Real bullets real fun The Enjoyment of Shooting

Real bullets, real fun? The Enjoyment of Shooting Games – Exploring the Role of Perceived Realism 6 th European Communication Conference (ECREA) Twitter: @R_Daneels Rowan Daneels 1 Prof. dr. Steven Malliet 23 Prof. dr. Joyce Koeman 1 dr. Wannes Ribbens 1: KU Leuven – Institute for Media Studies (IMS) 2: University of Antwerp – Media, Policy & Culture (MPC) 3: LUCA School of Arts – MAD Faculty

Introduction First Person Shooter games: o Popular o Virtual violence o Realistic o Viewpoint Enjoyment of these “violent” games Exploratory research

Perceived Realism = graphics? More to it = multidimensional (Ribbens et al. , 2016) Dimensions Character involvement Simulational realism Freedom of choice Social realism Perceptual pervasiveness Authenticity Description/measures The extent to which players feel involved with their avatar and the digital game world. (identification & enjoyment) The extent to which behavior in the digital game simulates behavior in the real world in a believable manner. The extent to which the number and nature of choices in the digital game reflect choices a player has in the real world. (control & enjoyment) The extent to which the events in the digital game resemble events in the real world. The extent to which a digital game “text” creates a compelling audiovisual illusion (cf. graphical realism). The extent to which players believe in the intention and capacity of the game developers to convey an authentic, emotional, or logical message.

Enjoyment Virtual violence non-violent reality Different influences on enjoyment: Control Competition Identification Suspense (Klimmt, Hartmann, & Frey, 2007) (Vorderer, Hartmann, & Klimmt, 2003) (Hefner, Klimmt, & Vorderer (2007) (Klimmt, Rizzo, Vorderer, Koch, & Fischer, 2009) Perceived realism as underlying factor?

Linking enjoyment & realism Little research – fragmented – mostly theoretical Two important perspectives: Immersion argument Moral (dis)engagement argument (more realism -> more immersion -> more enjoyment) (more realism -> less moral distance -> less enjoyment)

Overall research question Can a dimensional approach towards perceived realism, as proposed by Ribbens et al. (2016), serve as an underlying factor reconciling both perspectives on digital game enjoyment?

Hypotheses & research questions Perceptual pervasiveness + Freedom of choice + - Social realism Enjoyment of virtual violence ? Character involvement Simulational realism Authenticity ? ?

Methodology Online survey Demographics: o 240 participants o 18 -29 years old (62, 5%) o Mostly male (90%) o High school degree (34, 6%), Bachelor (40%) o Belgium (36, 7%), USA (25, 4%), UK, Netherlands, Canada

Results (1) Mean scores of perceived realism dimensions Mean Standard Deviation Perceptual Pervasiveness 3, 60 0, 99 Freedom of Choice 2, 50 0, 93 Social Realism 2, 66 0, 97 Character Involvement 3, 06 0, 99 Simulational Realism 2, 02 0, 80 Authenticity 3, 52 0, 91 5 point Likert scale (1= Strongly disagree; 5= Strongly agree)

Results (2) Regression: game enjoyment as a function of perceived realism dimensions Enjoyment (β-value) Perceptual Pervasiveness (=graphical realism) Freedom of choice 0, 059 Social realism 0, 317*** H 1 Perceptual pervasiveness √ 0, 038 H 2 Freedom of choice / Character involvement 0, 090 H 3 Social realism / Simulational realism -0, 035 Authenticity Control Frequency of play Model fit R² F(Df) 0, 424*** 0, 035 0, 538 30, 950(193) RQ 1 Character involvement RQ 2 Simulational realism RQ 3 Authenticity

Discussion Limitations & future research: o Sample issues & large dropout ratio o More focus on immersion/moral disengagement in survey • Follow-up Study! Relevance: - First step towards integrating fragmented research

Questions? Shoot! (not really)