Domenic Bellusci
Production
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Challenge Accepted: The Impact of Goal Orientation and Self-Efficacy
on Player Performance in a First-Person Shooter Game
For my thesis, I investigated the influence communities of FPS players, structured
play single-player FPS games. Applying that rivals the average MBA student,
of motivational psychology on players who
achievement motivational theories to the
player’s choice of difficulty setting is a
potential way for FPS game designers
to understand different FPS player types
and improve the balance in each difficulty
setting.
As an avid gamer passionate in the FPS
genre, I have always been intrigued to
understand why players pick different
difficulties and why they play to
completion.
Over the past year, I reviewed previous
subject matter, developed a reliable scale
to measure difficulty and completion
in FPS games, surveyed multiple
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my results in SPSS for statistical analysis
and explored previously untested casual
relationships between goal orientation,
self-efficacy and performance.
The impact of this study’s results
regarding self-efficacy as a mediator of
other achievement constructs illustrates
for developers that if their audience
does not believe in their abilities when
playing a game, they will not play at
higher difficulties or complete them. My
study shows that developers who create
challenges in single-player campaigns that
appeal to a player’s goal orientation, while
increasing a player’s self-efficacy, are
likely to see higher engagement within the
game.