Step 1: Research - Brainstorming
To come up with a good research question the first thing I do is brainstorm all of the possible topics that might interest me. I usually use a mind map like the one below to note down sub-topics that come up as I'm thinking.
Step 2: Research Question
Thinking Process:
After studying my brainstorm map to look for common themes, I noticed an interesting link. I noticed that the bubbles on the LEFT (about the 'social elements of playing' and the use of 'rewards...to keep us playing') were both possible explanations for a question on the BOTTOM RIGHT - 'why do I like boring/repetitive games?'.
I decided that I was more interested in finding out about a range of experiences, not only my own. So my research questions needed to reflect that.
I also reflected that not everyone 'likes' repetitive games, but they might find themselves playing them anyway. This had been my personal experience of Candy Crush! So my research questions needed ask about the broader experience of playing games, not just liking games.
This is the research question I ended up with:
After studying my brainstorm map to look for common themes, I noticed an interesting link. I noticed that the bubbles on the LEFT (about the 'social elements of playing' and the use of 'rewards...to keep us playing') were both possible explanations for a question on the BOTTOM RIGHT - 'why do I like boring/repetitive games?'.
I decided that I was more interested in finding out about a range of experiences, not only my own. So my research questions needed to reflect that.
I also reflected that not everyone 'likes' repetitive games, but they might find themselves playing them anyway. This had been my personal experience of Candy Crush! So my research questions needed ask about the broader experience of playing games, not just liking games.
This is the research question I ended up with:
- Why do people continue playing games that have repetitive and potentially boring elements?
Step 3: Research Sub-Questions
Thinking Process:
I know from my research on video game terminology that the term for this 'repetitive and potentially boring' aspect of gaming is called GRINDING. It's how you describe the times in a game when you feel like you have to "grind away" at a basic and probably uninteresting job in order to reach a goal. However, I didn't want to lead players to talk specifically about grinding, instead I wanted to see if they brought it up themselves.
Given the size of this project, I decided that trying to research the experience of grinding in general would involve exploring too many games. So I decided to investigate just one game in depth, a game that I currently play called Ingress.
I decided that I also wanted to narrow my investigation to high-level players of Ingress, for two reasons: firstly, I am friends in real life and online with many high level players, so it would be practically easier to collect responses from this group; secondly, I reasoned that higher level players would necessarily have more experience with grinding, as they have been playing the game for longer.
Resulting Sub-Questions:
I know from my research on video game terminology that the term for this 'repetitive and potentially boring' aspect of gaming is called GRINDING. It's how you describe the times in a game when you feel like you have to "grind away" at a basic and probably uninteresting job in order to reach a goal. However, I didn't want to lead players to talk specifically about grinding, instead I wanted to see if they brought it up themselves.
Given the size of this project, I decided that trying to research the experience of grinding in general would involve exploring too many games. So I decided to investigate just one game in depth, a game that I currently play called Ingress.
I decided that I also wanted to narrow my investigation to high-level players of Ingress, for two reasons: firstly, I am friends in real life and online with many high level players, so it would be practically easier to collect responses from this group; secondly, I reasoned that higher level players would necessarily have more experience with grinding, as they have been playing the game for longer.
Resulting Sub-Questions:
- What are the benefits of being highly involved in playing a game?
- What are the costs of being highly involved in playing a game?
- What motivates you to keep playing Ingress?
- How do you know when you are playing the game "too much"?