Investigating Experiences and Attitudes Toward Videogames Using a Semantic Differential Methodology

Abstract

There exists a growing concern in the game design community related to the understanding of the multifaceted nature of players’ experiences. This chapter addresses this relevant need by focusing on the attitudinal aspect of experiences and presents the differential semantic approach as a relevant and powerful methodology. Given the importance of attitudes orienting the cogni- tive and behavioral stance toward objects in general, and games in particular, researchers need to acquire the proper conceptual and methodological tools in order to investigate these significant aspects. This methodology allows researchers and designers to probe many aspects and questions related to attitudes toward games such as how do players perceive a game, a game genre, or a particular game episode. This chapter details the methodology, presents empirical results gathered using this approach, and offers fertile considerations regarding how a better understanding of attitudes toward games enlightens the gaming system and may help game designers develop innovative games tailored to their intended audiences.