Games do not exist in a vacuum
Although video games provoke many emotional responses, these are often influenced by outside content, such as promotional materials and our own experiences and perceptions. My research explores this notion utilizing a mixed methods approach, specifically examining how video game paratexts influence consumer attitudes and behaviors.
Video Games, Locational Fidelity, and Tourism
Question: Does locational fidelity (the perceived accuracy of a digitized location) instead of hyper-realistic graphics affect tourism behaviors?
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Method: Online survey with over 350 participants; developed original scale with close- and open-ended questions; conducted factor analysis and internal consistency testing on original scale.
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Findings/Applications: Significantly more positive attitudes and higher travel intentions (regression models explained 26% of variance) come from higher locational fidelity scores. Tourism boards should focus on unique elements of locations (sounds, architecture, etc.) to increase tourism.
Behind-the-Scenes (BTS) Content and Consumer Behaviors
Question: Can BTS/making-of content influence attitudes and purchase behaviors?
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Method: Online survey (close- and open-ended data) with over 200 participants; original video of prototype video game spliced with BTS footage.
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Findings/Applications: Video games being perceived as requiring “work” to develop post-exposure to BTS content, leading to significantly more positive attitudes and higher intentions to buy/play game (regression analyses). Studios should consider leveraging BTS content in their marketing strategies to drive sales.
The Role of Paratexts in Media Entertainment
Paratexts are media that exist outside of a central text but support it in providing context and meaning. Originally, paratexts were tied to the materiality of books, but they have evolved to encompass a wide range of content, both official and unofficial. This evolution is largely due to the rise of digital media, which has blurred the lines between producers and consumers and ushered in an era of online co-production. Paratexts can influence audience expectations for a text, even to the point of shaping their motivations for engaging with it.
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Book Chapter in the DeGruyter Handbook of Entertainment Media and Communication
Reward Shaping for AI based on Human Gaming Motivations
Question: Can AI play a video game as different gamer types would?
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Method: Adapt gamer motivation models to fit scalable reward system for AI agent; run simulations using high-powered cloud computing.
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Findings/Applications: Play is a quintessential and unpredictable human behavior; AI-facing programmers need to incorporate elements of play into their considerations. Important for game development optimization, self-driving cars, healthcare AI agents, and Large Language Model advancement.
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Presented at HCI International 2025
Online Responses to Controversial In-Game Violence
Question: (How) Do players engage in thoughtful reflection after committing in-game violence?
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Method: Quantitative content analysis of nearly 12 years of Reddit posts related to the "No Russian" level in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The "No Russian" mission allows (but does not require) players to participate in a terrorist attack on an airport
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Findings/Applications: Significant number of responses reflected on the ethics of their in-game actions, expressing feelings of guilt and remorse, and demonstrating how video game violence can spark moral contemplation.
Cooperative Gameplay with (Dis)Embodied AI agents
Question: Do players try harder during cooperative play when partnered with a human or machine?
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Method: Quantitative content analysis of videos in three conditions: human, embodied AI, and disembodied AI partner. Coded frequency of certain effort-demonstrating behaviors.
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Findings/Applications: Players took significantly more damage when playing with a human partner, potentially due to machine heuristics. Players trust AI to be competent at what they are programmed to do more than they trust humans to perform. Developers should leverage trust in AI-competency through narrative (AI-coded bosses) and gameplay (teammates).
Trust in Machine Partners
Question: Do different types of human-robot interactions influence perceptions of a robot's mind, morality, and trustworthiness?
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Method: Lab experiment with 117 participants, in three randomly assigned conditions: social, task, or play. Participants were introduced to a humanoid robot named "Ray" and had a conversation (social), completed a assignment (task), or played a video game (play).
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Findings/Applications: Expectations for the interaction itself influenced participants' views on Ray's morality and sentience. Prototypical task interactions foster trust by providing a clear understanding of the robot's capabilities and limitations.In contrast, social and play interactions may evoke higher expectations that are difficult for robots to fulfill, potentially leading to disappointment and reduced trust.
Video Game Demand with Mexican Gamers
Question: Can the Video Game Demand Scale (VGDS), be effectively translated into Spanish and used to measure those demands in Spanish-speaking gamers (specifically Mexican gamers)?
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Method: Mixed-methods online survey of 195 Spanish-speaking gamers. Measurement validity assessed through convergent, predictive, and concurrent validity tests using the NASA-Task Load Index, self-reported effort expenditure, and measures of entertainment outcomes, need satisfaction, and game component evaluations. Thematic analysis was conducted on the qualitative data to understand player perceptions
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Findings/Applications: The five-factor structure of the VGDS was successfully replicated in the Spanish translation (VGDS-S). Qualitative data supported the quantitative findings, with players' descriptions of their experiences aligning with the different demand dimensions. HCI research needs to include more diverse samples in order to understand our field and the breadth of consumers.
