PLAYFUL AND SOCIAL INTERACTION IN PHYSICAL GAME: A QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE STUDY OF REAL-LIFE ESCAPE ROOM.

• Author: Chiu, Hsiao-Ping

1. Introduction

   The real-life escape room is a new genre of game. In this game, players must work together as a team to discover clues, solve puzzles, and accomplish tasks to escape a locked room in a limited time. The origins of escape rooms are live-action role playing games, point-and-click adventures, puzzle and treasure hunts, interactive theater and haunted houses, adventure game shows and movies, and the themed entertainment industry (Nicholson 2015). Technology and mechanical equipment such as sensors, displays, lasers, and radio signals are the key elements of many real-life escape rooms. Therefore, during gameplay, a player interacts not only with other team members but also with physical objects.

   Games provide a broad range of player experience (PX) resulting from active participation. PX includes involvement, immersion, presence, engagement, flow, and fun (Takatalo et al. 2015). As the game market expands rapidly and competition intensifies, game designers have identified the significance of player experience assessment in the acceptance and success of games. Some researchers have reached consensus that the psychological dimensions compose the overall player experience in the real-life escape room game (Wong 2015). However, little is known about what kinds of player experiences are generated when playing the real-life escape room games and which design elements of the escape room can induce such experiences in players.

   Social interaction is an important issue in the game design as well. An escape game is a real-life interactive game consisting of a team of players; hence, PX is considered to be strongly affected by both the interactions between game facilities and players and the game elements that shape the interactions between the persons participating in the play session. Lo et al. (2017) attempted to discover the collaborative roles that the team members assume and the communication methods that the team uses to facilitate interaction. Nevertheless, connections between the sense of social presence, the sociability of the environment, and PX have not yet been sufficiently investigated.

   This study applied a questionnaire survey, group interviews, and behavioral observation to investigate the player experience and social interactions among players in a real-life escape room game. In the questionnaire survey, the core game experience and social presence were examined. In the group interview, the design factors of the real-life escape room were identified. In the group interview and behavioral observation, the individual and team behaviors were explored.

2. Literature review

   2.1. Real-life escape rooms

   Real-life escape rooms, which are themed physical adventure games, are growing in popularity worldwide. Nicholson (2015) conducted a survey of 175 escape rooms around the world and categorized the diverse theme of escape rooms. Though the themes and settings differ the games typically involve two or more players, who have generally an hour to solve a room full of puzzles in order to escape. Currently, there are more than 7,000 real-life escape rooms of different types in 100 countries (Egnor 2014).

   Escape rooms require collaboration and communication, and they encourage players to engage in critical thinking. Because escape rooms are live-action games taking place in the physical world, players collaborate to share clues and solve puzzles through both verbal and non-verbal communication (Pan et al. 2017). In the escape room, which is filled with various forms and styles of puzzles, the players have to think creatively and use different mechanical skills to decipher the puzzles (Wiemker et al. 2015). Hence, solving puzzles and ultimately escaping will require that the players work on the puzzles using multiple approaches to knowledge.

   2.2. Scope of player experience

   PX has been approached from a variety of perspectives on game play. Poels et al. (2007) identified nine main dimensions of player experience in digital games: enjoyment, flow, imaginative immersion, sensory immersion, suspense, competence, negative affect, control, and social presence. The dimensions of immersion, fun, and playability are often critical to game motivation and enjoyment (Ghumanand Griffiths 2012, Brown and Cairns 2004, Nacke et al. 2009). Furthermore, Weibel et al (2008) found positive correlations between presence, flow, and enjoyment in game play. Some research has showed that, for most players, immersion equals the degree of involvement within a game and makes them lose track of time and outside concerns (Wiemker et al. 2015, Brown and Cairns 2004, Jennettet al. 2008).

   Several studies have indicated specific features of games that are thought to increase enjoyment. Klimmt et al. (2009) found that suspense was a driver of game enjoyment: A suspenseful version of a game is more enjoyable than a non-suspenseful version. Visual and aural aesthetics are also the keys to creating the desired feeling of immersion. The visual style and fidelity are closely tied to the aspects of immersion and flow (McLaughlin et al. 2010). Music and sound effects not only enrich the game-worlds and assist player navigation but are also important for the semantic operations of games (Whalen 2004). Physical tools or elements also impact the play experience in several manners (Ullmer and Ishii 2000, Buur et al. 2004). Schneider et al. (2004) proposed that players felt a greater sense of presence when a game was structured around a story. Thus, different game design features affect a player's experience of interacting with the game.

   2.3. Player experience in social interaction

   Social interaction is becoming an increasingly important topic in multiplayer gaming. In multiplayer games, social interaction is inbuilt and direct in the core gameplay. A number of studies have pointed out that playing with other people and friends induces more fun, physiological arousal, engagement, and positive affect (Clarke and Duimering 2006, Mandryk and Inkpen 2004, Ravaja et al. 2006). Experiences of interaction can create feelings of camaraderie and make players feel more connected to each other. In fact, individuals cite social interaction as one of the main reasons why they play multiplayer games (Chou and Tsai 2007, Pagulayan et al. 2003).

   Social interaction processes in game play include monitoring, awareness, verbal communication, and nonverbal immediacy behaviors. Monitoring of other players' actions contributes to the maintenance of game awareness (Tseet al. 2007). Xu et al. (2008) reported that more social presence in awareness of others offered the most opportunities for interpersonal interactions. Since communicating can give players opportunities to express and share emotions and in-game information, social presence also appeared to be highest when people could see and hear each other while communicating (Rettie 1995, Kuoppala and Finnerman 2012). Overall, the social interaction process can occur at different levels of a game and has a clear impact on the player's experience.

   2.4. Player Experience Evaluation Questionnaires

   Several questionnaires for evaluating player experience have been developed and validated. Some of these questionnaires, such as the Player Experience of Need Satisfaction, the Immersive Experience Questionnaire, and the Game Engagement Questionnaire (Ryan et al. 2006, Sweetser and Wyeth 2005, Jennett et al. 2008), concentrate on the related constructs of motivation, immersion, or engagement. Other scales, such as the Game Flow Questionnaire (Brockmyer et al. 2009), and the Game Enjoyment Instrument (Fang et al. 2008), focus on player enjoyment.

   The Game Experience Questionnaire (GEQ), which has been applied in many game research studies of PX (Mahmud et al. 2008, Gajadhar et al. 2008), assesses both player game experience and social presence (Poels et al. 2007). The GEQ contains a multi-dimensional self-report measure of game experience including both a core module and a social presence module. The core module includes seven dimensions: competence, immersion, flow, tension, challenge, negative affect, and positive affect. The social presence module comprises three dimensions: empathy, negative feelings, and behavioral involvement. Each dimension consists of multiple items. In total, the questionnaire includes 50 statements.

3. Research objectives and hypotheses

   The objectives of the study were to investigate the kinds of player experiences generated when playing a real-life escape room game, the design elements of an escape room that can induce player experiences, and the social interactions with team members in the game. To carry out the objectives of the study, the following questions were addressed:

1. What are the demographic characteristics of players who play real-life escape room games?

2. What design factors affect players' feelings and perceptions while playing real-life escape room games?

3. What are players' game and social experiences within real-life escape room games?

4. Research methods

   This study applied both quantitative (questionnaire survey) and qualitative (group interview and behavioral observation) methods to gather the player experience of real-life escape room games. The game experience questionnaire (GEQ) was used to collect subjective responses from the participants. Observational research provided a reliable measurement of actual participant behavior and the natural context (Smith 1944). The group interview was used to collect additional insights through the interactions of ideas and suggestions from the group (Robson 2000).

   The research was conducted in three phases. Phase one was participant recruitment. Phase two was data collection, which included the questionnaire survey, group interview, and behavioral observation. Finally, phase three was data analysis of the player experience, which consisted of both quantitative and qualitative analysis.

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