Browsing by Subject "Challenge"

Videogames are thought to be able to make learning more efficient. However, videogames should contain certain elements to reach this potential, for example clear goals, the right amount of challenge and fast feedback. Optimal challenge is reached – according to a truism – when "the task is not too hard or easy". This notation is also a central part in the flow theory (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975). However, the exact evaluation of what is the optimal difficulty level cannot be made based on it. There are only a few studies, which try to find where the optimal difficulty level lies and these are not able to give a clear answer. In this thesis I used success rate (probability of successful execution of a task) as an objective measurement of challenge. I studied, what the success rate should be for optimal learning to occur and how it affects flow and motivation. In addition, I will evaluate the independent effects of flow and motivation on learning and performance. The study contained three groups with 11 participants each, who were made to play a simple reaction game on a touch screen monitor. Each group had a target success rate which were 0.2 (hard), 0.5 (medium) and 0.9 (easy). Participants played three gaming sessions with this target success rate. Between these sessions a test was conducted. In the test the game stayed the same, but the challenge also was same for all groups. Before every test, the participants filled a flow and motivation questionnaire. The study did not find that difficulty level would affect learning, flow or motivation. However, the 0.5 success rate group evaluated the challenge to be the most pleasant. This could affect motivation in the long run. Flow and motivation were found to increase performance at an individual level. The study did not show that the task difficulty level is as important of a factor as has been previously thought, but it reveals that flow and motivation do play a role in performance.