The experience of presence in mundane game activities

Abstract

Presence is a volatile experience and throughout the last decades, it has been observed in many contexts, like virtual reality and games. Games that offer action-packed gameplay, or cognitively demanding tasks were the focus of research, thus games can offer calm and relaxed gameplay that still manages to keep players engaged. Hence, it is a fascinating observation to have a presence established in calm game activities, that provide less intense gameplay. The first part of this thesis is a literature review of presence theory and immersion. The second part reviewed and observed mundanity in games, together with an extensive conceptualization. Lastly, the literary review has been compared to the mere repeated exposure and selective exposure effects. Both effects have been observed in two case studies, applying the findings of the presence and mundanity chapters. It will be argued that in-game activities can be perceived as mundane through repetition and habituation as suggested by the mere-exposure effect. Subsequently, presence evolves from various mundane activities, because these activities offer a balanced experience of imitating real-world activities, and playful mechanics that exchange a part of this realism for soft skill demand. Additionally, various activities in open worlds allow players to balance their stressed or bored moods. This has been found in the mood management theory that arose from the observation of the selective exposure effect.