Cheat Codes as External Support for Players Navigating Fear of Failure and Self-Regulation Challenges In Digital Games

Karla Waldenmeier; Susanne Poeller; Martin Johannes Dechant; Nicola Baumann; Regan L Mandryk

doi:10.1145/3613904.3642603

Cheat Codes as External Support for Players Navigating Fear of Failure and Self-Regulation Challenges In Digital Games

Karla Waldenmeier
, Susanne Poeller
, Martin Johannes Dechant
, Nicola Baumann
, Regan L Mandryk

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Failure is an integral element of most games, and while some players may benefit from external support, such as cheat codes, to prompt self-soothing, most games lack supportive elements. We asked participants (N=88) to play Anno 1404 in single-player mode, and presented a money-generating cheat code in a challenging situation, also measuring the personality trait of action-state orientation, which explains differences in self-regulation ability (i.e., self-soothing) in response to threats of failure. Individuals higher in state orientation were more likely to take the offer, and used the cheat code more frequently. The cheat code also acted as an external support, as differences in experienced pressure between action- and state-oriented participants vanished when it was used. We found no negative consequences of using external support in intrinsic motivation, needs satisfaction, flow, or performance. We argue that external support mechanisms can help state-oriented players to self-regulate in gaming, when faced with failure.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	CHI 2024 - Proceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Sytems
Place of Publication	Honolulu, Hawaii
Pages	1-13
Number of pages	13
ISBN (Electronic)	9798400703300
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642603
Publication status	Published - 11 May 2024

Publication series

Name	Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Copyright held by the owner/author(s)

Funding

We want to thank Marcin Stahl for contributing to the tutorial video and running the lab study, William Standard for technical support and implementing the cheat code and AutoIT script. We would further like to thank Josefine Sturzenhecker, Fran\u00E7oise Hammes, and Felicitas Meiborg for their contribution to the experiment. Finally, we thank NSERC for funding, and the University of Saskatchewan for supporting this collaboration while four of the authors were working there together.

Funders
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
University of Saskatchewan

Keywords

PSI theory
action-state orientation
cheat codes
cheating
digital games
fear of failure
player experience
pressure
self-regulation

Access to Document

10.1145/3613904.3642603

3613904.3642603Final published version, 804 KB

Cite this

Waldenmeier, K., Poeller, S., Dechant, M. J., Baumann, N., & Mandryk, R. L. (2024). Cheat Codes as External Support for Players Navigating Fear of Failure and Self-Regulation Challenges In Digital Games. In CHI 2024 - Proceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Sytems (pp. 1-13). Article 363 (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings).. https://doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642603

Waldenmeier, Karla ; Poeller, Susanne ; Dechant, Martin Johannes et al. / Cheat Codes as External Support for Players Navigating Fear of Failure and Self-Regulation Challenges In Digital Games. CHI 2024 - Proceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Sytems. Honolulu, Hawaii, 2024. pp. 1-13 (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings).

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abstract = "Failure is an integral element of most games, and while some players may benefit from external support, such as cheat codes, to prompt self-soothing, most games lack supportive elements. We asked participants (N=88) to play Anno 1404 in single-player mode, and presented a money-generating cheat code in a challenging situation, also measuring the personality trait of action-state orientation, which explains differences in self-regulation ability (i.e., self-soothing) in response to threats of failure. Individuals higher in state orientation were more likely to take the offer, and used the cheat code more frequently. The cheat code also acted as an external support, as differences in experienced pressure between action- and state-oriented participants vanished when it was used. We found no negative consequences of using external support in intrinsic motivation, needs satisfaction, flow, or performance. We argue that external support mechanisms can help state-oriented players to self-regulate in gaming, when faced with failure.",

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Waldenmeier, K, Poeller, S, Dechant, MJ, Baumann, N & Mandryk, RL 2024, Cheat Codes as External Support for Players Navigating Fear of Failure and Self-Regulation Challenges In Digital Games. in CHI 2024 - Proceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Sytems., 363, Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings, Honolulu, Hawaii, pp. 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642603

Cheat Codes as External Support for Players Navigating Fear of Failure and Self-Regulation Challenges In Digital Games. / Waldenmeier, Karla; Poeller, Susanne; Dechant, Martin Johannes et al.
CHI 2024 - Proceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Sytems. Honolulu, Hawaii, 2024. p. 1-13 363 (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › Academic › peer-review

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Waldenmeier K, Poeller S, Dechant MJ, Baumann N, Mandryk RL. Cheat Codes as External Support for Players Navigating Fear of Failure and Self-Regulation Challenges In Digital Games. In CHI 2024 - Proceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Sytems. Honolulu, Hawaii. 2024. p. 1-13. 363. (Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems - Proceedings). doi: 10.1145/3613904.3642603

Cheat Codes as External Support for Players Navigating Fear of Failure and Self-Regulation Challenges In Digital Games

Abstract

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Keywords

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