Search results

The purpose of this paper is to report a pilot experiment to test if multi-player online video games could provide a measurable cognitive therapeutic benefit for brain-injured people.

Single-subject research design with n=3 brain-injured participants. Four alternating intervention and non-intervention weeks. Battery of cognitive tests taken at the start of the experiment and at the end of each week.

Widely varying results with large standard deviation overall.

The experimental design was heavily reliant on multiple participants logging in at the same time. Server logs showed that this happened relatively rarely.

Implications for the next iteration of the experiment are to refine the game design to avoid the need to synchronise the participants. The findings presented may be of practical use to other researchers in this area.

Acquired brain injury has been described as an epidemic, and is rising, with stroke being a leading cause. Traumatic brain injury (e.g. due to road traffic accident) has increasing prevalence in low-middle income countries. This research aims to provide a form of therapy to people for whom physical access to rehabilitation services is limited.

The use of multi-player online video games as rehabilitation is a relatively unexplored area. A positive result in an experiment of this nature would indicate the potential for a new, complimentary form of cognitive therapy for brain-injured people.

Online games are popular electronic commerce platforms in which gamers use avatars to interact with others. Avatar identification (the extent to which gamers regard avatars as an extension of themselves) is known to be related to online gamer loyalty. However, few studies have examined how avatars could be designed to enhance avatar identification and online gamer loyalty, indicating a gap. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to contextualize self-affirmation theory into online gaming contexts, identified key theoretical elements and examined how they are related to avatar identification and online gamer loyalty.

This study surveyed 1,348 massively multi-player online role-playing game players, and their responses were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

The analytical results indicate that irreplaceability within a team and avatar customization are positively related to unique avatar image, while avatar customization is positively related to positive avatar image. Moreover, avatar physical attractiveness and avatar ability to achieve are positively related to positive avatar image. Both unique and positive images of an avatar (as perceived by the user) are positively related to avatar identification, and further to online gamer loyalty.

This study proposes new constructs: irreplaceability within a team, avatar ability to achieve, unique avatar image and positive avatar image. Such new constructs provide insights to aid electronic commerce managers in avatar design, thus instilling gamer identification with avatars, and thus loyalty.

The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, this study seeks to provide a framework for, and endeavor to gain, an in‐depth understanding of the decision‐making process in relation to playing or not playing massively multiplayer online role‐playing games (MMORPGs) by using qualitative data from interviewing both players and non‐players. Second, it seeks to establish a better measure and model using an ethnographic decision tree model that describes the decision‐making process of internet users. Finally, for cross‐validity purposes, it aims to verify the model using quantitative data from face‐to‐face surveys of players/non‐players in an online gaming context.

A two‐phase mixed method is adopted here. During the first phase, the decision tree development phase, to capture the concerns of internet users who are facing the choice of playing MMORPGs or not, qualitative‐based procedures are used to identify decision factors and organize them into a decision tree for better understanding a research problem. In the second phase, the decision tree verification phase, to test the predictive capability of the composite model, a quantitative‐based survey instrument, which represents the decision criteria identified in the first phase, is adopted for data collection and analysis.

The results revealed that 14 criteria, formulated as a decision tree, were identified in the model‐building phase. In the model‐testing phase, 137 decision processes were successfully predicted and 17 predictive pathways led to a decision against the factual, giving a predictive rate of 89 per cent.

The study bridges the gap between the research in online games and in decision making. At the theoretical level, the decision tree model can provide a more comprehensive and in‐depth explanation of the online games‐playing phenomenon. In practice, marketers can easily become aware of the user considerations and identify exactly what needs to be done to fulfil users' criteria for playing MMORPGs. And, from a methodological standpoint, a mixed method can help researchers improve techniques used in study for building more predictive models.

This paper aims to present the different issues that must be tackled when creating a viable multi‐user, multi‐device game. The issues tackled range from user interaction issues to graphics quality to bandwidth constraints. The paper also aims to present different configurations depending on the type of game to be created and a strategy for network gaming using heterogeneous devices focusing on the development of a game that allows users of mobile devices and desktop computers to interact and compete on a single domain.

A tank battle game was developed that plays the same game across both a mobile device such as a phone/PDA and a desktop counterpart.

Although there is a sacrifice in the richness of the game environment on mobile devices, it is possible to develop games that play across platforms and devices, and safeguards can be put in place in order not to overly handicap players using mobile devices.

The research focused on a single type of game. It would be ideal to attempt such work on other game genres or platforms. The implications of such work would be that the ubiquity of game play could be extended and the overall gaming experience improved.

This paper allows game developers to rethink the possibilities as they develop new games.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the fast‐growing virtual world, focusing on the appeal of these environments for the “digital native” generation and the growth of Second Life.

The paper examines the latest research on virtual worlds and Second Life, examining the corporate presence “in‐world,” as well as the economic, technical, legal, ethical, and security issues involved for companies doing business in the virtual world.

The paper shows that Second Life and virtual worlds hold great opportunities, along with significant downsides, for companies.

The research is limited by the very fact that this is a fast‐developing, fast‐changing area, constantly generating both new opportunities and new issues/challenges.

With projections that 80 percent of all internet users will be involved in virtual worlds by 2011, it is important that executives and academicians be knowledgeable about these 3D internet environments.

The paper traces the development of virtual worlds in the larger context of the growth of online gaming as a form of entertainment and interaction. It takes an objective look at the benefits and pitfalls for organizations looking to engage in Second Life and other virtual worlds.

This paper discusses an exploratory case study of the design of games that facilitate spontaneous social interaction and group behaviours among distributed individuals, based largely on symbolic presence ‘state’ changes. We present the principles guiding the design of our game environment: presence as a symbolic phenomenon, the importance of good visualization and the potential for spontaneous self‐organization among groups of people. Our game environment, comprising a family of multiplayer ‘bumper‐car’ style games, is described, followed by a discussion of lessons learned from observing users of the environment. Finally, we reconsider and extend our design principles in light of our observations.

Recently, researchers have begun investigating the learning process that occurs within computer games (learning to play), as opposed to studying games that support explicit learning for educational purposes (playing to learn). With the increasing popularity of massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs), some research has begun to look beyond individual play and is now focusing on social play. By conducting a 30 day virtual participant observation in an MMOG, namely World of Warcraft (WoW) this paper aims to identify and provide a theoretical explanation of the process of learning that takes place in such an open‐ended virtual world.

Through the lens of activity theory, the paper focuses its analysis on the tool, the goal, the activity of game playing and contradictions.

It was found that social learning could occur through intrinsic and extrinsic play. Intrinsic play is play oriented toward goal completion while extrinsic play is directed toward reflection and expansion of intrinsic play. WoW is designed with tools that facilitate these types of play, and therefore learning that emerges from them. Furthermore, learning involves not only the process of acquiring knowledge and skills to accomplish certain goals, but also the process of defining the goal, thus shaping the learning process.

The results could be used to inform game design either for social play or for social learning.

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds his own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

The findings of this research show that money laundering and terrorism financing can take place inside virtual environments. Virtual money laundering and terrorism financing offer high levels of anonymity and potentially low levels of detection, and remove many of the risks associated with real-world money laundering and terrorism financing activity. However, this comes at the cost of ease, time and, in some cases, the amount of funds laundered. Large sums (millions of dollars) can be laundered in virtual environments, but this exponentially increases the level of effort involved in setting up accounts and placing, layering and integrating funds.

The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers’ hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and an easy-to digest format.

This paper aims to offer a comprehensive perspective into Free-to-Play gamers’ attitudes, feelings toward and perceived value of in-app purchases (IAPs).

The study is based on a twofold qualitative methodology using an inductive approach: user-generated YouTube videos and gamers’ online reviews posted on Play stores.

Eight topics have emerged out from the qualitative data related to the characteristics of a good/bad IAP, the IAPs as downsides, the ambiguity with traditional Pay-to-Play games, the financial-risk issues, the resistance behaviors, the worries about over-spending and addiction and the frustration mechanism.

By focusing on IAPs, this research contributes to build an integrative overview to better understand how players deal with IAPs and how this interaction should be analyzed in the light of multiple frameworks. Emphasis is placed on a continuum of player responses from tolerant metacognition to high degree of subversion.

A twofold netnographic approach offers a novel contribution to the field of mobile games by bringing together two materials increasingly connected to the video game universe. It also brought to the fore an experiential context by providing insight into the underlying dynamics of Player/IAP interactions.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between primary product network size and the sales of complementary products, and to suggest customer characteristics moderating this relationship.

A panel dataset in the online video game industry was used to verify the proposed theoretical framework. Two‐level hierarchical linear modeling is used to test several hypotheses.

The authors' analysis results suggest there is a positive relationship between the primary product network size and the sales of complementary products. Also, two customer characteristics (previous transaction value and customer purchase frequency) were found to positively influence the complementary product sales. The primary product's network size has a stronger impact on complementary product sales for light buyers compared to heavy buyers.

This study only focused on online video industry, and the price differentiation of the products might not be adequately significant. Other relevant factors (such as word‐of‐mouth (WOM)) or other customer characteristics could also be relevant to complementary product sales. Therefore, future research could use data triangulation to collect data in different contexts, through a longer period of time, to test and verify the proposed relationships.

Product managers need to better understand the relationship between the primary product network size and the complementary product sales. They should adjust the marketing strategies toward different customer purchase frequency segments correspondingly. For example, to benefit further from the primary product network size, complementary product retailers can create online forums for all primary product users to influence light complementary product buyers.

This research is one of the first empirical investigations of establishing the relationship between primary product network size and complementary product sales, with customer characteristics as moderators.