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You are here: Home / Publications / The Neurobiology of Play

The Neurobiology of Play

April 19, 2021 by

by Chris Bateman, Lennart E Nacke
Abstract:
A large volume of neurobiological research has been conducted in recent years, almost all of which has been considered solely from the perspective of biology. However, most of the insights gained through this research are also valuable for the game research field. This paper discusses the implications of existing research in neurobiology to the play of games (including, but not restricted to digital games), and connects neurobiological perspectives with models of play aiming to construct superior player satisfaction models built upon biological foundations. Connections are presented between already recognized patterns of play and recent research on the brain (in particular, the limbic system). By providing a framework for understanding how the brain responds to recurrent patterns inherent to play, we aim to provide a platform for future experimental player-game interaction research (for which possible directions are briefly explored), and a propaedeutic to biologically-grounded player satisfaction models.
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Reference:
The Neurobiology of Play (Chris Bateman, Lennart E Nacke), In Proceedings of Futureplay 2010, ACM, 2010.
Bibtex Entry:
@inproceedings{Bateman2010,
abstract = {A large volume of neurobiological research has been conducted in recent years, almost all of which has been considered solely from the perspective of biology. However, most of the insights gained through this research are also valuable for the game research field. This paper discusses the implications of existing research in neurobiology to the play of games (including, but not restricted to digital games), and connects neurobiological perspectives with models of play aiming to construct superior player satisfaction models built upon biological foundations. Connections are presented between already recognized patterns of play and recent research on the brain (in particular, the limbic system). By providing a framework for understanding how the brain responds to recurrent patterns inherent to play, we aim to provide a platform for future experimental player-game interaction research (for which possible directions are briefly explored), and a propaedeutic to biologically-grounded player satisfaction models.},
address = {Vancouver, BC, Canada},
author = {Bateman, Chris and Nacke, Lennart E},
booktitle = {Proceedings of Futureplay 2010},
doi = {10.1145/1920778.1920780},
isbn = {9781450302357},
keywords = {brain,brain research,brainhex,ludology,neurobiology,neurology,play patterns,player satisfaction modeling,player types,playstyle},
mendeley-tags = {brainhex,ludology,neurobiology,neurology,play patterns,player types,playstyle},
month = may,
pages = {1--8},
publisher = {ACM},
title = {{The Neurobiology of Play}},
url = {http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1920778.1920780},
year = {2010}
}

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