Abstract: An experiment was conducted to examine individuals’ perceptions of their recall of enjoyable and meaningful video games, as well as the game characteristics and dimensions of need-satisfaction associated with experiences of enjoyment and appreciation. Participants (N = 512) were randomly assigned to one of two groups that asked them to recall a game that they found either particularly fun or particularly meaningful, and to then rate their perceptions of the game that they recalled. Enjoyment of the game was equally high for both groups, though appreciation was higher in the meaningful- than fun-game condition. Enjoyment of games was most strongly associated with gameplay characteristics and satisfaction of needs related to competency and autonomy, whereas appreciation of games was most strongly associated with story characteristics and satisfaction of needs related to insight and relatedness. Citation: Oliver, M. B., Bowman, N. D., Woolley, J. K., Rogers, R., Sherrick, B. I., & Chung, M-Y.(2013, June). Video Games as Meaningful Entertainment Experiences. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association, London.

1. “Lugo: You’re f*cking
kidding, right? That’s
white phosphorous!
Walker: Yeah I know what
it is…
Lugo: You’ve seen what
the sh*t does! You know
we can’t …
Adams: ...We might not
have a choice Lugo…
Lugo: There’s always a
choice!”
Popular conceptualizations of videos games
often tend to characterize this form of
entertainment as a somewhat shallow or
superficial diversion filled with adolescent
fantasies of gladiator battles and zombie
shootouts. Although these characterizations
may aptly describe a sizable segment of
available games, there seem to be notable
exceptions to this general rule. Is the popular
and critical success of Heavy Rain an exception
that ultimately serves to prove the rule that
games focus almost entirely on hedonic
concerns? Or might games have the ability to
address individuals’ needs for greater insight
and meaning as well?
Video Games as Meaningful Entertainment Experiences
Oliver, Bowman, Woolley, Rogers, Sherrick, Chung
Oliver, M. B., Bowman, N. D., Woolley, J. K., Rogers, R., Sherrick, B. I., & Chung, M-Y.(2013, June). Video Games as Meaningful
Entertainment Experiences. Poster presented at the Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association, London.
An experiment was conducted to examine
individuals’ perceptions of their recall of enjoyable
and meaningful video games, as well as the game
characteristics and dimensions of need-satisfaction
associated with experiences of enjoyment and
appreciation. Participants (N = 512) were randomly
assigned to one of two groups that asked them to
recall a game that they found either particularly fun
or particularly meaningful, and to then rate their
perceptions of the game that they recalled.
Enjoyment of the game was equally high for both
groups, though appreciation was higher in the
meaningful- than fun-game condition. Enjoyment of
games was most strongly associated with gameplay
characteristics and satisfaction of needs related to
competency and autonomy, whereas appreciation
of games was most strongly associated with story
characteristics and satisfaction of needs related to
insight and relatedness.
Keywords: video games, enjoyment,
meaningfulness, entertainment
Abstract______________
Research Questions_____
RQ1: Are individuals able to recall meaningful video
game experiences at the same rate that they are
able to recall enjoyable video game experiences?
RQ2: Is there an additional non-hedonic
gratification that is more characteristic of
meaningful than fun game experiences?
RQ3: How do game characteristics and need
satisfaction work together in predicting both
enjoyment and appreciation of games?
Background_______________________________
Released in 2010, Heavy Rain set an unprecedented
75% completion mark, selling over two million copies
worldwide as a “video game noir” – a game that
“[peers] into the dark reaches of the very real human
heart to deliver stories that are thrilling, chilling and
utterly absorbing” (Benedetti, 2010)
Enjoyment seems to stem from the satisfaction of
needs related to competence and autonomy
(Tamborini et al, 2010) …
…but what about other intrinsic needs, such as
relatedness or insight – what elements of games (if
any) might satisfy these needs?
Results___________________________________
Method_______________
Online survey (N = 512), with largely male (67.8%)
respondents ranging in age from 18 to 56 years old
(Median = 27, M = 28.98, SD = 7.44), with an
average experience playing video games of M = 7.47
years (SD = 6.41). Participants entered into a raffle
for one of 10 $50USD Amazon.com gift cards.
Participants were randomly assigned to complete a
survey about “a particularly fun (n = 249)” or “a
particularly meaningful (n = 263)” video game,
borrowing from Oliver and Hartmann (2010).
Enjoyment and appreciation were measured using
Oliver and Bartsch (2010), three items each.
Affective responses included*:
• Meaningful affect: touched, moved,
compassionate, inspired
• Negative affect: angry, anxious, tense, negative
• Positive affect: amused, humored, happy,
positive
Game characteristics were rated using a 0-100 scale
for gameplay, story, and sound
Need satisfaction was measured using Tamborini et
al, with the addition of unique “insight” items**
*PCA with promax rotation; **validated with CFA
RQ1: 97.6% of “fun” participants could recall a fun game, while 71.9% of “meaningful” participants
could recall a meaningful game, χ2 (N = 512, DF = 1) = 64.22, p < .001, Cramer’s V = .35. Fun gaming
experiences are more frequently recalled than meaningful ones, but both are recalled by a
majority of respondents.
RQ2: CFA revealed “insight” to be a unique dimension of need satisfaction, and the satisfaction of
“insight” was higher for “meaningful” participants than for “fun” participants.
RQ3: Gameplay ratings are directly associated with enjoyment scores, and have an indirect
association through their influence on the satisfaction of competence and autonomy needs. Story
ratings are directly associated with apprecation scores, and have an indirect association through
their influence on the satisfaction of relatedness and insight needs.