Download - Aect 2012 presentation
Effects of Character Voice-over on Players’ Engagement in a Digital Role-Playing Game Environment
JaeHwan ByunVirtual Environment LaboratorySouthern Illinois University Carbondale
Intellectual Indignation
Digital games have a potential
power to engage people (stu
dents)!
Digital games are
effective to engage
learners!
Digita
l gam
e as t
he
effec
tive m
etho
d to
enga
ge le
arne
rs.Digital games =
Engagement
Really?
Background of the Study
Then, How?
Gap in literature
Background of the Study
256898Ke, F. (2009).
role-playing, narrative arcs, challenges, fantasy, interactive choices, characters in games,
curiosity, clear goals, appropriate feedback, playfulness,
implementing elements of mystery
Gap in literature
Background of the Study
Gaming Device (Computer)
Gap in literature
Background of the Study
BGM
Purpose of the study
To determine whether or not the voice-over of
Non-Playing Characters in digital games has any
effect on players’ engagement
Research Question
What is the effect of non-player characters’
voice-over on player engagement during digital
game play?
Experimental Design
Independent Variable: NPCs’ voice-overDependent Variable: Participants’ level of engagement
Randomized control-group posttest only design
Before treatment Treatment After treatment
VO group DS Voice-over GEQ
NVO Group DS Non Voice-over GEQ
Research Subjects
• Between 18 and 25 years old
• Undergraduate students who spoke English as their first language
• No prior gaming experience with “Neverwinter Nights 2”
• No hearing and reading difficulties
Material (Research Game Mod)
• Modified game from NWN 2 tutorial module
• About 12 minutes long
• Cinematic style conversation with NPCs
Material (Adjusting Voice-over)
Material (Research Game Mod)
• Two technically identical laptops in a room
– One for VO group, One for NVO group
• Headphones
VO
NVO
Experimental Environment
Instruments
• Demographic Questionnaire– To collect background information about the
participants
• Game Engagement Questionnaire– To measure participants’ engagement level– Modified from Brockmyer, Fox, Curtiss, McBroom,
Burkhart & Pidruzny (2009)– Total 11 items
Complete the consent
form and demo-
graphic question-
naire
Play an introduc-tory mod
as “tutorial” (average
10min)
Ran-domly
assigned
Com-plete GEQ
Play the re-search mod
with voice-over (average 10min)
VO Group
Play the re-search mod
without voice-over (average 10min)
NVO Group
OR
Data Colleting Process
Results
• 74 / 81 (Analyzed Data / Total Participants)
• 37 participants per each group
• Analyzed by using PASW 18.0
• Instrument Reliability: Cronbach α = .80
(with 10 items)
• Independent Sample t-test
Results (Demographic Info.)
N
Age(Mean
)
Gender
Female MaleGrou
p VO 37 20.70 12 25
NVO 37 20.59 10 27Total 74 20.65 22 52
Results (Descriptive Statistics)
N Mean SD
GroupVO 37 37.84 5.58
NVO 37 34.76 5.25Total 74 36.30 5.60
Results (Distribution of GEQ score)Fr
eque
ncy
NVOVO
37.8434.76 GEQ scoreNVO VO
t-test for Equality of Means
t df Sig. Mean difference Std. Error difference
2.45 72 .02 3.08 1.26
• Null hypothesis was rejected at the alpha level of .05
• Effect size, Cohen's (1998) d, was .58.
Results (Hypothesis Testing)
Results (Finding)
Players are significantly more engaged in a
digital RPG environment when playing RPG with
NPCs’ voice-over than when playing RPG
without NPCs’ voice-over.
Conclusion (Discussion)
• Aural components of digital games can be
important factors affecting player engagement.
• Audio stimuli should be included as a design factor
engaging game players.
• For educational (and serious) game developers and
game modders
• For educational practitioners who are involved
in educational multimedia development
• Teachers (Trainers) who are selecting digital games
for educational purpose
Conclusion (Implications)
• Testing the validity of the GEQ for RPG• Replicating this study with different groups of
participants• Improving the fidelity of the experimental
conditions • Investigating the people who read dialog faster than
they listen to voice-over
Conclusion (Recommendations)
Q & A