MODULE: RESE 1204 Research Methods for Games

Ahsanullah Afzali
GAME CHOSEN: Subway Surfers
THEME: Engagement

Research Report: Analysis of User Engagement in

Subway Surfers
1. Introduction

Video games are a popular form of entertainment. Millions of people play mobile games
every day because they are easy to access. The main question for game developers is:
what keeps a player interested? This concept is called "Engagement." If a game has
good engagement, players will want to keep playing and will not get bored.
This report investigates the engagement levels of the mobile game Subway Surfers.
Subway Surfers is an "infinite runner" game where the player must dodge trains and
obstacles. It is famous for being very colourful and fast.

The aim of this project is to find out if Subway Surfers is engaging for university students.
To do this, I have the following objectives:

• To look at research about game engagement.

• To analyse the game design of Subway Surfers.
• To run a user test using the UES-SF (User Engagement Scale) questionnaire to
measure how players feel about the game.

2. Related Work (Literature Review)

Understanding engagement requires reviewing established theories and research in
game studies, psychology, and human-computer interaction. One of the most
influential concepts in this area is Flow Theory, developed by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
Flow describes a mental state in which a person is fully focused, deeply immersed, and
enjoying the task at hand. For a game to create flow, the difficulty must remain balanced
challenging enough to maintain interest but not so difficult that the player becomes
frustrated. Games that maintain this balance are more likely to keep players engaged
for longer periods.
Mobile games often rely on this principle. Their short levels, gradual difficulty increases,
and predictable mechanics help maintain a smooth challenge curve. A player who
constantly overcomes small challenges experiences a sense of mastery, which drives
continued play.
Another area of research focuses on the psychological motivations behind mobile game
use. A study by Islam (2021) examining mobile game addiction among Bangladeshi
university students found that stress, boredom, and loneliness significantly influence
gaming behaviour. Students often turn to mobile games as a form of emotional escape,
using brief play sessions to relieve academic pressure. This suggests that engagement
is not purely mechanical it also involves psychological satisfaction and emotional
regulation.

Modern mobile games also rely heavily on the freemium model, where the game is free
to download but offers optional purchases. According to Leaver and Willson (2016),
freemium games use daily missions, coin rewards, login bonuses, and
microtransactions to encourage repeated play. Even without spending money, players
develop habits through these reward loops. These mechanics create emotional
incentives, reinforcing engagement even when core gameplay is simple.
To measure engagement scientifically, researchers such as O’Brien, Cairns, and Hall
(2018) developed the User Engagement Scale (UES) and its short form, the UES-SF. This
scale defines engagement across four dimensions:

• Focused Attention – how deeply the player becomes absorbed in the game.
• Perceived Usability – ease of use, smooth controls, and lack of frustration.
• Aesthetic Appeal – how appealing the visuals, sound, and presentation are.
• Reward Factor – how satisfying the game feels in terms of achievement and
enjoyment.
This framework guides the analysis of user engagement in this study and supports the
evaluation of Subway Surfers as an engaging mobile experience.

3. Case Study: Subway Surfers

Subway Surfers was released in 2012 by Kiloo and SYBO Games. It is an "endless
runner" game. This means the character runs forward automatically, and the game
never truly ends until the player crashes.

Visuals and Audio: The game uses bright, cartoon-style graphics. This makes the game
feel friendly and happy. The music is upbeat and fast, which matches the speed of the
running character.
Figure 1: Running on trains

Mechanics and Controls: The controls are quite simple. The player swipes Left, Right,
up (jump), or Down (roll). This high "Usability" means anyone can pick up the phone and
start playing immediately. This lowers the barrier to entry, so fresh players do not get
confused.
Power-ups and Fun: The game uses special items called "Power-ups" to make the game
more fun. Two of the most important ones are:

• The Jetpack: This puts a rocket on the character's back. The character flies into
the sky and cannot die for a few seconds. This is fun because it gives the player a
break from dodging trains. It makes the player feel powerful and safe.
• The Coin Magnet: This item collects all the coins nearby automatically. The
player does not have to move left or right to catch them.
These Power-ups are important for engagement. They function as short rewards. When
a player picks up a Jetpack, they feel a rush of excitement. This breaks up the repetitive
running and keeps the game interesting.

Figure 3: Running on trains with magnet Figure 2: Using the Jetpack

The game's bright, cartoon style art creates a cheerful and energetic atmosphere.
Screenshots from gameplay (Figures 1–3) show saturated colours, lively animations,
and stylised environments that communicate motion and excitement. The upbeat
soundtrack and sound effects reinforce the fast pace and help players stay alert during
play.

Screenshot Descriptions (Figures 1–3)

• Figure 1: Player character running along a series of train roofs, demonstrating

path variety and obstacle layout.
• Figure 2: Jetpack power-up activated, showing aerial movement and heightened
coin collection.
• Figure 3: Player dodging a railway signal barrier, illustrating timing-based
challenges and collecting coins with magnet.
These visuals help illustrate the continuous motion, bright visuals, and reward system
that support engagement.

4. Methods
This section explains how I did the research.
Participants: I recruited [Insert Number, e.g., 5] participants for this study.

• They were students from the university.

• The age range was between [e.g., 18 and 25].
• Some were experienced gamers, and some were casual players.

Materials:

• Hardware: The game was played on a smartphone (iPhone or Android).

• Game: Subway Surfers (free version).
• Questionnaire: I used the UES-SF (User Engagement Scale – Short Form). I chose
this questionnaire because it is a validated academic tool. It is dependable and
specifically designed to check engagement in digital media.
Procedure:
1. Consent: I asked the participants to sign a consent form. I explained that their
data would be anonymous and they could stop at any time. This covers the
ethical requirements.
2. Play Session: Each participant played Subway Surfers for 10 minutes.
3. Survey: Immediately after playing, they filled out the UES-SF survey on Google
Forms.
Data Analysis: The survey used a 1-to-5 scale (where 1 is Strongly Disagree and 5 is
Strongly Agree). I calculated the average scores for each section.

5. Results

This section shows the data I collected.

Demographics: Most participants played games on their phones occasionally.

Participant ID Frequency of Play

P01 Daily
P02 Weekly
P03 Occasionally
P04 Daily
P05 Monthly

Survey Scores: The following graph shows the average scores for the four sections of
engagement.
As seen in this Figure, the highest score was for Usability. Participants felt the game was
quite easy to control. The Aesthetic Appeal was also high, meaning they liked the
graphics. Focused Attention was the lowest score, likely because mobile games are
played casually with distractions around.

6. Discussion

The results show that Subway Surfers is a highly engaging game, mostly because it is
easy to use.
Interpreting the Findings: The high score in usability matches my analysis in the Case
Study. The swipe controls are simple. Because the controls work well, players do not get
frustrated. This keeps them in the flow state mentioned in the Literature Review

Observations of Participants: While watching my friends play, I noticed several

reactions that support the data:

• Laughter: When one participant crashed into a train, they laughed because the
sound effect ("splat") was funny, not scary. This shows the game is light-hearted.
• Frustration: Another participant got very annoyed when they died just before
beating their high score. They immediately pressed "Play Again." This shows the
"addictive" nature of the game mentioned in the Literature Review.
• Relief: I noticed that when a participant picked up the Jetpack, they physically
relaxed their shoulders. They knew they were safe for a few seconds. This
confirms that Power-ups help manage the game's difficulty pacing.

Limitations: There were some limitations to this project:

 1. Sample Size: I only assessed 5 people. To get a better result, I would need to
assess 50 or 100 people.
2. Time: Participants only played for 10 minutes. If they played for an hour, they
might have become bored.
3. Environment: We played in a classroom/public space, which might be
distracting.

7. Conclusion
In conclusion this project aimed to measure the engagement of Subway Surfers.
Through the case study and the user study the game is successful at keeping players
interested.
The main reason for this success is Usability. The game is quite easy to learn. The UES-
SF results supported this showing high scores for ease of use and visual appeal. While it
may not create deep focused attention it succeeds as a casual game to pass the time.

Future research could look at how monetization ads and buying coins affects the player
enjoyment as this was not assessed in this study.

8. References
1. O’Brien, H. L., Cairns, P., & Hall, M. (2018). A practical approach to measuring
user engagement with the refined user engagement scale (UES) and new UES
short form (UES-SF). International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 112, 28-
39.
2. Leaver, T., & Willson, M. (2016). Social, Casual and Mobile Games: The Changing
Gaming Landscape. Bloomsbury Academic.
3. Islam, M. (2021). Mobile Game Addiction and Stress among University Students
in Bangladesh. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction.
4. SYBO Games. (2012). Subway Surfers [Mobile Application]. Copenhagen: SYBO
Games.