Automation Confusion: A Grounded Theory of Non-Gamers' Confusion in Partially Automated Action Games

Partial automation makes digital games simpler by performing game actions for players. It may simplify gameplay for non-gamers who have difficulty controlling and understanding games. However, the automation may make players confused about what they control and what the automation controls. To describe and explain non-gamers' experiences of automation confusion, we analyzed gameplay, think-aloud, and interview data from ten non-gamer participants who played two partially automated games. Our results demonstrate how incorrect mental models, behaviours resulting from those models, and players' attitudes towards the games led to different levels and types of confusion.