Thesis Artifact: The Relationship Between Goal Orientation, Self-Efficacy, and Player Commitment in World of Warcraft

 

  • This study measured player commitment to World of Warcraft. There was no relationship between goal orientation and number of years played in World of Warcraft, however a relationship was found between self-efficacy and the number of years played in World of Warcraft. The post hoc analysis found a relationship between goal orientation and self-efficacy in the domain of online video games. Self-efficacy was found to have a positive relationship with learning goal orientation, a positive relationship with proving goal orientation, and a negative relationship with avoidance goal orientation. The results indicate that developers should implement mechanics that increase players self-efficacy.

  • (1) Is there a relationship between a player’s goal orientation and their commitment to playing a game?

    (2) Is there a relationship between a player’s self-efficacy and their commitment to playing a game?

    • Crafted survey to measure goal orientation, self-efficacy, and player commit to World of Warcraft

    • Distributed survey to reddit and Discord servers

    • Analyzed 2,351 responses

  • Because self-efficacy was found to be positively related to players’ number of years played in World of Warcraft, developers should consider implementing mechanics that could increase a player’s self-efficacy. This can be done by making the players feel more competent in their abilities. To do this, developers should focus on mechanics that help players set achievable goals. Some examples include:

    • Trackable achievements

    • A range of content that varies in difficulty

    • Leaderboards

    • Ranking systems