Measuring the Impact of Knowledge Gained from Playing FPS and RPG Games on Gameplay Performance

Understanding players’ gameplay behaviors, performance abilities, and interests is a growing research area due to its utility in developing knowledge and theory that can enhance game design. Much previous research exists within this area, however, none of these works deeply investigated player behavior and its relation to knowledge/skills gained by playing specific genres. This topic is important, as knowledge gained from playing different genres influences players’ game behaviors. Knowing the details of the skills gained and their influence on performance will allow designers to make informed decisions about their game design given knowledge about target audience’s playing habits. In this paper, we address this issue. In particular, we discuss results of a study conducted with 35 college participants to explore the influence of prior gaming experience, specifically with Role Playing and First Person Shooter games, on knowledge/skills related to their ability to navigate and solve spatial puzzles in 3D games.