issue 1 09 - APS Member Groups - Australian Psychological Society

Excessive Videogame Playing65comfortable referring to specific video gameswhen discussing their playing experiences.Participants consented to having theirresponses recorded and were informed thatthese responses would be kept anonymous.Data analysisInterview data were analysed usingthematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006).This process involved three steps. First, therecordings were transcribed and then thetranscripts were checked against the tapes foraccuracy. Second, the most salient themeswere identified. Each data item was givenequal attention in the coding process toensure an inclusive and comprehensiveprocess. A separate document was created tostore a list of all identified themes, as well asrecord a series of relevant extracts whichillustrated each theme. The third stepinvolved using this initial set of themes as aframework to reanalyse the transcripts. Alltranscripts were reread multiple times toensure a good fit of the data, as well as toensure that themes were internally coherent,consistent, and distinctive.ResultsThe results are presented in fivesections. The first section discusses thenotion of ‘empowerment’ in relation to thevideo game playing experience; the secondsection discusses the role of social networksand social responsibility in video games; thethird section examines video game rewardsand reward delivery in relation to playermotivation; the fourth section discusses theplayer’s belief that no amount of time spentplaying is ‘long enough’; and the final sectionexplores the adverse consequences ofexcessive play. Direct quotes from theparticipants are used to highlight the variousthemes that arose during the groupinterviews, but these quotes do not representall of the quotes related to that theme. Toensure participant confidentiality, eachquotation has been assigned a codingreference relating to (a) which group theparticipant was in, and (b) the age and genderof the participant. Therefore, a coding of ‘G1,F, 32’ indicates a 32-year-old female participantwho participated in the first group interview.Player empowerment in relation to playerrecognition and controlThis section explores two main ways inwhich video games can be argued to empowerthe player. Empowerment refers to a heightenedsense of power or authority (Rappaport, 1987).This notion will be explored in relation toparticipants’ experience of feeling a sense ofmastery over the virtual properties of the videogame environment as well as a sense ofcontextual status or rank, either from feedbackwithin the video game or in relation to othervideo game users. These two ideas arerepresented by the themes of ‘control’ and‘recognition’.‘Control’ was a dominant themethroughout the interviews. This theme refers tothe notion that video games grant a player astrong sense of personal agency within thegame context. The majority of participantsexpressed enjoyment at being able tomanipulate and interact with features of thevideo game environment, or exert someinfluence over the outcome of in-game events.As one participant stated,You can test what these things dowhen you input them. You’d hit acombination of keys and activate abooster for health or speed or allthese tools that would come inreally handy” [G4, M, 21].Participants also reported a sense ofpersonal freedom in being able to choose how avideo game’s story would be resolved orcontrolling the outcome of in-game eventsusing personal strategy (“In the game you canfollow whatever path you want to, and youcontrol it” [G3, F, 18]).Some participants felt that video gameswere more immersive than film or literaturebecause they were able to participate actively,rather than be only passively involved. Onestructural feature of video games related toplayer control was the ability to ‘save’ one’sThe Australian Community Psychologist Volume 21 No 1 June 2009