Making a digital game active : Examining the responses of students to the adapted active version

The purpose of this study was to examine the differences between the responses to the digital and the active version of Angry Birds™. Participants of this study were comprised of 26 secondary school students who enrolled in a state or a private school. The data for the study were collected during the 2012-2013 school years by using a three question semi-structured interview. The responses to the interviews were analyzed with the qualitative method of content analysis. 6 categories and 31 codes were emerged from the responses of the students. According to responses of the students, entertainment was the most cited category and mostly referred to active games. Negative emotions were controllable in the active game play even students found it more challenging. This study has implications to design game based educational programs.

Besides the positive qualifications, digital games have some deficiencies such as increasing aggression (Griffiths, 1999;Prot, McDonald, Anderson, & Gentile,2012), undermining role identities (Hong, Cheng, Hwang, Lee, & Chang,2009), and causing inactivity, which is considered the fourth leading cause of death worldwide (Kohl et al., 2012), therefore there have been efforts for combining digital games with dynamic games in order to prevent inactivity.
Even though children spend quite a long time at schools, they are not usually provided with neither exergames nor attractive equipment but traditional learning options.As 97% of teens between ages 12 to 17 play digital games (Lenhart, 2008), our motivation to conduct this research was to use the attractiveness/popularity of digital games.Apart from the studies focused on the impacts of the exergames, which combine digital elements and physical activity (Di Tore & Raiola, 2012;Peng, Lin, & Crouse,2011;Whitehead, Johnston, Nixon, & Welch,2010), our focus was to find out if just the active version (not the combination) of a digital game can be used to make them active.Aligned with this focus, the purpose of this study was to examine the responses of students to the active version of the digital game -Angry Birds™-.Specifically, the differences between the responses to the digital game and the active game were examined.

Method
The purpose of this study was to examine the responses of the students to the adapted active version of Angry Birds™.The specific research focus was the examination of the differences between the responses to the digital and the active version.The reason of preferring Angry Birds™ in this study was not only its popularity -as it became the number one paid app of all time within a few months of its release-(http://www.rovio.com/en/about-us/Company),but also its simplicity for adapting into an active version.

Participants
Participants of this study were comprised of 26 secondary school students, who enrolled in a state or a private school.The participants consisted 12 female and 14 male students, while 10 of them enrolled in a private school and 16 of them attended a state school.All participants took part in this research voluntarily and were willing to discuss their thoughts and feelings.They were all familiar with Angry Birds™ and spent at least one hour a day playing digital games.

Data Collection
The data for the study were collected during the 2012-2013 school years by using a three question semi-structured interview.The semi-structured interview was formulated to assess students' responses to the digital and active version of Angry Birds™.After we preferred the game Angry Birds™ for this research because of the reason mentioned above, we started to design the active version of it on our university campus with used, recyclable materials in order to show that it could be produced in an easy and cheap way.The active version was installed at the students' school gym.They were invited to the gym in groups of 4-5 students and they were given tablets.The interviews were conducted by the researchers at students' school gym at their convenience.In the first phase, while they were playing the digital version of Angry Birds™ for 15 minutes, they were asked two questions: (1) "What do you feel when you play digital games?" and (2) "What do you feel when you play active games?".In the second phase, they played the active version for 15 minutes.Right after they had played the active version, they were asked the third question (3) "How do you explain your feelings?".All the process including game play and interviews for each group lasted approximately 60 minutes and were videotaped.Preliminary demographical information such as age, and gender was obtained from the school administrations.Permissions for video-taping game plays and interviews were taken from the school administrations and the parents, respectively.

Data Analysis
In this research, case study was conducted following a qualitative research design.Case studies enable to gain an in-depth understanding and interpreting of the educational phenomenon within its real life context (Merriam, 1998).The responses to the interviews were analyzed with the qualitative method of content analysis, which allows categories to emerge from the data itself (Marshall & Rossman, 1999;Yıldırım & Şimşek, 2008).The data derived from the interviews were coded and categorized by the researchers collaboratively.The researchers had discussions on the conflicts they encountered while they were trying to create a list of codes and categories.After the researchers had reached a consensus, the initial list, which was comprised of 31 codes and 6 categories was created.The study was tested for reliability through the submission to an expert of the list of 31 codes and the list of 6 categories, separately.The expert was asked to place the 31 codes into the 6 categories.The initial list created by the expert and the one created by the researchers were compared.As the expert put one code in a different category than the researchers, the reliability was found 0.97 that might be considered at desired level.The inter coder reliability of the study was calculated through the formula, articulated as "Reliability=((Number of Agreements):(Number of Agreements+Number of Disagreements))x100", suggested by Miles and Hubermann (1994).The inter coder reliability was calculated as follows: [Reliability=((30):(30+1))x100=>Reliability=97%].The expert was a faculty member at a teacher education department in school of physical education and sports.And, she was the instructor of educational games course.

Results
6 categories and 31 codes were emerged from the responses of the students to the digital and the active games.This section introduces the 6 categories with the comparison of responses of the students according to their gender and school types.Entertainment: As can be observed in Graph 2, entertainment was the most cited category for both digital and active games.The participant students stated that they entertained a lot after they had played the digital version of Angry Birds™ and used different expressions.
"I prefer visually enhanced games; these games are more realistic thus I have fun"(PS/13/M) * .
"Digital games are joyful, to accomplish makes me more than happy" (PS/10/F).
"I enjoy playing digital games, even though they are not educative" (SS/11/M).
Students indicated that they also entertained a lot after they had played the adapted active version.Some students also emphasized the differences between the digital and the active version of Angry Birds™.

"It was nice [active version]
; to adjust it by myself was really delightful" (SS/10/F).
"It was more exciting than playing with a tablet; I liked actually touching the sling" (SS/9/M).
"While playing this [active version]I actually perform.That is why it is more exciting than playing on a tablet" (SS/13/M).

"Playing with friends makes it [active version] more enjoyable" (SS/12/F).
Visuality: According to the students' responses, visuality is an important feature of a game.Relatively, comments of the students about visuality can be accepted as a tip to make an active game colorful.
* Words in italic specify the codes.The first capital letters in parentheses represent the school type of the students (i.e., PS=private school; SS=state school).The numbers represent their age and the capital letters at the end show their gender (i.e., M=male; F=female).
"Active games can't reach the visual quality of digital games hence I prefer digital games.If this [active version] could be developed visually, I'd rather to play it" (SS/13/F).
"I'd rather to play with the real one [active version], it is kind of 3D" (SS/13/M).
Challenge: Challenge is one of the common concepts of digital and active games.Students mostly specified about a game that the more challenging it gets, the more ambition they have.
"When I play a hard game which pushes me, I feel angry" (SS/12/M).
"I prefer to play adventure games …if I can't pass the level; I get aggressive" (SS/13/F).
"I am more ambitious when I fail to pass the level.Anyway, failing can't stop me; I determine to pass it" (SS/13/F).
After they had played the active version, students stated that they found the active version more challenging.
"I felt bad because this [digital version] was harder than playing on a tablet" (SS/13/F).
"It [active version] was hard but on the other hand it was amusing because it was real.I prefer to play this [active version] because I ask for the moon" (SS/13/M).
"The nicest part of this game [active version] is playing with friends.We help each other when it is needed, there is no one giving a hand while playing on tablet" (SS/11/M).
"At the beginning it [active version] was hard, which made me angry but after I had accomplished, I felt better" (SS/9/F).
Negative emotions: Students emotionally expressed themselves as below: "I play games to let my steam off" (SS/12/M).
"After a while, playing digital games makes me bored.But, it never happens in an active game" (SS/11/M).
"I get bored when I play digital games because they are limited in terms of mobility but this [active version] is not like that" (SS/11/F).
They also pointed out that not being able to succeed emerge negative emotions while playing a digital game.Students played the digital version and the active version, respectively.And, they expressed their feelings and thoughts.According to their responses, entertainment was the most cited category.It was remarkable that students referred to entertainment mostly about active games.And control was not referred in digital games while it was cited 44 times in active games.
Graph 2. Frequencies of categories according to the school type.
Categories and frequencies of codes based on the school type are presented in Graph 2. The most popular category referred by the state school students was "entertainment" in active games (f=87).Private school students also related entertainment to active games (f=41).State school students mentioned entertainment (f=33) more than private school students in digital games (f=23).
The second most cited category was "challenge", which was mostly mentioned by state school students about the active games (f=25) while digital games were only cited two times by private school students (f=2).
The category of "control" about active games was cited by state school students (f=23) and private school students (f=21).Neither private school students nor state school students mentioned control in digital games.
Regardless of the type of school, active games were hardly related to "negative emotions" (f=2) while the students mostly associated it to digital games (f=14).It might be accepted that being active provides opportunities to tolerate negative emotions.The students referred to "mobility" in active games (f=11) while it was cited only three times in digital games (f=3).

Graph 3. Frequencies of categories according to gender.
Graph 3 illustrates frequencies of categories based on the gender.Active games entertained both male (f=65) and female students (f=63)."Entertainment" was less cited in digital games when it was compared to active games.The difference between genders was more significant in digital games.Male students mentioned entertainment 38 times (f=38) while it was cited 18 times (f=18) by female students.
"Control" was only referred to active games.Male students mentioned control (f=28) more than female students (f=16).None of the students related control to digital games.
Another remarkable point that can be observed in Graph 3 is the categories "challenge", "visuality", and "mobility", which were more cited by male students than female students.In the category of "negative emotions", there was not a significant difference between genders while it was mostly referred to digital games.That can be interpreted as digital games are inadequate in discharging negative emotions.

Discussion
The purpose of this study was to examine the differences between the responses to the digital and the active version of Angry Birds™.Male and female students ranging in age from 9 to 14 played both the digital and the adapted active version of Angry Birds™ and shared their feelings and thoughts.According to responses of the students, five significant conclusions were revealed.
Students referred to "entertainment" for both digital and the active versions of Angry Birds™ many times as it was the most cited category.This category is comprised of the codes joyful, happiness, fun, enjoyable, lets the steam off, amusing, delightful, exciting, socializing, and being with friends.We had been expecting such a result before we started this study as some researches specified that games are mostly played because of their enjoyable and entertaining features (Karakus, Inal, & Cagiltay, 2008;Kiili, 2005).Fun is one of the main goals of students for physical activity (Cothran & Ennis, 1998).It was remarkable that entertainment was cited more in the active version (f=128) than the digital version (f=56).The active version entertained students more than the digital game regardless of age, school type, and gender.
During the active game play, students had broader opportunities in terms of controlling the game.As Vorderer, Klimmt, & Ritterfeld (2004) claim, control is one of the reasons of enjoyment in game play.This might be the reason why the active game entertained students more than the digital game.During the active version, students were with their friends where they socialized, interacted, and supported each other.They had the opportunity to develop relationships, which was an important contributor to game enjoyment (Ryan, Rigby, & Przybylski,2006).In their research about competitive games, Bernstein, Phillips, & Silverman(2011) point out that working with friends makes students have fun.On the contrary; players are generally on their own while playing a digital game.Olson's (2010) finding is remarkable as making friends is not a primary motivation in digital/video game plays.
The students found the active version more challenging.The category "challenge" included the codes hard, adventure, ambitious, determine, and accomplish.The students related challenge with the digital (f=12) and the active version (f=33).Deci & Ryan (1985) propose challenge as a key element of game play, it is important for game enjoyment as well (Colwell, 2007).The active version revealed feelings connected to challenge more than the digital game.Students played the active version for the first time at the experimental stage of the research where they performed and acquired new, different skills.Playing the active version for the first time created a challenging condition for the students.It can be interpreted that such feelings related to challenge were experienced internally in digital games whereas it was expressed externally in active games.Students played the active game cooperatively in which they shared their feelings with the group and got help from friends.Once they accomplished, they started to entertain more.
Controlling whole body is an important element of active game play.Hand-eye coordination and cognitive processes are used while playing digital games.Hand-eye coordination is usually limited with vision perception and some finger/hand movements in digital games while vision perception is combined with whole body movements in active games.Students revealed that -using whole body-was the main distinctness between the active and the digital game.The codes adjusting, controlling, and calculating were gathered in the category "control".Students connected these codes only with the active game (f=44) but the digital game (f=0).Designers have been working hard, by using modern technology, to make digital games as realistic as possible in order to make players feel like they are actually in the game.The active version was real indeed.Students were actually in the game.During the active game play, students touched the sling; calculated the target, and adjusted the speed, in brief, anything related to the game was under their control.Klimmt, Hartman, & Frey (2007) put forth that games satisfy needs for autonomy.
Negative emotions were controllable in active games.This category included the codes boring, aggressive, angry, sad, feel bad, and to be afraid of (fear).It was cited 14 times (f=14) in the digital game whereas it was mentioned only two times in the active game (f=2).Accordingly, students did not manage to control negative emotions during digital games.In digital games some elements, such as, force, not to touch/feel the objects of the game, and not actually being in the game might cause lack of controlling negative emotions.But in active games, players can control their negative emotions, just because they control the game play as well as they can touch the equipment of the game, adjust them the way they want, and they make the calculations, they control the speed and the force.This conclusion is in line with Lee & LaRose (2007) who claim that having less control in game results in negative emotions.
Female students enjoyed the active game rather than the digital game.Female students cited entertainment eighteen times (f=18) in digital games while they connected it to the active game 63 times (f=63).This is one of the significant differences in the frequency of occurrences between the digital and the active version.This finding corroborates the studies that indicated males tend to play video games more than females (Hamlen, 2010;Phan, Jardina, Hoyle, & Chaparro, 2012;Quaiser-Pohl, Geiser & Lehmann, 2006).Besides, some researches point out that males and females prefer to play different types of games (Chou & Tsai, 2007;Inal & Cagiltay, 2007).

Implications
This research is important because it proved the simplicity of transforming a digital game into an active game.Producing the adapted active version was cheaper ($20) than West Virginia's Dance Dance Revolution exergame project, which costed almost $1200 per school (Ferdinand, 2008).This financial advantage makes it favorable for educational programs especially for developing countries.Adapted active games might be an opportunity to prevent inactivity while obesity is the reason of approximately 3.2 million deaths each year (WHO, 2008), as they provide a new, attractive activity option for teachers in order to make their students active.Adapted active versions of popular digital games should also be added to educational programs from the point of promoting constructing knowledge, problem solving and critical thinking skills.

Limitations and Suggestions for Further Study
There are some limitations to this study including the limited sample size.Future researchers might use a longitudinal design.Herewith, a deeper understanding of the students' responses and the transition of their thoughts might be examined.In addition, future studies can be conducted with adapted versions of different digital games.

"
When I can't pass, I get angry" (PS/10/F)."When I lose, I feel angry" (PS/11/F)."I play just to have fun but if I fail I get aggressive" (SS/12/M).Students' responses about the active version are below: "I didn't feel angry when I played the active version" (PS/10/F)."I get aggressive when I fail [digital version] but somehow I don't feel angry while playing dodge ball" (PS/10/F)."It [active version] was hard at the beginning so it made me sad… I enjoyed it after starting to perform well" (SS/11/F)."I got excited [active version] on the other hand I was afraid [of failure]" (PS/10/M).126 Mobility: Students emphasized how active games make them move."I am actually in this [active version] but not on the tablet… you can use only your fingers on the tablet but here [active version] you need to use your whole body" (SS/13/F)."There [digital game] I played with one hand but here [active version] I played with my whole body" (PS/10/F)."You need to move not only your fingers but also your whole body [active version].…being active is awesome" (SS/10/F).Control: This category was only referred to the active version by the students."You can adjust it the way you want" (SS/11/F)."You have to calculate" (SS/10/F)."In the digital game you just use your finger and drag it, but here you must adjust the sling" (PS/10/M)."Everything is under your control" (PS/10/F).Students' responses emerged 6 categories.Frequencies of codes based on these categories are shown in Graph 1.
Frequencies of categories about active and digital games.
Female) Active games (Male) Digital games (Female) Digital games (Male)

Table 1 .
Categories and Codes of Digital and Active Games.