Motivational Profiling of League of Legends Players
por Tomas Rakutis
1. MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena)
1.1. Besides their competitive nature, MOBAs are also known for the social interactions they afford, with toxic player behaviour among the major sources of negative experiences, for instance, people getting frustrated when teammates abandon games. In contrast, the opportunity to play with friends is a key motivator to start and keep playing MOBAs.
2. Why have they chosen to focus on League of Legends
2.1. They chose to focus on LoL, because it at the time it was the most played game in the world. Moreover, LoL is known to afford complex, sometimes negative social interactions and is among the most studied games in the MOBA research literature. Because of this complexity and the large player base, they expected that a variety of motivational regulations will be present.
3. League of Legends quick summary of the game
3.1. League of Legends (LoL) is a MOBA game where players take on the role of summoners that control a single character. Two teams of five players compete against each other. The two teams start on opposite sides of a map near a main building called Nexus. The goal of the game is to destroy the enemy's Nexus. The Nexus is defended by the enemy team, computer-controlled minions, and towers. By killing minions, monsters, enemy champions, and destroying enemy towers, the player gains experience and gold, they reach a higher level where new abilities can be unlocked or improved. Gold can be used to purchase special items for the champion in the base, which have positive effects and boosts the power of the champion. There are two main game modes. Ranked matches are recorded in a central ranking system. Upon winning, players ascend in the rankings, and move down when they lose. And the other mode is unranked where people like to play casually often with their friends.
4. The Survey
4.1. A survey was conducted. 750 participants were included in the analysis. Forty-five participants were female (6 percent), 12 preferred not to specify their gender and the rest were men.
4.2. Participants then rated their motivation for playing LoL and answered a variety of questions. Finally, participants were given the option to comment on the survey to add some comments about they survey. On average, the survey took 12 min to complete.
5. The results
5.1. Amotivation correlated negatively with assists in unranked and in ranked matches and positively with gold spent in ranked matches. Put differently, more amotivated players were less likely to assist other players in kills, but spent more gold in ranked matches. So they were playing more for themselves and not for their teammates.
5.2. Moreover, the results showed that extrinsic motivation players were more motivated to avoid feelings of guilt or failure, so they would spend more time playing League of Legends, especially ranked matches. Because they want to look good in front others.
5.3. Finally, intrinsic motivation correlated positively with achieved level and assists in ranked matches. This suggests that intrinsically motivated players scored fewer kills in unranked matches, dealt less damage in ranked matches, as well as earned and spent less gold overall. They were playing safer and trying to make as little errors as possible.
5.4. Taken together, the amotivated profile's champions die the most, but they also kill more opponents compared to both Intrinsic and Extrinsic. This may suggest that amotivated players exhibit a more “reckless” playstyle compared to other profiles. However, this behaviour appears less successful in ranked matches than in non-ranked ones.
5.5. For unranked matches, Amotivated players showed a significantly higher winrate than the Intrinsic player profile
6. Overall player experience
6.1. The Intrinsic player profile reported overall the most positive experience. Reported low levels of tension and negative affect. In contrast, the Amotivated player profiles seem to derive markedly less enjoyment from their playing experience, as well as reported more tension and negative affect. Nevertheless, the findings suggest that even small increments in amotivation are already associated with a less positive experience.
7. Directory of Open Access Journals
8. Motivation is widely considered a key determinant of players' gaming experiences and preferences. More recently, a growing body of player motivation research has emerged around the Self-Determination Theory (SDT), a major psychological theory of human motivation. They demonstrated in a series of studies that satisfaction of innate psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness helps a game to become popular and long-lasting.
9. Introduction
9.1. For many people, playing games is one of the most rewarding and motivating activities. In turn, people's motivation for playing games shapes their player experience and in-game behaviour, as well as their well-being.
9.1.1. However, while concepts from motivational psychology, particularly Self-Determination Theory, commonly inform research on player experience and game analytics, the notion of motivational regulation has received limited attention in the context of games. This is an unfortunate gap in our understanding of the player-computer interaction, as motivational regulations have been found to determine to what extent people experience positive emotions and need satisfaction, as well as how persistently they engage in a behaviour.
10. Some interesting studies about various video games
10.1. For instance, players' in-game behaviour in World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment, 2004) was to some extent predictive of their motivation. Players motivated by achievement, for example, they were more likely to engage in dungeons and loot them also do Player vs. Player battles.
10.2. In another study, it was correlated that self-reported player curiosity scores with in-game behavioural metrics in Destiny (Bungie, Inc., 2014). Curiosity was considered a motivational driver for playing games.
11. Different types of motivations
11.1. Amotivation
11.1.1. Amotivation describes a lack or absence of motivation, hence being the least self-determined form of motivational regulation.
11.1.1.1. It is important to mention that athletes with high levels of amotivation as well as moderately controlled regulation showed higher burnout risk.
11.2. Extrinsic motivation
11.2.1. Extrinsic motivation refers to activity pursued for a separable outcome. Behavior is driven by external rewards such as money, fame, grades and praise.
11.3. Intrinsic motivation
11.3.1. Intrinsic motivation refers to an activity being pursued for its own sake, because it is experienced as enjoyable and interesting.