Proceedings of the 50th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences | 2017
Introduction to the Online Games and Game Like Systems Minitrack
Kafui Monu Paul Ralph Jacky Xi Zhang University of Northern British University of Auckland Tianjin University Columbia [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
Approaching $100 billion in revenue, gaming has and Raghu Santanam) investigates a set of games to become the premier entertainment industry in the 21st determine whether user-generated content (UGC) and century. With the innovation of online games, users are developer generated content or (DGC) lead to more now connected with gamers and companies every day. ongoing play. UGC are modifications and additions to The result of this connectivity are new online games created by players, typically after the game is communities, developer interaction and business released. DGC (also called Downloadable Content, models. Moreover, the wide reach and societal effects DLC) are additions made available to players by of online games demands serious study of gaming developers (usually for a price) after the initial release phenomena. of the game. This is a hot topic amongst video game Additionally, serious games and gamified work players and some feel that DGC is an exploitative systems are increasingly changing how we work and business practice. The paper finds that both UGC and trade online. For years, innovative organizations DGC can extend the period in which players interact including Nike, SAP and many universities have used with games. Interestingly, no specific differences these game-like systems to encourage commerce, between the effects of UGC or DGC were found. education and citizen science. The interaction between The second paper (The Influence of Perceived online connectivity and game-oriented design will Belonging on Massively Multiplayer Online Role- yield interesting research results and societal change as Playing Games by Claus-Peter Ernst) investigates the the use of these systems becomes even more player feelings that are associated with continued play. widespread. Through a survey, the paper identifies that the feeling The purpose of the Online Games and Game-like of perceived belonging engendered by an online game Systems minitrack is to provide a forum for researchers is an important reason why people continue to play it. to discuss the design, use and impact of online games The authors advise designers to use certain tools and and game-like systems in various contexts. Topics mechanics such as cooperative quests to design this discussed in previous years have included game sense of belonging into online games. adoption, the use of games in organizations, the These papers represent two different approaches to psychology of online games, and the effects of online understanding how games should be designed to games on individuals and groups. engage players. Yet, much more research is needed in The theme of this year’s papers is the design of this area. online games; specifically focusing on how to make Understanding gamified information systems, and these games more appealing for a longer period. The developing better ones, demands understanding both papers approach this theme from two very different game design and information system design. Game directions: One focuses on the technical aspects of design research remains in its infancy, with limited games while the other investigates the feelings and compelling theory, while information system perceptions games should generate to promote development has been plagued by pseudoscience and continuuing play. dogmatic adgherence to long-refuted conjectures. The first paper (If You Let Them Build It, They Research at the intersection of game design and Will Stay! An Empirical Study of Add-on Content and information system development is therefore rich in User Engagement by Irfan Kanat, Yili Hong, Bin Gu both challenges and opportunities.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10125/41652 ISBN: 978-0-9981331-0-2 CC-BY-NC-ND 4081