A study of presence in interactive game environments

Zusatztext

How does an interactive environment affect a users experience? Presence is something that is usually elicited through virtual reality, but as traditional games develop into a rich media with immersive qualities beyond that of TV or film, it is argued that they can also elicit the sense of presence. Is measuring presence in traditional games viable using VR structures? The most widely used method of measuring it is the Presence Questionnaire. It is argued however that a questionnaire is not enough for measuring the immediate experience felt by an individual and in this study from 2008 its complemented by an additional method of psychological measurement; time perception. Here, two game levels are created in order to investigate the theory that an increased degree of interactivity affects presence in games. These levels are identical but for one factor, one level is static and the other is highly interactive and destructible. Results from the time perception test and the accompanying questionnaire show a strong relationship between the levels of enjoyment and the increased amount of interactivity, as well as a relationship between time distortion and the sense of presence.

Autorenportrait

Pete Ellis is an experienced games designer having worked on AAA first-person shooting games Killzone Mercenary for the PS Vita, Killzone Shadow Fall for the PS4 and RIGS: Mechanised Combat League for Playstation VR. He was a speaker at GDC Europe 2016 and Eurogamer EGX 2015 and has also written articles for many leading industry websites.

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