Blog 6

Context of Research Design:

Our first survey based on Candy Crush users revealed that users did not care about the limited lives. However, the addition of limited game sessions serves as a hedonic feature of Candy Crush gaming experience in the flow model of the organization and its relations with the users. Thus to prove or disprove whether there is a relationship between the two, we will further investigate with quantitative and qualitative methods into the ways users describe the hedonic values and the emotions connected with it.

Research Questions:

1. Examine user perception on the game and specific keywords related to its image.

2. Investigate whether Candy Crush’s tactic of hedonic features provide satisfaction or hinder it?

Investigation Plan:

1. Research Methods:

Questionnaire (50 response)

→ REDDIT, INSTAGRAM, DISCORD

https://forms.gle/nWr1RwJ9BVGyGDfo9

Ice Breaker -

• The questionnaire will specify on the satisfaction levels of the Candy Crush users on its features and most importantly the tactic of limited game sessions.

Skewer Questions

• If the limited game sessions did not matter to the user, then more information will be investigated on what is more important to users in their satisfaction of the game.

Data

• We will ask users to write down words to describe their feelings on individual features using 2-3 words. (“I am happy to be grinding to level 4000” - write down words to describe this [angry])

1. Measurements

IB: Likert Scale

Skewer: → alternative answers

Data: Qualitative Analysis

Analysis: Part 1

Analysis: Examine User Perception on Game

• Overall feelings towards the theme is mostly positive. 50% of participants feel that the theme of Candy Crush is colorful and used majorily positive adjectives to describe the theme: fun, bright, happy, cute, … For descriptions with negative connotation, the theme is described to be distracting, weird and annoying.

• Overall feelings towards the color use of Candy Crush is mostly positive and neutral with 10 used the adjective good and 7 used indifferent to describe how they feel.

• Overall feelings towards the sound and music is quite balanced between negative and positive feelings with 17 considering it to be distracting while 16 consider it to be good. Against the distracting feeling that the sound and music of Candy Crush evokes, participants would put the game on mute.

• Overall feelings towards the animations is quite balanced between negative and positive feelings.

• Overall feelings towards the animations is mostly balanced. Specifically, 11 participants used the positive term ‘cute’ to describe their feeling towards animations, 7 described it to evoke the negative feeling of being ‘distracting’ and 8 people used quite ambivalent descriptions of being ‘fine’ or ‘indifferent’.

From the analysis survey’s keywords, it appeared that the participants’ feeling towards the visual and sensory design of Candy Crush mostly lean towards the ambivalent to positive side.

Analysis: Related Issues

This explored the answers that either diverted away from the main responses denoted above or went into detail into some specific details noted by the data from the survey. Limited lives bothering people

• YES I AM BOTHERED: urge to play but ads are an option, results in slower leveling, encouraged by the application to spend money, cash grab

• SOMETIMES: when I am trying to beat hard levels

--> Limited lives were a problem with users because of its problematic nature of purchase pandering for players who really want to be involved in the game, however for some users, the same did not apply. Reactions to the theme of Candy Crush

1. Positive: Playful, Engaging

2. Not positive: Weird, Creepy, Outdated, Superficial, Aggressive

--> Most agree that the theme of Candy Crush is alright, but very few found a complaint in that the theme of Candy Crush may be outdated or very aggressive as a design aspect. Reaction to Sound in Candy Crush

• Positive: Sound of breaking candy was satisfying to gameplay,

• Indifferent: No issues or do not care

• Opposed: do not like music in general or find voices annoying

--> Sound is a cue that either users like or don't. Some don't bother to listen to it, but others find it compelling. Thus sound was not a factor that benefits all users equally.

Reaction to Animation

• Overall: Cute, Unique, Colorful

• Negative: users reported that the animation slowed their game down.

--> Nearly all agreed that Candy Crush's animation were satisfactory. This is not very important, based on the results of the survey.

Interview: 3 CC players → FRIENDS (3) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-gdaQQhr9su7Jz2qBCsbW7-IAV8J9kd212p8JjyiCnw/edit?usp=sharing Format: Online (Zoom) - 1 interviewer Interview type: Semi Structured A> Open Candy Crush, play the game, and ask them to describe their actions and feelings while they play it (Ethnographic) B> Post Interview: Structured > Ice breaker (How long you’ve played this…, frequency of playing) > Important Questions (Feelings about Limited Lives, comparison to experience when playing other mobile games)

1. Measurements

A> Qualitative: emotions, reactions, video artifact, activities, audio B> Qualitative: self-reflection, audio, Quantitative: Frequency data, background information

1. Participation Samping:

• Questionnaire: Volunteer Sampling:

We will find those willing to take our survey depending on the consent of the people.

• Interview, Observation: Opportunity Sampling:

We will interview people who we know and those who they know who play/have played Candy Crush in the past. Analysis: Part 2