Is it Fun?: Understanding Enjoyment in Non-Game HCI Research

TL;DR

This paper reviews how enjoyment, or fun, is understood and measured in non-game HCI research, highlighting methodological approaches and proposing directions for future studies to enhance enjoyable experiences beyond gaming.

Contribution

It analyzes existing studies on fun in non-game HCI, categorizes their usage of the term, and discusses methodologies to improve research on enjoyable HCI experiences.

Findings

Many studies lack clear discussion of fun's importance and value.

Researchers use varied definitions and methods to measure fun.

Directions are proposed to strengthen enjoyable HCI research beyond games.

Abstract

An experience of fun can be an important factor for validating the value of games. Research on non-game HCI has been attempted to measure the enjoyment of work. However, a majority of the studies do not discuss the importance and value of the result. It is not clear as to how the term fun is understood in a non-game context. To analyze this shortcoming, we reviewed extant studies, and explored as to how researchers determine if the value of an activity is fun. Consequently, we discussed and categorized the usage of the terms and analyzed the methodologies that are used in extant studies that evaluate the effects of fun and related terms. To gain a better understanding of fun in HCI, we provided several directions that can be discussed for strengthening enjoyable HCI research beyond applications involving games.