Motivational Dynamics of Dysregulated Gaming

We know that video games can offer highly rewarding and enjoyable experiences that support a person's well-being, but that they are also sometimes used to compensate for certain aspects of people's day-to-day life that are lacking, and that this can lead to problematic outcomes. In my research, I will be looking at the motivational dynamics governing people's use of games, and the factors that lead to dysregulated gaming (also referred to as problematic gaming, disordered gaming, and gaming addition). Core to my approach is the notion of basic psychological needs; people have innate needs to feel in control of their life, to feel effective, and to feel caring and cared for by others. Studies will use both questionnaire data and behavioural data from video games in order to learn about how players experience these basic needs both in daily life when they play video games, and how those interactions affect their outcomes. A disproportionate amount of the existing research has focused on either features of games, or individuals, without adequate attention paid to the relationship between the two. Thus, by combining self-report data from psychometric instruments with objective telemetry data in games, this work will advance our understanding of both healthy and dysregulated gaming.

A number of communities may benefit from this work. First, research will be conducted in collaboration with clinicians at the newly-established Gaming Disorder Clinic, where one of my supervisors, Dr David Zendle, is a research lead. This clinic is run by the NHS and forms part of the National Centre for Behavioural Addictions, with the remit of providing outpatient treatment for over 100 self-diagnosed dysregulated gamers between ages 13 and 25. One important outcome of my research will to help health professionals who are dealing with dysregulated gamers to better understand their patients, and to provide tools and techniques supporting treatment.

Second, this research has possible ramifications for policy as government officials continue to grapple with a wide range of topics related to digital health. The UK government has interests both in general health in digital environments, and diagnosis and treatment of disordered gamers. An especially relevant sub-topic in my work concerns the relationship between loot boxes (random rewards in games purchasable with real-world money) and problem gambling. A number of countries have begun to legislate loot boxes, and the UK government is considering following suit. In order to do so effectively, they will need clear research on what loot boxes are and the particular mechanisms through which they may be harming consumers.

This research is aligned with the Digital Economies and Information and Communication Technologies themes of the EPSRC.

The IGGI Centre for Doctoral Training will impact upon

1. The Digital Games Industry: Answering a national talent shortage, IGGI will inject a cohort of 60+ exceptional PhD graduates into the UK industry, able to translate AI, data, and design research into business value. They will catalyse a deeper industry understanding of the societal and ethical impacts of games, and champion a culture which encourages and supports equality, diversity and inclusion. Industry partners are fully supportive, Sony Interactive Entertainment's letter of support states "In an industry that's moving so fast, IGGI is essential for incubating the next generation of creators and innovators".

Talent flow alone can't satisfy the knowledge and innovation needs of a games industry dominated by small businesses. IGGI offers the opportunity for step change, yielding increased profits through an internationally distinctive UK games industry which is technologically advanced and research-aware. Collaborations and placements will transfer knowledge and skills needed by the industry: GameSparks (acquired by Amazon) found that "bringing in an IGGI student meant we were able to build new machine learning models into our toolset that delivers direct value"; other IGGI students have brought, for example, procedural graffiti to Media Molecule and automated game balancing to MindArk.

2. Game Players and Wider society: Large and growing numbers of people are playing digital games with unprecedented enthusiasm. Developing games which engage a wider range of players and which increase the social value obtained through playing games can have massive benefits: both economic ones and ones which harness the massive "cognitive surplus" implied by game players who are clocking up thousands of game hours. Potential benefits here are educational (e.g. teaching data literacy), therapeutic (e.g. detecting mental health issues), and cultural (e.g. through new interactive festival installations).

3. Creatives: Games provide new forms of interactive engagement, challenging traditional approaches to media and art, and technology developed for games provide creative opportunity for a wider and more diverse group of stakeholders. The BBC believes that "Convergence of the broadcasting, film and games industries will play a significant part in shaping the future of public service delivery." New human-like AI agents will lead to creative new gameplay genres; AI-supported design tools empower professional creatives and make creative expression more accessible for novices and people with disabilities.

4. Scientists: IGGI research shows that gameplay data provides population-scale insight into traits like fluid intelligence, and gamified citizen science platforms like Zooniverse are already engaging millions of volunteer players in scientific data collection. IGGI will make game data mining and gamified citizen science readily accessible with validated methods and tools and will develop a game-specific responsible innovation framework, enabling scientists to harness this massive opportunity and ensure their work has socially desirable consequences.

5. IGGI graduates: IGGI provides a beacon for innovation in digital games, with heavy competition for PhD places allowing recruitment of top students. For each IGGI graduate, learning and conducting research alongside a strong cohort of students having related but different interests and expertise, with extensive interaction with industry, will give rise to a highly rounded and employable PhD graduate, sought by both UK games industry and the growing games research community.

IGGI investigators, supervisors and students will develop a long-term understanding of the digital games industry, which will result in a stronger industry, a wealth of fascinating new research questions, and real benefits for wider society through the now-ubiquitous medium of digital games.