ABSTRACT
One of most unique elements of video games often attributed to their critical and economic success is their interactivity—the requirement of video games to actively engage the player into the on-screen actions of the digital world. Scholars have focused on interactivity as a core variable to understand a variety of uses and effects of gaming, but conceptualizations vary and are often non-specific. This chapter proposes a multidimensional construct of interactivity based around the notion of demand (the extent to which a video game requires or “makes” a player engage), specifying potential cognitive, emotional, social, and physical demands common to video games. A Video Game Demand Scale is validated on a sample of gamers (N = 660) that uncovers latent factors associated with each of these dimensions of demand (also bifurcating physical into device and exertion dimensions). Exploratory structural equation modeling is used to demonstrate predictive, concurrent, and convergent validity with other variables critical to understanding the experience of video game play.
