Abstract

This games user research study documented the empirical relationship between player motivation, experiential flow, and aesthetic emotions. Player metrics were used to describe sustained cognitive engagement. The findings indicated that player autonomy and flow had significant positive relationships with positive emotions. There were highly significant positive relationships between epistemic and prototypical aesthetic emotions and the reported duration of post play reflection length of time. This increase in post play reflection time indicates that a videogame’s enduring personal and commercial value is not primarily determined by simple, high arousal entertainment, but by its capacity to elicit complex, cognitively demanding emotions. By creating games that foster these complex emotions, game developers can create games that have lasting impact and drive player advocacy causing an increased cultural footprint.

Degree Date

Spring 5-16-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.I.T.

Department

Production

Advisor

Dr. Elizabeth Stringer

Second Advisor

Dr. Karl Steiner

Acknowledgements

Thank you Bre Breaux, I love you!

Number of Pages

52

Format

pdf

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

Download

Share

COinS