What is the Game Engagement?

Abstract

This session will analyze engagement in games from the perspectives of psychology, pedagogy, and philosophy, and explore the possibility of a positive view of immersion. In addition, we will consider not only digital games but also analog games as games. First, from a psychological perspective we will discuss engagement in games by looking at examples of research using the Japanese version of the Game Engagement Questionnaire(GEQ), which is used as a phycological scale that can measure the degree of an individual's immersion in games. Next, the concepts of engagement and serious games will be examined from the perspectives of pedagogy and game design. While many serious games assume that the fun of the activity alone is enough to engage players, we will examine whether this is valid and consider how the concept of engagement can be promoted in learning settings. Finally, based on our experiences in educational practice, we will discuss specific aspects of Japanese learners' use of analog games in language classes.