The Many Views of Game-Related Experiences with the Experiential Tetrad

Discussions of game-related experiences are facilitated (and hampered) by the shared vocabulary and conceptual frameworks we have. Currently many such frameworks are heavily focused on players and mechanics, even though many other types of experience exist. The Experiential Tetrad (ExperT) is our conceptual framework encompassing a broader set of game-related experiences. ExperT is based on a synthesis of work on user, player and spectator experiences. We have used ExperT in our own work to help organize and classify existing literature, and it has also helped us find new avenues of research. While ExperT is not yet all-encompassing, we have already found it useful to clarify our discussions of experiential theories for games.