event-related potentials, such as P2 and P3, in the visual cortex are increased in the presence of others condition [6], which improves local and interbrain phase synchrony in the joint visual search task [7].…”