Why are computer games so entertaining ?

This master thesis is a part of a project conducted by the Centre of Speech Technology at the Department of Language, Speech and Music at the Royal Institute of Technology. The focus of this master thesis has been on how to make computerized language learning more entertaining and stimulating. Computer games in general can create an addictive and motivational encouraging stimulation for players and it is very interesting to understand what these elements are and whether the elements can be implemented into language learning games. The subjects for this project consisted of both bachelor and master students from the ages 18-35 and some participants being members of a game committee at the school of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). In order to understand what makes normal games so addictive and what these motivational feedback attributes and elements are, we have to examine and explore what game traits, mechanisms and genres that are considered appealing by the users. The project started by examining what previous works have been made within the fields of motivation, education and games. Afterwards a qualitative survey was created based on previous theoretical works that was sent to the committee and the targeted user group of interest. The results were later evaluated and analyzed, in order to extract the most appealing, important and motivational encouraging feedback elements.