social — Blog — University XP

What is Player Engagement?

This article will define player engagement and relate it to its roots in understanding player motivation. Player engagement has most to do with the amount of time that players engage with the game and how their investment best relates to the player experience. That player’s experience is informed by multiple sources. They include interaction and how players augment the game; how players receive and interpret feedback, and how challenges and difficulty are scaffolded and presented to players through games and games-based learning.

What is intrinsic motivation?

This article defines intrinsic motivation with some examples. This is contrasted with extrinsic motivation: our desire to participate for some sort of external benefit. Both intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation are compared. Intrinsic motivation in games is highly influenced by social pressures. These social pressures also manifest themselves in the workplace and throughout education. Intrinsic motivation will be addressed through games-based learning as well as how the designer can create games that best emphasize this powerful form of motivation. Specific steps for designing with intrinsic motivation in mind will be discussed.

Socializing Games

This article will review the positives of learning and gaming in a socialized game environment as well as how gamers, players, students, and educators may create a socialized learning environment. This article will close on the outcomes and applications of socialized gaming.