Motivations for play in computer role-playing games

Authors:
Anders Tychsen;Michael Hitchens;Thea Brolund
Affiliations:
IT University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen S, Denmark;Macquarie University, North Ryde NSW, Australia;University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia
Venue:
Future Play '08 Proceedings of the 2008 Conference on Future Play: Research, Play, Share
Year:
2008

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Abstract

In this paper the motivations for play in the context of single- and multi-player digital Role-Playing Games (RPGs) are examined. Survey data were drawn from respondents online and participants in a related experimental study. The results indicate that motivations for play are not simple constructs, but rather composed of multiple motivational drivers that are heavily interrelated and act in concert. Character uniqueness and Discovery & Immersion were the highest ranked motivational categories. Different levels of detail in motivations for playing single-/multi-Player RPGs were located, with mechanistic/tactical play and character-based/social play being the two overall motivational factors.