The Effect of Intrinsic Game Rewards on Player Enjoyment

Abstract: The goal of most games is to entertain and elicit a response in the form of enjoyment from the player. Tools are used to accomplish this; they come in the extrinsic and intrinsic variety. We have focused on intrinsic rewards, the foundation of gratifying game-play experiences. In this study, we have explored the effects of these rewards on the player enjoyment by conducting three experiments with varying degrees of rewards. Established theories, e.g., flow theory have been consulted to create a suitable testing environment. The experiments used methods like “A/B” and “think aloud” in order to collect reliable data. Our findings suggest that a carefully balanced reward system is required to achieve the highest amount of player enjoyment. It is, however, preferable to have a seemingly excessive amount of rewards as the frustration is negligible in comparison to that which is caused by disappointment caused by insufficient rewards.