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successful through the objective outcome of activity coinciding with the motive that
stimulates a player to activity (“a”). Herein we extend how we assess and design for
the user experience of entertainment through engagement in interaction and gameplay
by considering “activity proper” through how objective outcome and motive merge or
are merging. Activity is made up of a combination of actions (“b”). The action level
contains the heart of the narrative/scenario, using text, graphics, storyboards, etc. to
describe the game environment (e.g. settings, surroundings, circumstances), the game
mechanics, game rules and the gameplay. Actions are performed with conscious
thought and effort, and are planned and directed towards achieving a goal. While
actions have been considered similar to what the HCI literature refers to as tasks [17],
Leontiev (1981) also refers to actions as processes. Herein we refer to actions as
processes to provide a wider view of actions beyond tasks or task-based so that the
goal of processes can be considered as experience or entertainment. Actions/processes
may themselves be made up of sub-processes directed towards sub-goals, and sub-
processes can be made up of sub-sub-processes, and so on. This depends on the level
of complexity in a narrative, scenario of interaction/gameplay. Actions are performed
by a combination of operations. Operations are performed with little conscious
thought or effort in the use of physical interactive and virtual in-game artifacts
triggered by conditions of actions (“c”). Players' shifts in focus between action and
operation levels provide an indication of learning and reflection. For example, the
early phases of using an artifact will have been performed with deliberate and
conscious attention. At this point they are actions. When they become well practiced
and experienced, actions become routine. That is, they do not need to be planned and
at such a point are performed with little conscious thought or effort. In this way,
actions become operations as represented by the downward pointing vertical arrow
(“d”). This provides a way to reason about the mastery of (in-game, interface, virtual,
real) artifacts/tools. Conversely, operations become actions when something goes
wrong, impedes interaction, or is associated with user-player learning represented by
the upward pointing lower vertical arrow (“e”). This provides a way to reason about
“focus shifts”, “breakdown”, learning and opportunities for design [21].
2.2
Sphere of Engagement through Motive in Activity
Considering the relationship between objective and motive provides powerful ways to
reason about people engaged in activity. If the outcome from objective coincides or
merges with motive (that stimulated users-players to perform actions/process of an
objective), then they are engaged in activity (see section 2 and 2.1). Activity should
not be considered as a holder or container for action/processes and operations, but is
defined by objective and motive that identifies user-player engagement in activity -
we refer to this as sphere of engagement as illustrated in figures 4 to 7.
During interaction with a computer-based platform (tablet, notebook, desktop,
smart phone), activities are created, ended, fulfilled or postponed. Users-players can
become engaged in several applications (on-line, social media, game) in an interactive
session/encounter. If the motive for interacting/play with each application is different,
then activities representing each application are separate as depicted by the spheres of
engagement in figure 5. But if the overall motive that stimulated a user-player to
