Player experience and technical performance prospects for distributed 3D gaming in private and public settings

Distributed gaming enables access to interactive media from devices based on different platforms. It facilitates users to enjoy video games in various environments without the need for using a single device or operating system. Understanding the potential and limitations of such gaming-on-demand systems is key for their adoption and further growth in public places. This paper presents an in-depth, quantitative study performed with the Games@Large (GaL) distributed-gaming system and its potential users at an Internet café in Genoa, Italy. The approach of the study was multilevel, covering the player experience and user acceptance aspects as well as technical performance peculiarities. Results show that the GaL system has a high potential at Internet cafes, in particular when playing a casual genre game. Furthermore, results provide recommendations for deploying such systems in terms of social setting and technical aspects. The methodology and findings of the GaL system tests can be applied to similar game streaming systems and used as input for theories on social digital game play.