SAVEstate: A Method for Documenting Player Reflection in Digital Games
Human-Computer Interaction
Summary
The authors focus on understanding deeper player experiences in games that involve reflection and personal growth, which they call eudaimonic player experiences. They point out that most research methods target fun and engagement, but don't capture these deeper experiences well. To fix this, they created a method called SAVEstate, which helps study how players reflect both during and after playing games. Their method also includes a tool for researchers to use and adapt. This approach lets researchers see how players make meaning from their gameplay over time.
Authors
Nisha Devasia, Michele Newman, Safinah Ali, Julie A. Kientz, Jin Ha Lee
Abstract
In recent years, interest in eudaimonic player experiences (PX) - concerning reflection, meaning-making, and personal growth - has increased. However, most games user research methods are not well-suited to study eudaimonic PX, as they have been developed to evaluate features of hedonic PX, such as flow, immersion, and playability. To more deeply explore eudaimonic PX, we require methods that can 1) investigate how moment-to-moment PX shapes player reflection and 2) explore how players reengage and reinterpret their experiences longitudinally. In this paper, we present SAVEstate, a method that uses documentation as a means of studying player reflection. SAVEstate consists of two phases: reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action, which allow researchers to probe players' in-situ reflections and how they reengage with their gameplay, respectively. Using SAVEstate, we were able to observe in-situ meaning-making and connect it to post-game reflection-on-action, and view synchronous sensemaking across multiple participants. We also developed an open-source desktop application for researchers to adapt in their own SAVEstate deployments. We discuss implications for how researchers might use SAVEstate to conduct future research in meaningful PX.