Game Literature Research Articles

Re-framing engagement for applied games: A conceptual framework

Although games are frequently described as ‘engaging’, what this means exactly continues to be subject of debate in game literature. Engagement is often defined through related concepts like immersion and positive emotions. However, this neglects the fact that applied games aim to provide more than an entertaining experience, and that engagement with the applied purpose can exist separately from engagement with the game’s systems. To make this differentiation more apparent, this article introduces the Applied Games Engagement Model (AGEM), a theoretical model that distinguishes between an applied game’s systems and its non-entertainment purpose. It poses that game systems and purpose can overlap in varying amounts, both from game to game, and from moment to moment within a single game. The value of the model is in the explicit acknowledgement that the attention necessary for engaging with content is a limited resource, and that measures for engagement in applied games need to consider that not all engagement is purposeful. The article lays the conceptual foundation for the study of engagement in applied games, and provides a framework for how to design for an applied purpose. It illustrates its use in analysing applied games and their designs through three case studies.

The Gap Between Korean Esports and Educational Gaming

While some research suggests South Korea has fallen behind other developed nations with regard to publishing and using serious games in the classroom, Korean interest in video games remains extremely high. Due to a number of cultural, social, and technological factors, esports was primed to become a significant force in Korean culture and received significant support from the Ministry of Culture. The Korean Ministry of Education, meanwhile, is resistant to adopting educational games as a part of its accepted pedagogy. This resistance has created a significant gap between the interest in video games as a learning tool and that of video games as an industry and career path in Korea. While a number of factors play a role in the languishing serious games market, based on evidence analyzed through educational gaming literature it is unlikely educational gaming will be able to significantly advance without the support of the primary governing body controlling educational policy.

Redistribution of tax resources: a cooperative game theory approach

We consider the problem of how to distribute public expenditure among the different regions of an economic entity after all taxes have been collected. Typical examples are: the regions that make up a country, the states of a federal country, or the countries of a confederation of countries. We model the problem as a cooperative game in coalitional form, called the tax game. This game estimates the fiscal resources collected in each region, or coalition of regions, by differentiating between what comes from economic activity within each region and what comes from trade with the other regions. This methodology provides a measure of the disagreement within a region, or coalitions of regions, with respect to the budget received. Similarly, the stability of a budget allocation can be inferred by its situation within the core of the corresponding tax game. We consider the Spanish case as an example and show that the current regional financial system has a moderate degree of instability. We introduce two budget allocation rules, both borrowed from the cooperative games literature: the balanced allocation, which coincides with the nucleolus and with the Shapley value of the tax game, and the weighted balanced allocation, which coincides with the weighted Shapley value. We compare both budget allocation rules with the current Spanish financial system.

Catch me if you can: effects of AR-enhanced presence on the mobile game experience

PurposeThe purpose of the present research was to examine the effects of content, spatial, temporal and social presences stimulated by augmented reality (AR) technology on game enjoyment and continuing behavioral intention.Design/methodology/approachA total of 355 mobile AR game players participated in an online survey posted via the nationwide crowdsourcing web service in the US. A structural equation modeling was conducted using a maximum-likelihood estimation procedure to test the relationships among the variables.FindingsResults of structural equation modeling revealed the mechanism through which multiple dimensions of presence on the mobile AR game generated positive effects on consumer responses and showed the effects of four dimensions of presence stimulated by the AR technology on game enjoyment, performance and behavioral intention. Content, spatial, temporal and social presences are integrated to create a sense of realness. These dimensions of presence simultaneously increased game enjoyment that influenced the perceived game performance, commitment to it and ultimately the intention to play other mobile AR games.Originality/valueAlthough AR technology brings a unique experience to the game player, research on the effects of its use in mobile games on consumer responses is currently limited. The results of this study add value to the existing mobile game literature and provide practical insights for mobile game service providers on how to enhance players’ game enjoyment and continuing behavior.

Online to offline social interaction on gaming motivations

PurposeThis research examined the social interactions of online game players based on the proposed motivation model in order to understand the transitions of motivation of online game. The authors also separated samples into four categories to compare the difference of different type of online game players.Design/methodology/approachThis study proposed a motivation model for online game player based on existence–relatedness–growth theory. The authors also analyze the transitions of motivations via first-order and second-order Markov chain switching model to obtain the journey of online to offline socialization.FindingsTeamwork–socialization players preferred to make friends in their online gaming network to socialize. Competition–socialization players were mostly students who played games to compete and socialize and may share experience in online or offline activities. Teamwork–mechanics players purely derived pleasure from gaming and were not motivated by other factors in their gaming activities. Competition–mechanics players may already have friends with other gamers in real life.Research limitations/implicationsMore samples can be added to generate more generalizable findings and the proposed motivation model can be extended by other motivations related to online gaming behavior. The authors proposed a motivation model for online to offline socialization and separated online game players into four categories: teamwork–socialization, competition–socialization, teamwork–mechanics and competition–mechanics. The category of teamwork–socialization may contribute to online to offline socialization area. The category of competition–mechanics may add value to the area of traditional offline socialization. The categories of competition–socialization and teamwork–mechanics may help extant literature understand critical stimulus for online gaming behavior.Practical implicationsThe authors’ findings can help online gaming industry understand the motivation journey of players through transition. Different types of online games may have various online game player's journey that can assist companies in improving the quality of online games. Online game companies can also offer official community to players for further interaction and experience exchange or the platform for offline activities in the physical environment.Originality/valueThis research proposed a novel motivation model to examine online to offline socializing behavior for online game research. The motivations in model were interconnected via the support of literature. The authors also integrated motivations by Markov chain switching model to obtain the transitions of motivational status. It is also the first attempt to analyze first-order and second-order Markov chain switching model for analysis. The authors’ research examined the interconnected relationships among motivations in addition to the influential factors to online gaming behavior from previous research. The results may contribute to extend the understanding of online to offline socialization in online gaming literature.

A Dynamic Multi-Objective Duopoly Game with Capital Accumulation and Pollution

This paper studies a discrete-time dynamic duopoly game with homogenous goods. Both firms have to decide on investment where investment increases production capacity so that they are able to put a larger quantity on the market. The downside, however, is that a larger quantity raises pollution. The firms have multiple objectives in the sense that each one maximizes the discounted profit stream and appreciates a clean environment as well. We obtain some surprising results. First, where it is known from the continuous-time differential game literature that firms invest more under a feedback information structure compared to an open-loop one, we detect scenarios where the opposite holds. Second, in a feedback Nash equilibrium, capital stock is more sensitive to environmental appreciation than in the open-loop case.

Artificial intelligence and human workers interaction at team level: a conceptual assessment of the challenges and potential HRM strategies

PurposeThis paper aims to specifically focus on the challenges that human resource management (HRM) leaders and departments in contemporary organisations face due to close interaction between artificial intelligence (AI) (primarily robots) and human workers especially at the team level. It further discusses important potential strategies, which can be useful to overcome these challenges based on a conceptual review of extant research.Design/methodology/approachThe current paper undertakes a conceptual work where multiple streams of literature are integrated to present a rather holistic yet critical overview of the relationship between AI (particularly robots) and HRM in contemporary organisations.FindingsWe highlight that interaction and collaboration between human workers and robots is visible in a range of industries and organisational functions, where both are working as team members. This gives rise to unique challenges for HRM function in contemporary organisations where they need to address workers' fear of working with AI, especially in relation to future job loss and difficult dynamics associated with building trust between human workers and AI-enabled robots as team members. Along with these, human workers' task fulfilment expectations with their AI-enabled robot colleagues need to be carefully communicated and managed by HRM staff to maintain the collaborative spirit, as well as future performance evaluations of employees. The authors found that organisational support mechanisms such as facilitating environment, training opportunities and ensuring a viable technological competence level before organising human workers in teams with robots are important. Finally, we found that one of the toughest challenges for HRM relates to performance evaluation in teams where both humans and AI (including robots) work side by side. We referred to the lack of existing frameworks to guide HRM managers in this concern and stressed the possibility of taking insights from the computer gaming literature, where performance evaluation models have been developed to analyse humans and AI interactions while keeping the context and limitations of both in view.Originality/valueOur paper is one of the few studies that go beyond a rather general or functional analysis of AI in the HRM context. It specifically focusses on the teamwork dimension, where human workers and AI-powered machines (robots) work together and offer insights and suggestions for such teams' smooth functioning.

Reward‐based or meaningful gaming? A field study on game mechanics and serious games for sustainability

AbstractDespite investigating digital gaming for commercial purposes, less scholarly attention exists on digital gaming for societal purposes such as sustainability (“serious games”). The current study investigates whether a serious game can enhance sustainability marketing outcomes, including knowledge, value‐in‐behavior, and behavioral intentions longitudinally (pre‐gameplay to post‐gameplay). Further, the study seeks to understand the influence of reward‐based and meaningful game mechanics on these sustainability marketing outcomes. We recruited 387 participants for a week‐long field study using a serious game which encourages household energy conservation. The findings show that the serious game significantly increased sustainability knowledge, value‐in‐behavior, and sustainable behavioral intention after one week. Reward‐based game mechanics (badges and trophies) significantly influenced sustainability knowledge and indirectly influenced value‐in‐behavior via sustainability knowledge, whereas reward‐based (points) and meaningful (educational messages) game mechanics had little impact. The results empirically support the conceptual model theorization—underpinned by a “do–learn–feel” behavioral learning approach—which possessed superior fit to a “do–feel–learn” rival model. This study provides novel insights regarding eliciting value‐in‐behavior longitudinally within serious games. Our multidimensional approach to assessing reward‐based game mechanics extends prior studies and suggests that higher‐tier rewards are more influential than lower‐tiered rewards to achieve sustainability marketing outcomes. We further demonstrate that reward‐based game mechanics outperform meaningful game mechanics at influencing desired outcomes, challenging existing gaming literature.

Groups of Gamers: Market Segmentation of Brazilian Electronic Gamers

ABSTRACT The electronic games industry is a new, dynamic, and fast-growing economic sector. However, organizations in this industry do not know the profile of their consumers. In view of this knowledge gap, the objective of this research paper is to analyze groups of electronic games consumers in the Brazilian market, in terms of their socio-demographic, behavioral, and expenditure characteristics. Using market segmentation literature and motivational variables found in games literature, this paper uses self-organizing maps and analysis of variance to segment 601 Brazilian gamers. The results demonstrate the existence of five different groups of games players and that, in order to reach each group, different strategies need to be used. The first group consists of t players who play all the time. The second has the same features as the first, but they do not have the same amount of time available to play. The third group consists of pro players. The fourth group and fifth group are the new challenge for games companies.

Image-dependent conditional McKean–Vlasov SDEs for measure-valued diffusion processes

We consider a special class of mean field SDEs with common noise which depends on the image of the solution (i.e., the conditional distribution given noise). The strong well-posedness is derived under a monotone condition which is weaker than those used in the literature of mean field games; the Feynman–Kac formula is established to solve Schrördinegr type PDEs on \(\mathscr {P}_2\), and the ergodicity is proved for a class of measure-valued diffusion processes.

Equilibrium strategies in a multiregional transboundary pollution differential game with spatially distributed controls

We analyse a differential game with spatially distributed controls to study a multiregional transboundary pollution problem. The dynamics of the state variable (pollution stock) is defined by a two dimensional parabolic partial differential equation. The control variables (emissions) are spatially distributed variables. The model allows for a, possibly large, number of agents with predetermined geographical relationships. For a special functional form previously used in the literature of transboundary pollution dynamic games we analytically characterize the feedback Nash equilibrium. We show that at the equilibrium both the level and the location of emissions of each region depend on the particular geographical relationship among agents. We prove that, even in a simplified model, the geographical considerations can modify the players’ optimal strategies and therefore, the spatial aspects of the model should not be overlooked.

Determinants of intention to play Pokémon Go

This paper examines the influence of personal and game factors on gamers' perceived values, drawing from the Theory of Consumption Value (TCV), explores the impacts of values on the Pokémon Go (PG) adoption, and identifies differences between two consumer groups. A sample of 474 (215 PG non-players and 259 PG players) was collected and analysed. Game aesthetics increase all perceived values of both groups. Game aesthetics and innovativeness have no direct impact on gamers' intention to play. Emotional value and functional value are crucial for their behavioural intention. Social value is important for non-players, while conditional value influences players' intentions. This study contributes to the expansion of the TCV in mobile location-based AR game adoption and reveals the insights of players' and non-players’ value perceptions. It is one of the first studies investigating the TCV factors, antecedents, and consequence in the mobile AR game literature.

Gaming Anthropology: The Problem of External Validity and the Challenge of Interpreting Experimental Games

ABSTRACTExperimental economic games are an increasingly common component of the anthropological tool kit. Yet their external validity continues to be a point of debate and active empirical investigation within economics and anthropology. I review and reorganize central concepts within the experimental economic game literature on external validity and find that—consistent with anthropological assumptions of cultural variability—game results are not reliably generalizable across different participants or contexts. However, whether or not game behavior parallels real‐world behavior within the same participants or contexts remains an open question. Methodological diversity is a strength of anthropology as a discipline, and therefore anthropologists are well poised to design more effective tests of parallelism in the future. In the meantime, anthropologists borrowing experimental methods from economics should treat the relationship between behavior inside and outside of games as an open empirical question. They should also carefully consider whether the method is consistent with their theoretical assumptions and research goals. [experimental economic games, external validity, generalizability, parallelism, anthropological methods]

GLOBAL GAMES WITH STRATEGIC SUBSTITUTES

AbstractWe study global games with strategic substitutes. Specifically, for a class of binary‐action, ‐player games with strategic substitutes, we prove that under payoff asymmetry, as incomplete information vanishes, the global games approach selects a unique equilibrium. We characterize this equilibrium profile ; players employ switching strategies at different cutoff signals, the order of which is directly determined by payoff asymmetry. We provide examples that illustrate our result and its connection with dominance solvability. We extend the global game literature, which has thus far been developed for games with strategic complementarities, to new applications in industrial organization, collective action problems, finance, etc .

Modeling multi-target defender-attacker games with quantal response attack strategies

Due to the growing interest in incorporating behavioral models within the defender-attacker game literature, the perfect rationality assumption of adversaries has been relaxed in many recent works. This paper studies four multi-target defensive resource allocation in defender-attacker games by using a quantal response model, in which the attacker might be bounded rational. We compare the results from the proposed models with the traditional game theoretic model where the attacker behaves rationally. Moreover, we studied the impacts of the attacker’s rationality level on the defender’s optimal defense strategies. Real data from the Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) and the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) are employed to estimate the rationality parameter as well as numerically illustrate the model. The results show that: (a) in the quantal response model, the defender’s expected loss at equilibrium increases with the attacker’s rationality parameter and the expected loss approach the results from the game theoretic model; (b) when the attacker’s rationality parameter in the quantal response model approaches infinity, both the equilibrium defensive allocation and expected loss approach to the results from the game theoretic model; (c) when the attacker uses quantal response while the defender falsely believes that the attacker uses game theoretic response, the expected loss will be similar to the model where both players utilize game theoretic response, but higher than the expected loss from the model where both players use quantal response; (d) when the attacker uses game theoretic response while the defender falsely believes that the attacker uses quantal response, the expected equilibrium loss will be higher than the ones from the other three scenarios; and (e) the quantal response model gives a closer resource allocation to the real allocation than the game theoretic model does. This paper provides some novel insights to defensive resource allocation when considering that the attacker is bounded rationality.

Nash Equilibrium in Discontinuous Games

We review the discontinuous games literature, with a sharp focus on conditions that ensure the existence of pure and mixed strategy Nash equilibria in strategic form games and of Bayes-Nash equilibria in Bayesian games.

Conflict, cooperation or competition in the Caspian Sea region: A critical review of the New Great Game paradigm

ABSTRACT This article critically reviews the New Great Game image of the Caspian Sea region and the assumptions, concepts, and mechanisms (revolving around actors, aims, and motivations) this image is based on. More specifically, this review essay answers the following questions: How does the academic literature interpret the impact of competition between great powers on social, political and economic developments in the Caspian Sea region? Which actors are presented as the dominant players? The essay also introduces the existing criticism of the New Great Game concept and alternatives to it that have already been put forward. By identifying the gaps and limits of existing scholarship, this article offers new avenues for alternative theoretical and empirical interpretations. More specifically, this article argues that the New Great Game literature promotes unsystematic and shallow discussion as it ignores and misunderstands historical, material, political, economic, and normative differences in the Caspian Sea region. Within this discussion, actors, interests, identities, social contexts, and principles are taken to be fixed, i.e. not prone to change or to any sort of adjustment.

Video Game Use, Acceptance, and Relationship Experiences: A Moderated Actor-Partner Interdependence Model.

With video game use widely accepted and practiced in a wide variety of households worldwide, it is important for researchers to understand links between video game use and romantic relational experiences. Although unexplored within gaming literature, previous research has indicated the importance of attitudes of acceptance or approval within the couple relationship with acceptance of a partner's specific behavior being linked to relational outcomes. Using dyadic data from 6,756 couples (n = 13,512) from 16 different countries, an actor-partner interdependence moderating model was employed to evaluate how acceptance of video game use moderated the link between video game use and dyadic adjustment, while controlling for mental health, relational characteristics, and other demographic variables. Results indicate that higher reports of individual video game use were linked with improved rates of partner dyadic adjustment. Furthermore, results indicated that partner-interaction effects for acceptance of video game use moderated the relationships between video game use and dyadic adjustment. This supports the importance of considering contextual factors when examining gaming use and its links with other constructs.

Performance gaming: a systematic review of the literature in public administration and other disciplines with directions for future research

PurposeThrough comparative analysis with other social science disciplines, gaps are identified in the performance gaming literature of public administration as it compares to other social science disciplines in order to understand directions for future research in this space.Design/methodology/approachThis study involves a systematic review of the performance gaming literature, focusing on important drivers of performance gaming. Using Google Scholar, Web of Science, and ProQuest Central, the systematic review covers years ranging from 1990 through 2019 and revealed empirical studies that were deemed relevant based on whether an article was (1) an empirical study and (2) performance gaming or cheating behavior was the outcome variable. Out of the 81 articles surmised from the search, 51 were regarded as relevant by meeting these criteria.FindingsThe main finding is that public administration has primarily focused on drivers that are embedded in the performance system. The other social sciences (psychology and economics, in particular) focus mainly on individual factors, mostly cognitive in nature. Public administration has also looked at organizational drivers, though this is a burgeoning area. Scholars in public administration may benefit from the other social sciences by determining how individual drivers work within the context of public organizations and how these shape organizational behavior.Originality/valuePer my knowledge, the paper is the first to systematically compare the performance gaming literature of public administration to other social science disciplines. The paper provides a direction for this burgeoning area of research.

Genre matters in determining success factors for online game service

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to highlight the importance of the game genres for identifying an online game’s success factors. Design/methodology/approach: In this study, perceived enjoyment, ease of use and quality were suggested for probable success factors of online game service and then research model was developed to identify which factors are related with gamers’ satisfaction and continuance intention. The model was tested on three major genres of online game service, role playing game (RPG), real time strategy (RTS), and first person shooter (FPS), respectively. Findings: The results showed that different online game genres were impacted differently by each element of perceived quality. The findings of this study highlight the importance of the game genres for discovering success factors of online game service. Research limitations/implications: Data used in this study may not be representative of the population of online game users because the data were gathered only in South Korea. If the future study can replicate the results with the data from other countries, it can contribute more practically to the online game market. Originality/value: This study contributes to both online game literature and genre theory by examining the relationships between success factors and satisfaction across various game genres. The empirical test results, which are meaningful not only for researchers but also for online game service providers, give evidence that each genre has different success factors.