Narrative Structure and Player Experience in Role-Playing Games

Abstract

This article reports an experimental study that investigated the effects of narrative structure and number of salient decision points in a role-playing game (RPG). Previous research has proposed various theories and frameworks and posited that a branching structure with increased complexity (i.e., more salient decision points) will improve player’s enjoyment. However, no empirical study has been conducted to validate these statements. This research attempts to fill in this gap. Two hypotheses were developed based on prior research. In a controlled experiment, participants were asked to view prerecorded game play sessions based on which participant experiences were assessed. The experiment suggests that both narrative structure and number of salient decision points impact on game play experience of RPGs.