Immersion in Persuasive Gaming

Persuasive video gaming is perceived as a potentially powerful way to change attitudes and knowledge of players and to possibly induce social change. This assumption stems from the interactive nature of video games as well as the wide-reaching popularity of the medium. Yet, there still exists a lack of empirical research about the actual effectiveness of persuasive gaming. Former research found that immersion into interactive media environments heightens players’ susceptibility to persuasion of messages embedded within the game world. The main theoretical framework of the present study derives from previous studies about transportation into narratives and immersion in entertainment gaming, which understand immersion as a multidimensional experience. To contribute to fill the gap in literature about the effectiveness of persuasive gaming, this thesis aims to uncover how players experience immersion in persuasive gaming and how these experiences influence players’ susceptibility to persuasion of messages embedded within the game world. The present study presents empirical findings of player experiences of My Life as a Refugee, developed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and PeaceMaker, developed by ImpactGames. All research participants played both persuasive games and were interviewed in-depth about their playing experiences via semi-structured interviews. The results indicate that players mainly experienced immersion in the narrative, ludic, affective, and spatial dimensions, as well as various barriers to immersion. Perceived realism and depth of the gaming environment played important roles in the immersive experiences. Further, it emerged that if players felt immersed in several dimensions and felt like experiencing the game’s events first-hand, this heightened their susceptibility to persuasion within the gaming environment. Identification with the game’s character intensified that effect. The thesis concludes with discussing the theoretical implications of the findings and the implications for game developers.