short-paper

GameFlow and Player Experience Measures: An Initial Comparison of Conceptual Constructs

Authors:

Penny Sweetser,

Daniel JohnsonAuthors Info & Claims

OzCHI '19: Proceedings of the 31st Australian Conference on Human-Computer-Interaction

Pages 317 - 321

https://doi.org/10.1145/3369457.3369486

Published: 10 January 2020 Publication History

Abstract

GameFlow is a widely used model of player enjoyment, which has been applied to designing and evaluating many games and gamelike experiences since its first publication. Although GameFlow has been used as a basis for many surveys, no formal operationalisation has been proposed or validated. This raises the question of whether the development of a GameFlow measure is a worthwhile endeavour. In this paper, we report findings of a study in which GameFlow was used as an evaluation tool for an online strategy game, in conjunction with player experience measures. Expert reviews, using the GameFlow criteria, were conducted by 12 stakeholders (developers, players, researchers, and journalists) in the game Neptune's Pride 2: Triton. Player experience surveys, incorporating the Flow State Scale and Player Experience of Need Satisfaction, were also completed by 351 players. We reflect on the interaction, conceptual constructs, and value of each instrument, and where future development of the GameFlow model should focus.

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Cited By

Pacheco-Velázquez ERodés-Paragarino VRamírez-Echeverri S(2025)Student’s experience in using simulators for the development of complex skills in logistics education: assessing enjoyment of learningSmart Learning Environments10.1186/s40561-025-00372-712:1Online publication date: 13-Feb-2025
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40561-025-00372-7
Sweetser POzdowska A(2024)GameFlow Affordances: Towards a Tool for Designing Gameful ExperiencesExtended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613905.3650887(1-7)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3613905.3650887
Ozdowska ASweetser PDaiiani M(2023)A Scoping Review of Heuristics in Videos Games Research: Definitions, Development, Application, and OperationalisationProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36110357:CHI PLAY(402-424)Online publication date: 29-Sep-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3611035
Show More Cited By

Index Terms

GameFlow and Player Experience Measures: An Initial Comparison of Conceptual Constructs
1. Human-centered computing
  1. Human computer interaction (HCI)
    1. HCI design and evaluation methods
      1. User studies
2. Software and its engineering
  1. Software organization and properties
    1. Contextual software domains
      1. Virtual worlds software
        Interactive games

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cover image ACM Other conferences

OzCHI '19: Proceedings of the 31st Australian Conference on Human-Computer-Interaction

December 2019

631 pages

ISBN:9781450376969

DOI:10.1145/3369457

Copyright © 2019 ACM.

Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than the author(s) must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected].

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HFESA: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society of Australia Inc.

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Published: 10 January 2020

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OZCHI'19

OZCHI'19: 31ST AUSTRALIAN CONFERENCE ON HUMAN-COMPUTER-INTERACTION

December 2 - 5, 2019

WA, Fremantle, Australia

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Cited By

Pacheco-Velázquez ERodés-Paragarino VRamírez-Echeverri S(2025)Student’s experience in using simulators for the development of complex skills in logistics education: assessing enjoyment of learningSmart Learning Environments10.1186/s40561-025-00372-712:1Online publication date: 13-Feb-2025
https://doi.org/10.1186/s40561-025-00372-7
Sweetser POzdowska A(2024)GameFlow Affordances: Towards a Tool for Designing Gameful ExperiencesExtended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613905.3650887(1-7)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3613905.3650887
Ozdowska ASweetser PDaiiani M(2023)A Scoping Review of Heuristics in Videos Games Research: Definitions, Development, Application, and OperationalisationProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36110357:CHI PLAY(402-424)Online publication date: 29-Sep-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3611035
Ibrahim MSweetser POzdowska A(2023)Tutorial Level Design Guidelines for 2D Fighting GamesProceedings of the 18th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games10.1145/3582437.3582470(1-11)Online publication date: 12-Apr-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3582437.3582470
Zeng ZSweetser P(2022)Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment in a Multiplayer Minecraft ServerProceedings of the 34th Australian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/3572921.3572946(319-324)Online publication date: 29-Nov-2022
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3572921.3572946
Sweetser PRogalewicz Z(2020)Affording Enjoyment in VR Games: Possibilities, Pitfalls, and PerfectionProceedings of the 32nd Australian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/3441000.3441050(55-64)Online publication date: 2-Dec-2020
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3441000.3441050
Sweetser P(2020)GameFlow 2020: 15 Years of a Model of Player EnjoymentProceedings of the 32nd Australian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/3441000.3441048(705-711)Online publication date: 2-Dec-2020
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3441000.3441048
Sweetser PJohnson DKyburz J(2020)Evaluating GameFlow in a Multiplayer Online Strategy Game Under DevelopmentProceedings of the Australasian Computer Science Week Multiconference10.1145/3373017.3373068(1-10)Online publication date: 4-Feb-2020
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3373017.3373068

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