Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A Review of Game Design Techniques for Evoking and Managing Curiosity

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
ArtsIT, Interactivity and Game Creation (ArtsIT 2023)

Included in the following conference series:

  • 51 Accesses

Abstract

Curiosity is essential for learning and discovery and is a key motivational factor for playing games. As a complex psychological phenomenon, curiosity has been studied extensively in psychology, education, and other fields, and many theories have been proposed. In the field of game design, many techniques have been developed to evoke players’ curiosity. However, there is a gap between theoretical insights and practical application. This paper aims to bridge that divide by providing a comprehensive review of game design techniques for evoking and managing curiosity. We attempt to connect practical game design techniques with curiosity theories to help people understand the psychological mechanism of curiosity in the context of games. Our first contribution is to develop a theoretical framework for systematically categorizing game design techniques for evoking and managing curiosity. Our second contribution is to use this framework to classify and analyze many game design techniques. Our work not only provides a deeper understanding of how curiosity can be managed in games but also provides a framework for game designers to develop new techniques.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 64.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Blom, J.N., Hansen, K.R.: Click bait: forward-reference as lure in online news headlines. J. Pragmatics 76, 87–100 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2014.11.010

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Costikyan, G.: Uncertainty in Games. MIT Press (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Dahabiyeh, L., Najjar, M.S., Agrawal, D.: When ignorance is bliss: the role of curiosity in online games adoption. Entertain. Comput. 37, 10039 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.entcom.2020.100398

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Dubey, R., Griffiths, T.L.: Reconciling novelty and complexity through a rational analysis of curiosity. Psychol. Rev. 127, 455–476 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000175

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. FitzGibbon, L., Lau, J.K.L., Murayama, K.: The seductive lure of curiosity: information as a motivationally salient reward. Curr. Opin. Behav. Sci. 35, 21–27 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2020.05.014

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Galdieri, R., Haggis-Burridge, M., Buijtenweg, T., Carrozzino, M.: Exploring players’ curiosity-driven behaviour in unknown videogame environments. In: De Paolis, L.T., Bourdot, P. (eds.) Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and Computer Graphics. LNCS, vol. 12242, pp. 177–185. Springer, Cham (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58465-8_13

  7. Gómez Maureira, M.A., Kniestedt, I.: Games that make curious: an exploratory survey into digital games that invoke curiosity. In: Clua, E., Roque, L., Lugmayr, A., Tuomi, P. (eds.) ICEC 2018, WCC 2018, LNCS, vol. 11112, pp. 76–89. Springer, Cham (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99426-0_7

  8. Gómez-Maureira, M.A., Kniestedt, I.: Exploring video games that invoke curiosity. Entertain. Comput. 32, 100320 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.entcom.2019.100320

  9. Gómez-Maureira, M.A., Kniestedt, I., Duijn, M.V., Rieffe, C., Plaat, A.: Level design patterns that invoke curiosity-driven exploration: an empirical study across multiple conditions. In: Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, vol. 5. ACM (2021). https://doi.org/10.1145/3474698

  10. Hidi, S.E., Renninger, K.A.: On educating, curiosity, and interest development. Curr. Opin. Behav. Sci. 35, 99–103 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2020.08.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Kashdan, T.B., et al.: The five-dimensional curiosity scale: capturing the bandwidth of curiosity and identifying four unique subgroups of curious people. J. Res. Personal. 73, 130–149 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2017.11.011

  12. Knobloch, S., Patzig, G., Mende, A.M., Hastall, M.: Affective news: effects of discourse structure in narratives on suspense, curiosity, and enjoyment while reading news and novels. Commun. Res. 31, 259–287 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650203261517

  13. van Lieshout, L.L., de Lange, F.P., Cools, R.: Why so curious? quantifying mechanisms of information seeking. Curr. Opin. Behav. Sci. 35, 112–117 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2020.08.005

  14. Loewenstein, G.: The psychology of curiosity: a review and reinterpretation. Psychol. Bull. 116, 75–98 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.116.1.75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Markey, A., Loewenstein, G.: Curiosity. In: International Handbook of Emotions in Education. Routledge (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Mekler, E.D., Bopp, J.A., Tuch, A.N., Opwis, K.: A systematic review of quantitative studies on the enjoyment of digital entertainment games. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 927–936. ACM (2014). https://doi.org/10.1145/2556288.2557078

  17. Murayama, K., FitzGibbon, L., Sakaki, M.: Process account of curiosity and interest: a reward-learning perspective. Educ. Psychol. Rev. 31, 875–895 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-019-09499-9

  18. Muscat, A., Duckworth, J.: World4: designing ambiguity for first-person exploration games. In: Proceedings of the 2018 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play, pp. 353–364. ACM (2018). https://doi.org/10.1145/3242671.3242705

  19. Niehoff, E., Oosterwijk, S.: To know, to feel, to share? exploring the motives that drive curiosity for negative content. Curr. Opin. Behav. Sci. 35, 56–61 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2020.07.012

  20. Noordewier, M.K., van Dijk, E.: Deprivation and discovery motives determine how it feels to be curious. Curr. Opin. Behav. Sci. 35, 71–76 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2020.07.017

  21. Ortony, A., Clore, G.L., Collins, A.: The Cognitive Structure of Emotions. Cambridge University Press (1988)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Perron, B.: A cognitive psychological approach to gameplay emotions. In: Proceedings of the 2005 DiGRA International Conference: Changing Views: Worlds in Play (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  23. Power, C., Cairns, P., Denisova, A., Papaioannou, T., Gultom, R.: Lost at the edge of uncertainty: Measuring player uncertainty in digital games. Int. J. Hum. Comput. Interact. 35, 1033–1045 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2018.1507161

  24. Ruan, B., Hsee, C.K., Lu, Z.Y.: The teasing effect: an underappreciated benefit of creating and resolving an uncertainty. J. Market. Res. 55, 556–570 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1509/jmr.15.0346

  25. Stein, S.: Stein on Writing. St. Martin’s Press (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  26. To, A., Ali, S., Kaufman, G., Hammer, J.: Integrating curiosity and uncertainty in game design. In: Proceedings of the First International Joint Conference of DiGRA and FDG (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  27. Vorderer, P., Wulff, H.J., Friedrichsen, M. (eds.): Suspense: Conceptualizations, Theoretical Analyses, and Empirical Explorations. Lawrence Erlbaum (1996). https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203811252

  28. Wojtowicz, Z., Loewenstein, G.: Curiosity and the economics of attention. Curr. Opin. Behav. Sci. 35, 135–140 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2020.09.002

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Georgia State University, Atlanta, USA

    Ying Zhu

Authors
  1. Ying Zhu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ying Zhu .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

    Anthony L. Brooks

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2024 ICST Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Zhu, Y. (2024). A Review of Game Design Techniques for Evoking and Managing Curiosity. In: Brooks, A.L. (eds) ArtsIT, Interactivity and Game Creation. ArtsIT 2023. Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, vol 565. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-55312-7_9

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-55312-7_9

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-55311-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-55312-7

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation