Burger, et al. 

Femke Burger, Susanne Harperink, Isabelle van Kerkwijk, Ivonne Schippers, Saskia Waterman.

Dissecting the gaming experience.
A search for the ultimate gaming element in Grand Theft Auto

As more and more people spend more and more time playing computer games, the computer gaming industry has grown larger than the movie industry. Appreciation and enjoyment of computer games are on the rise. What is it then, that makes the gaming experience so attractive an experience? In this paper, we shall analyse the gaming experience generated by the Grand Theft Auto computer game series. By focusing our research on five separate gaming elements (as differentiated by a number of computer game theories), we shall try to find out how and in what kind of hierarchy these elements work together to create the specific Grand Theft Auto gaming experience. We shall also look into the shifts that may have occurred within this collaboration of elements as new instalments of the GTA series were released.

After first defining the gaming experience as the 'the user's enjoyment of the game during the live session' (an expression borrowed from Marie-Laure Ryan), we have split up our research into five different gaming elements. Since our analysis is rooted in the humanities, we start with narrativity. Narrativity theories have been used in game analysis form some time and we shall make an inventory of elements of narrativity that can be found in the GTA series, be it by textual analysis, be it as experienced by players. By tracking the development of narratives in the GTA series, their role in the gaming experience will be established. The second aspect of our research will be gameplay, an aspect put forward by ludologic theories that have been put forward as an reaction of narratologic analysis of computer games. These 'new' theories shall be used to make an inventory of GTA's gaming structure and it's development, as defined by the game's rules and their positioning the GTA player. Eventually we want to know how the player experiences and enjoys the rules of GTA. The third aspect is the definition of space in the GTA game world. How is this specific game space constructed and mediated to the player through the interface and how has it evolved in different GTA instalments? The importance of a specific definition of a game space for the gaming experience shall be analysed. Next is the fourth aspect, the game world as representation. Does the GTA game world form a representation of some other world, like the 'real world', and what are the importance and role of realism for the gaming experience in this virtual world? Finally, the player's modification of this virtual world will be the fifth aspect. Why do players feel the need to affect the game through modifications and cheating codes and what kind of gaming pleasure is derived from 'breaking the rules'? 

We have based our research on the application of theories put forward in the issues that have been released so far of the online journal Game Studies. All members if the team have based their findings on their own experiences playing different GTA instalments on different platforms and a questionnaire was sent to a group of a few dozen GTA players. Finally, we have analysed online reviews written by players and messages relating to our subject placed by players on GTA message boards.

Femke Burger, Susanne Harperink, Isabelle van Kerkwijk, Ivonne Schippers and Saskia Waterman are all students at Utrecht University specializing in New Media and Digital Culture. They hail from different educational backgrounds, having been trained in either Communication/Information Studies, Theatre/Film/Television Studies or the Utrecht Liberal Arts programme.

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