Commenting

While playing, some players talk about the recent game. They make some comments about actions and events happening. By this behavior, he changes his role in the game: he is no longer just the player of the game but appears also as commentator. By this, he takes an external perspective and behaves strategically like a board game player. He calculates and evaluates his activities while playing. Hubert L. Dreyfus says “[…] le cerveau de l’executant connaisseur décompose graduellement cette classe de situations en sous-classes, chacune d’elles partage la même action. Cela permet la réponse situationelle intuitive imédiate qui est la caractéristique de la connaissance.”1


[1] Dreyfus, H. L. (2010): Une phénoménologie de l’Acquisition de l’Habilité comme base d’une anti-représentionisme Merlau-Pontien en sciences cognitives, in: Bernard Andrieu (2010) La philosophie du corps, Paris: Vrin, p.136-158.


Facial Expressions

We were putting special regard on the players’ facial expression and remarked, that a majority of them had their eyes wide open and fixed on the screen, some had their mouth opened or where biting their lips. A survey by Rozin and Cohen identified these expressions as signals for concentration and being focused on an activity. Being concentrated and focused on the recent activity is a situation of strategic thinking and thus an evidence of FiFa 16 being experienced as a board game.


No corporal expressions

During the game, the players that describe themselves as experienced show less corporal and emotional expressions or being less excited than those players who feel less experienced. THis means, the player is more concentrated and less expressive when he has a lot of playing experience. This behavior can be seen as a way of strategic gaming and the experienced player, knowing how to react intuitivement reacting less emotional on the events in the game as Dreyfus says: “[...]le débutant devient un connaisseur qui voit intuitivement quoi faire sans recourir à des règles ni au souvenir de ce cas.”1]


[1] Dreyfus, H. L. (2010): Une phénoménologie de l’Acquisition de l’Habilité comme base d’une anti-représentionisme Merlau-Pontien en sciences cognitives. in: Bernard Andrieu (2010) La philosophie du corps, Paris: Vrin, p.136-158.


Reaction on external events

Different events are taking place while the recipients are playing. One player is asked about events in the game while he is playing. The question needs to be repeated three times until he can finally answer in. Besides it is observable, that he is not taking his eyes from the screen. People who are concentrated on an activity refuse to get interrupted and also can not concentrate on two things at the same time. The player is concentrated on the recent game as he is playing it strategic.