Cross-Format Analysis of the Gaming Experience in Multi-Player Role-Playing Games

Across pen-and-paper (PnP), computer role-playing game (CRPG), and CRPG with a human Game Master formats, a cross-format study of multiplayer role-playing games finds that tabletop play delivers the most consistently enjoyable experience. The research, which used a FUN-based questionnaire administered to adult players who experienced all three formats, controlled for group composition and game rules, and found strong correlations between the FUN construct and its sub-constructs across formats, lending reliability to its results. Participants were drawn from Australia and Denmark, with an initial cohort of 51 players across 10 groups.

Mean FUN ratings were highest for pen-and-paper (3.98), compared with 3.44 for CRPG with a human GM and 3.22 for standard CRPG, and the pen-and-paper distribution was notably narrower, indicating more uniform player responses. Tabletop play outperformed CRPGs across most sub-constructs and across age, gender, and experience groups; for example, the "I had fun" item averaged 4.75 for pen-and-paper versus 4.00 for CRPG. The study's Neverwinter Nights implementation further showed that players rated tabletop play as the most immersive format.

Introducing a human GM into computer-based play consistently improved enjoyment and role-playing ratings, with averages above 4 on a five-point scale, though the gain relative to a standard CRPG was modest. The authors attribute this partly to constraints of the DM Toolkit, which limits game master freedom compared with tabletop play. Because factor and cluster analyses rest on a small sample, the more granular conclusions remain preliminary, although the overall pattern favoring pen-and-paper is robust across the analyses reported.