Players' Perception of Bugs and Glitches in Video Games: An Exploratory Study

The goal of this exploratory research is to investigate how glitches and bugs within video games affect a players overall experience. The severity or frequency of bugs, as well as the nature of the bugs present, could influence how the players perceive these interactions. Another factor is the players personality because this will affect their motivations for playing certain games as well as how they react to bugs within these games. Glitches and bugs are framed as a negative aspect within games, but create the potential for enjoyable experiences, despite being unexpected. To explore this hypothesis, I observed some glitches within recorded gameplay via YouTube and Twitch livestream VODs and analyzed the streamers reaction, as well as the audiences. I also conducted semi-structured interviews with gamers with the goal of learning more about that players personality and attitudes towards bugs in the games they play. I concluded that the types of bugs matter less to the players than how frequently they occur, the context they occur, and the outcome of them.