The Factors Affecting Perceived Playability of Hardcore and Casual Players in Online Role-Playing Games

影響核心玩家與休閒玩家認知線上角色扮演遊戲可玩性之因素探討

李峻德(Jiun-De Lee)

可玩性 ； 玩家類型 ； 角色扮演遊戲 ； playability ； player types ； role-playing games

資訊管理學報

22卷4期（2015 / 10 / 01）

353 - 401

英文

自1980 年起，線上遊戲可說是整個數位娛樂產業中發展最為快速的領域，其中的角色扮演遊戲（Role-Playing Game/RPG）市場，受到多數核心型玩家喜愛。面對激烈競爭，遊戲設計者的挑戰，是如何去創造兼顧基本易用性，與具高度樂趣的遊戲環境；換言之，協助玩家產生遊戲經驗（Gameplay experience），為設計的關鍵。然而，此議題在過往人機互動設計相關研究中，並未有太多著墨。延伸自傳統的易用性觀念，本研究旨在調查角色扮演遊戲中，影響核心型玩家與休閒型玩家，可玩性（Playability）遊戲經驗的設計因素面向。

Purpose-A new design concept, playability, has emerged and been advocated as a decisive factor for players' gameplay experiences. The present study intends to identify what playability factors might affect players' gaming experiences, particularly from the perspective of individual motivation. Design/methodolgy/approach-According to the game heuristics and playability design guidelines, the present study developed and managed a wide-scale survey to investigate the determinants of playability, reflecting hardcore and casual players' RPG gaming experiences. Finding-The survey results revealed that the Gameplay dimension is primary decisive factor leading players to value the playability of an online role-playing game, following by Game Interface and then Game Mechanics. From the hardcore players' point of view, Gameplay is definitely more important than Game Interface, while Game Interface is equally important to Game Mechanics. From the casual players' point of view, Gameplay is positioned at the same critical level as Game Interface while Game Interface has a stronger impact than Game Mechanics. Research limitations/implications-The results of the present study can merely provide information of which design factors of playability might be deemed important by players from the perspective of individual motivation. In addition, although the emotion issue is highly related to the psychological dimension of the player's gaming experience, it wasn't included in this investigation due to the limitation of the survey method, and the match between issues of emotion and playability has yet to be specified. Practical implications and originality/value-From the survey results of the present study, it provides a useful design reference for game developers. What players consider to be a good game largely lies more on the hedonistic level than on the ergonomic level. In other words, usability design in online role-playing game environments comes second to the emotional elements.

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