When Games Become Inaccessible: A Constructive Grounded Theory on Stuckness in Videogames

Abstract

A player feeling stuck is a player who risks abandoning a game and all their progress. Currently, this experience is an under-explored area in literature and is mostly approached from an expert perspective. A better understanding from a player's perspective could bring new light on how to correctly identify when it happens and support the player in overcoming the obstacles. We particularly miss information if and how stuckness arises in different genres of games, as in the case of narrative or decision-making games where most goals will depend on the personal preference of the player. We present here a first qualitative study using a constructive grounded theory approach to understand how players experience stuckness. So far we conducted 9 interviews with players and contributed with 1) Thematic analysis of when and why stuckness arises with 37 examples. 2) An in-progress theory that demonstrated that stuckness is experienced in four phases (expectations, unprogress, evaluation, and resolution) and depends on the expectation of a fair and meaningful game. 3) Presenting different types of stuckness, including stuckness caused by expectation, game design balance, social interaction, or accessibility to the game challenge.