An exploration of adolescents’ perceptions of videogame realism

Abstract

An attempt is made to translate the concept of perceived realism from the domain of general media studies to the domain of videogame studies. In order to make such a translation, a thorough knowledge and integration is required of the simulation aspects that distinguish videogames from older media such as film or television. The different meanings adolescents attribute to videogame realism were assessed by means of a series of semi‐structured in‐depth interviews. Thirty‐two moderate to heavy videogame players were interviewed, whose age ranged between 16 and 19 years. Five dimensions of observed videogame realism were identified: factuality, authenticity, character involvement, virtual experience and perceptual pervasiveness.