VGTx Snapshot Pilot Study, Passion Pilot
A community-based exploration of how players perceive their mood shifting before versus after a gaming session
Overview
The VGTx Snapshot Pilot, also called the Passion Pilot, was a small, community-based exploration of how players perceive their mood shifting before versus after a gaming session. It was intentionally non-IRB, non-thesis, non-publishable, built as a "practice run" to test survey clarity, tone, and engagement, while learning how gamers naturally describe emotional outcomes in their own words.
Methodology
Data were collected anonymously through Google Forms from 40 volunteer participants in the VGTx community between September 23 and October 6, 2025. Participants reported brief mood ratings (1–5) pre and post play, plus game title, genre, session length, motivation, perceived mental health impact, and optional reflections.
Results were summarized descriptively and paired with light thematic coding to compare what the numbers suggested versus what players actually said.
Key Findings
What emerged was a mixed emotional picture, many players reported feeling better after play, but a meaningful minority reported no improvement or a decline. Patterns appeared to cluster by genre, duration, and motivation, for example relaxation and escapism tended to align with positive mood shifts, while competition-driven play showed higher variability.
Just as importantly, feedback on survey framing highlighted how tone and perceived neutrality can affect trust, and it directly informed how VGTx will design future, IRB-bound instruments.
At a glance
Type
Exploratory, community "snapshot," survey design rehearsal
Participants
N = 40, voluntary, anonymous
Dates
Sep 23 to Oct 6, 2025
Measures
Pre/post mood Likert (1–5), genre, playtime, motivation, perceived effect, open-ended reflections
Analysis
Descriptive summaries plus thematic coding, triangulated across variables
Outcome
Survey refinement, framing lessons, and a tested pipeline for future VGTx studies
Results
Among 40 respondents, self-reported mood change from pre to post-gameplay was generally positive but highly variable by motivation, genre, and session length.
Reason for playing: Coping or stress relief motivations yielded the largest median mood improvements. Fun/entertainment and social connection showed moderate positive shifts, while habit/routine resulted in the smallest, most variable, and often near-neutral changes.
Time spent by genre: Longer play sessions generally correlated with greater mood improvement across genres. RPG and casual/cozy genres showed consistent positive change. Shooter/FPS outcomes were highly variable (strong gains, but also lower/flatter changes), and action/adventure showed overall positive change with duration-based variability.
Genre differences: Average mood change was positive across most genres. The largest mean increases were seen in turn-based classic, action/adventure, and RPG categories. However, very small cell sizes (often n=1–2) limited the stability of genre-level estimates for several genres. Multiplayer/online and sports/racing categories showed comparatively smaller mean changes.
Beliefs about mental health impact: Perceived positive mental health impact varied by genre and did not consistently align with mood change, partly due to small subgroup counts. Genres with higher average mood change were not always those with the highest reported mental health benefit, suggesting these two measures reflect related but distinct appraisals.
Learnings and Refinements
The pilot study provided crucial insights, allowing us to refine our methodology and address potential biases for future research. Each point below represents a key learning to inform subsequent studies.
1
Survey Bias Corrected
Revised survey items to reduce expectancy effects and positive language bias, improving neutrality.
2
Balanced Responses
Expanded response options to include "no effect" and "negative effect" for more balanced data capture.
3
Validated Measures Planned
Planned migration to validated affect measures, replacing non-validated mood ratings for better interpretability.
4
Sampling Constraints Acknowledged
Acknowledged sampling biases and limited external validity due to a small, undiverse convenience sample.
5
Bias Mitigation
Updated wording and structure to reduce demand characteristics and participant bias towards positive outcomes.
6
Enhanced Transparency
Clarified project status, voluntary participation, and analytic intent to enhance credibility.
7
Disciplined Analysis
Limited analysis to descriptive summaries, avoiding causal language and formal inference.