Developing a Model of Video Game Play: Motivations, Satisfactions, and Continuance Intentions

Background. As video game usage continues to rise, it is important to understand why people choose and continue playing a game. Purpose. This research presents a theoretical framework to explore the relationships between gameplay motivations, satisfaction, continuance intention and gameplay. Methods. To examine these relationships, survey data was collected from 353 participants who played different types of online games, including League of Legends, World of Warcraft, Overwatch , and Hearthstone , for at least 10 hours in the past three months. A series of structural equation models were tested to identify the model with the best validity and fit. All constructs were from previously validated measures. Motivations were measured by the Trojan Player Typology, which assessed story-driven, completionist, competitor, escapist, smarty-pants, and socializer motives. Satisfaction was measured using the game user experience satisfaction scale (GUESS), which assessed satisfaction with usability/playability, narratives, play engrossment, enjoyment, creative freedom, audio aesthetic, personal gratification, social connectivity, and visual aesthetics. Continuance intention was measured using a 4-item scale. Results. The final model suggested that motivations were positively related to satisfaction, while satisfaction was positively related to continuance intention and weekly play time. Motivations accounted for 20% of the variance in satisfaction, and the story-driven motivation was the strongest predictor. Further, satisfaction accounted for 47% of the variance in continuance intention and 8% of the variance in weekly play time. Conclusion. Individual differences in gameplay motivation are an important component of a player’s satisfaction. Further, satisfaction appears to be central to a player’s intention to continue using a game.