Showing papers by "Tilo Hartmann published in 2003"

Explaining the enjoyment of playing video games: the role of competition

Abstract: The tremendous and still growing popularity of computer and video games has inspired Communication Researchers and Media Psychologists to investigate the factors of the enjoyment experienced by the players Apparently, the games' interactivity allows for a continuous stream of challenging and competitive situations that have to be resolved by the players Competition is therefore regarded a key element of the explanation of players' entertainment experience Subsequent to a theoretical explication, empirical evidence for the role of competition in the playing process and the impact of competitiveness for selective exposure to computer games is reported from a field experiment (N = 349) and an online survey study (N = 795)

(8) Constructing Presence: Towards a two-level model of the formation of Spatial Presence experiences

Abstract: Contemporary Presence research is in demand of a commonly accepted theoretical framework for theorizing and empirical studies. Therefore, we introduce a conceptual model of Spatial Presence (Vorderer, Wirth, Saari, Gouveia, Biocca, Jancke, Bocking, Hartmann, Klimmt, Schramm, Laarni, Ravaja, Gouveia, Ribeiro, Sacau, Baumgartner, & Jancke, 2003). The model regards Spatial Presence as state that is affected both by internal and external (media) factors. It is organized in two levels of processes that are involved in the emergence of Presence: The first level refers to the formation of a spatial situation model (SSM). It is a mental model of of the perceived spatial (media) environment. The formation of the SSM depends on the spatial cues provided by the media product as well as the users’ spatial knowledge structures, motivational state and their resulting attentional focus. On the model’s second level, the transition from the mere existence of an SSM towards the actual state of Presence is facilitated through the (successful) test of a perceptual hypothesis. The hypothesis states that the mediated environment is the “primary ego-reference frame”. If it is confirmed, users assign their self-location and perceived possible actions to the mediated environment (i. e., they feel Presence). Various media attributes and user characteristics influence this transition to the state of Presence.