Investigating uncertainty in digital games and its impact on player immersion

Players often talk about unpredictability being integral to their gaming experience. Uncertainty in games is a relatively new topic where player reports and existing literature suggest that it plays a key role in making the gaming experience richer. However, there is little to no empirical investigation into how players experience uncertainty, or what additional impacts it may have on player experience. The work reported in this paper serves as a first investigation into measuring uncertainty through the manipulation of game visibility. The outcome of the impact of visibility on player disorientation, serves as an initial validation of the recently published Player Uncertainty in Games four factor scale. However, the lack of impact of the manipulation on immersion, raises new questions as to the relationship between uncertainty and other player experiences.