The Gamer Response and Decision Framework

Abstract

Aim. This article presents the Gamer Response and Decision Framework as a tool for understanding how people interpret, make decisions, and learn during their video gaming experiences. Background. The Gamer Response and Decision Framework combines Rosenblatt’s Reader Response Theory with a variety of other concepts and frameworks related to new literacies, multimodality, learning theory, psychology, and video gaming. This Framework illustrates that every individual has unique experiences, knowledge, skills, agency, self-efficacy, and goals, and these components influence how people interpret and make decisions during video gameplay, which affects how the game unfolds as a unique experience for each gamer. Together these ideas illustrate that no two gamers have the same experience when playing a video game. Understanding video gameplay experiences is important as it represents a dynamic process in which gamers interpret a wide variety of multimodal symbols, experiment and learn in these digital environments, and solve complex problems in order to progress in the game. Conclusion. The Gamer Response and Decision Framework can be used to understand, investigate, and analyze video gameplay experiences and has significant implications for our understanding the thought, decision-making, and learning processes that gamers experience. In the future, researchers in a variety of fields including education, game studies, and game design can use this framework to analyze how people interact with video games.

World Literature Representation via Video Games

“…Different theories can be applied to study video games, particularly the gamer-response theory, which was largely derived from Rosenblatt's reader-response theory (Gillern, 2016). Although Gillern (2016) initially proposed gamer-response theory, it has to a reasonable extent served its purpose on reflecting how video gamers react to video games during game-playing.…”

“…Different theories can be applied to study video games, particularly the gamer-response theory, which was largely derived from Rosenblatt's reader-response theory (Gillern, 2016). Although Gillern (2016) initially proposed gamer-response theory, it has to a reasonable extent served its purpose on reflecting how video gamers react to video games during game-playing. These two theories can be applied to both gamers and readers in analyzing their responses and interactions toward a specific game or literary work; however, Gillern (2016) specifically explores how to not only theorize or vitalize the importance of gamer-response theory but also solidify the role of gamers' background, general and digital knowledge, gaming experiences, and online interactions with and reactions to other games.…”

“…Although Gillern (2016) initially proposed gamer-response theory, it has to a reasonable extent served its purpose on reflecting how video gamers react to video games during game-playing. These two theories can be applied to both gamers and readers in analyzing their responses and interactions toward a specific game or literary work; however, Gillern (2016) specifically explores how to not only theorize or vitalize the importance of gamer-response theory but also solidify the role of gamers' background, general and digital knowledge, gaming experiences, and online interactions with and reactions to other games. Gillern (2016) states, "Understanding video gameplay experiences is important as it represents a dynamic process in which gamers interpret a wide variety of multimodal symbols, experiment and learn in these digital environments, and solve complex problems in order to progress in the game" (p. 666).…”

“…These two theories can be applied to both gamers and readers in analyzing their responses and interactions toward a specific game or literary work; however, Gillern (2016) specifically explores how to not only theorize or vitalize the importance of gamer-response theory but also solidify the role of gamers' background, general and digital knowledge, gaming experiences, and online interactions with and reactions to other games. Gillern (2016) states, "Understanding video gameplay experiences is important as it represents a dynamic process in which gamers interpret a wide variety of multimodal symbols, experiment and learn in these digital environments, and solve complex problems in order to progress in the game" (p. 666). Accordingly, he presents a framework by which readers and researchers can encourage the public to consider how crucial video gameplay experiences with multiple utilizations can have impact on gamers in terms of learning and education.…”

Service Design Games as Innovation Tools, Knowledge Creators, and Simulation/Games

“…This issue also includes two non-symposium articles. In The Gamer Response and Decision Framework Sam von Gillerm (2016) draws on both recreational play and simulation/gaming research, providing a framework tool for observing game features and gameplay choices and experiences relating to them. Ana M. Codita’s Integrating an Immigration Law Simulation Into EAP Courses (2016), in turn, shows the usefulness of using a simulation/game as part of an academic English course.…”