AbstractsPsychology

Violence or challenge?; Våld eller utmaning?

by Jacob Eriksson




Institution: University of Skövde
Department:
Year: 2016
Keywords: RPG; Violence; Challenge; Rewards; Balance; Natural Sciences; Computer and Information Science; Naturvetenskap; Data- och informationsvetenskap; Computer Game Development - Game Writing; Dataspelsutveckling - Game Writing; Media, Aesthetics and Narration; Medier, estetik och berättande
Posted: 02/05/2017
Record ID: 2126402
Full text PDF: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:his:diva-12391


Abstract

This study gives an overview of why violence is applied so often in RPGs. It features a breakdown of the RPG-genre and reflects upon how violence is commonly used to create challenge in a game. The study will also bring attention to the psychology of rewards and discuss how game mechanics can encourage players to act in the most rewarding way. The study also conducts a research by creating an artefact and qualitative interviews to test the research question; is it the challenge or the violence itself that is the determining factor for conflict resolution in RPGs? This research concludes that there are several factors that influence the player’s decision making outside when choosing either a challenging or a violent path. Factors such as a narrative, character representation and the aspect of game flow in accordance with the game genre also seem to be of higher importance than expected at first glance.