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Player Characteristics and Video Game Preferences

Gustavo Fortes Tondello and Lennart Nacke. 2019. Player Characteristics and Video Game Preferences. In Proceedings of the 2019 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play - CHI PLAY '19. Barcelona, Spain. ACM. doi:10.1145/3311350.3347185

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@inproceedings{Tondello2019c,
abstract = {The Games User Research literature has advanced considerably on understanding why people play games and what different types of games or mechanics they prefer. However, what has been less studied is how models of player preferences explain their game choices. In this study, we address this question by combining and analyzing two datasets (N = 188 and N = 332) containing data about the games that participants enjoy, their player trait scores, and their preferred game elements and playing styles. The results provide evidence that these scores can significantly explain participants' preferences for different games. Additionally, we provide information about the characteristics of players who enjoy each game.},
address = {Barcelona, Spain},
author = {Tondello, Gustavo F. and Nacke, Lennart E.},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2019 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play - CHI PLAY '19},
doi = {10.1145/3311350.3347185},
isbn = {9781450366885},
keywords = {game elements,games user research,personalization,player preferences,player traits,video games},
publisher = {ACM},
title = {{Player Characteristics and Video Game Preferences}},
year = {2019}
}

Abstract

The Games User Research literature has advanced considerably on understanding why people play games and what different types of games or mechanics they prefer. However, what has been less studied is how models of player preferences explain their game choices. In this study, we address this question by combining and analyzing two datasets (N = 188 and N = 332) containing data about the games that participants enjoy, their player trait scores, and their preferred game elements and playing styles. The results provide evidence that these scores can significantly explain participants’ preferences for different games. Additionally, we provide information about the characteristics of players who enjoy each game.