Is cheating a human function? The roles of presence, state hostility, and enjoyment in an unfair video game

Authors:
J. J. De Simone;Tessa Verbruggen;Li-Hsiang Kuo;Bilge Mutlu
Affiliations:
School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 821 University AvenueMadison, WI 53706 USA;Department of Computer Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1210 W. Dayton St. Madison, WI 53706 USA;Department of Computer Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1210 W. Dayton St. Madison, WI 53706 USA;Department of Computer Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1210 W. Dayton St. Madison, WI 53706 USA
Venue:
Computers in Human Behavior
Year:
2012

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Abstract

In sports and board games, when an opponent cheats, the other players typically greet it with disdain, anger, and disengagement. However, work has yet to fully address the role of the computer cheating in video games. In this study, participants played either a cheating or a non-cheating version of a modified open-source tower-defense game. Results indicate that when a computer competitor cheats, players perceive the opponent as being more human. Cheating also increases player aggravation and presence, but does not affect enjoyment of the experience. Additionally, players that firmly believed that their opponent was controlled by the computer exhibited significantly less state hostility compared to players that were less certain of the nature of their competitor. Game designers can integrate subtle levels of cheating into computer opponents without any real negative responses from the players. The results indicate that minor levels of cheating might also increase player engagement with video games.