Animated vs. Static graphics in a video game : How does animated and static graphics affect the user experience in a game?

Animation in video game graphics is in some cases a necessity for the game’s mechanics to beproperly communicated to the player. In other cases, it is purely an addition to the game’s expression.In the cases where gameplay is not dependant on animation, how exactly does the animationaffect the gameplay experience? This study examines whether or not there are differencesin user experience when static and animated graphic are compared to one another. To do this,30 test participants played two versions of the same game - one with almost exclusively staticgraphic, and one including more animated graphical elements. The test persons were observedduring the test, and answered questionnaires which examined their emotions using the PANAS-Xquestionnaire and levels of immersion using the Immersive Experience Questionnaire. Wealso included a demographic questionnaire to collect data on the participants’ backgrounds, incase it had any impact on the tests and the overall results. The results of the test showed thatthe two versions did not differ much in how they were perceived - not in emotional responsenor feelings of immersion. Despite this, the preference of the users were weighed towards theanimated version. The reason for this can not be concluded with help of the data collected