2020
Alha, Kati
The Rise of Free-to-Play: How the Revenue Model Changed Games and Playing
2020, ISBN: 978-952-03-1774-4.
Doctoral thesis Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Attitudes, Augmented reality, Ethics, Evaluation, Experience, Facebook, Free-to-play, Freemium, Future, Game industry, Grossing, Heuristics, Literature review, Metascore, Mobile gaming, Paying, Playability, Pokémon Go, Reviews, Sales, Social games, Social networks, Virtual goods
@phdthesis{Alha2020,
title = {The Rise of Free-to-Play: How the Revenue Model Changed Games and Playing},
author = {Kati Alha},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-03-1774-4
},
isbn = {978-952-03-1774-4},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-12-11},
abstract = {Free-to-play games have permanently transformed the game industry. Offering a game for free and gaining income through voluntary purchases during gameplay have proven to be the most successful way to gain revenue. Due to the model, more people than ever before play games, and the economic significance of games as business has multiplied. Simultaneously, the model has received a backlash for offering inferior, imbalanced game experiences that take advantage of players, manipulating them into playing and paying.
Despite the criticism and changes in game experiences, the research on free-to-play games is still heavily focused on economic aspects, with the goal to maximize revenue and find the best practices by which to implement the model. The voices of players are measured mostly through log data or quantitative surveys, while exploratory, qualitative research has been in the minority. The significance of free-to-play games and their connection to our game culture and society are still lacking critical inspection.
This dissertation takes up the challenge by studying free-to-play games from various perspectives through multiple methods, concentrating on qualitative approaches. The work shows the broad view of how and why free-to-play games have become so successful, how they have transformed games, and what problematic aspects are connected to them. The main claims of this dissertation are connected to: 1) the undervaluation of free-to-play games; 2) the unique challenges between money and gameplay experience; 3) the different framings of fairness and equality; 4) the need for transparency and legislation; and 5) the transformative power of free-to-play games on the consumption and creation of games.
The results show that while free-to-play games are played extensively, they are less valued than other games. This is especially true with mobile or casual free-to-play games and is descriptive of how we appraise and evaluate games. The lack of appreciation is connected to the nature of many free-to-play games, which are often never-ending and slow-paced, and offer challenges that differ from other games. The experiences that these games offer are different from the traditional, meritocratic values we have come to expect from games, and especially allowing advancement with money is in direct conflict with these values. The devaluation is shown in how the games are discussed, how they are reviewed (or not reviewed at all) by game journalists, and how they are studied. The players who engage with these games can also be excluded from gaming communities and gaming identities. At the same time, the challenges of the revenue model have resulted in new, creative solutions that bring diversity into game experiences and offer flexible playing for wider audiences.
The ethical issues connected to free-to-play games do need to be taken seriously. Problems connected to a lack of transparency, problematic playing, a resemblance to gambling, marketing to under-aged players, and privacy issues raise valid concerns. While free-to-play companies need to be especially mindful in giving players enough information and to implement tools to prevent accidental purchases and problematic playing, the industry also needs regulation that comes from outside itself. Thus, to create fair and functional legislation, we need academic and industry expertise in the committees doing the legislative work.
Despite the challenges and undervaluation that free-to-play games encounter, it is an indisputable fact that their impact on the game industry and on game consumption is both formidable and irreversible. They therefore deserve our attention and a critical exploration as a legitimate part of game culture. If you do not know free-to-play games, you do not know games.},
keywords = {Attitudes, Augmented reality, Ethics, Evaluation, Experience, Facebook, Free-to-play, Freemium, Future, Game industry, Grossing, Heuristics, Literature review, Metascore, Mobile gaming, Paying, Playability, Pokémon Go, Reviews, Sales, Social games, Social networks, Virtual goods},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {phdthesis}
}
Free-to-play games have permanently transformed the game industry. Offering a game for free and gaining income through voluntary purchases during gameplay have proven to be the most successful way to gain revenue. Due to the model, more people than ever before play games, and the economic significance of games as business has multiplied. Simultaneously, the model has received a backlash for offering inferior, imbalanced game experiences that take advantage of players, manipulating them into playing and paying.
Despite the criticism and changes in game experiences, the research on free-to-play games is still heavily focused on economic aspects, with the goal to maximize revenue and find the best practices by which to implement the model. The voices of players are measured mostly through log data or quantitative surveys, while exploratory, qualitative research has been in the minority. The significance of free-to-play games and their connection to our game culture and society are still lacking critical inspection.
This dissertation takes up the challenge by studying free-to-play games from various perspectives through multiple methods, concentrating on qualitative approaches. The work shows the broad view of how and why free-to-play games have become so successful, how they have transformed games, and what problematic aspects are connected to them. The main claims of this dissertation are connected to: 1) the undervaluation of free-to-play games; 2) the unique challenges between money and gameplay experience; 3) the different framings of fairness and equality; 4) the need for transparency and legislation; and 5) the transformative power of free-to-play games on the consumption and creation of games.
The results show that while free-to-play games are played extensively, they are less valued than other games. This is especially true with mobile or casual free-to-play games and is descriptive of how we appraise and evaluate games. The lack of appreciation is connected to the nature of many free-to-play games, which are often never-ending and slow-paced, and offer challenges that differ from other games. The experiences that these games offer are different from the traditional, meritocratic values we have come to expect from games, and especially allowing advancement with money is in direct conflict with these values. The devaluation is shown in how the games are discussed, how they are reviewed (or not reviewed at all) by game journalists, and how they are studied. The players who engage with these games can also be excluded from gaming communities and gaming identities. At the same time, the challenges of the revenue model have resulted in new, creative solutions that bring diversity into game experiences and offer flexible playing for wider audiences.
The ethical issues connected to free-to-play games do need to be taken seriously. Problems connected to a lack of transparency, problematic playing, a resemblance to gambling, marketing to under-aged players, and privacy issues raise valid concerns. While free-to-play companies need to be especially mindful in giving players enough information and to implement tools to prevent accidental purchases and problematic playing, the industry also needs regulation that comes from outside itself. Thus, to create fair and functional legislation, we need academic and industry expertise in the committees doing the legislative work.
Despite the challenges and undervaluation that free-to-play games encounter, it is an indisputable fact that their impact on the game industry and on game consumption is both formidable and irreversible. They therefore deserve our attention and a critical exploration as a legitimate part of game culture. If you do not know free-to-play games, you do not know games.
Despite the criticism and changes in game experiences, the research on free-to-play games is still heavily focused on economic aspects, with the goal to maximize revenue and find the best practices by which to implement the model. The voices of players are measured mostly through log data or quantitative surveys, while exploratory, qualitative research has been in the minority. The significance of free-to-play games and their connection to our game culture and society are still lacking critical inspection.
This dissertation takes up the challenge by studying free-to-play games from various perspectives through multiple methods, concentrating on qualitative approaches. The work shows the broad view of how and why free-to-play games have become so successful, how they have transformed games, and what problematic aspects are connected to them. The main claims of this dissertation are connected to: 1) the undervaluation of free-to-play games; 2) the unique challenges between money and gameplay experience; 3) the different framings of fairness and equality; 4) the need for transparency and legislation; and 5) the transformative power of free-to-play games on the consumption and creation of games.
The results show that while free-to-play games are played extensively, they are less valued than other games. This is especially true with mobile or casual free-to-play games and is descriptive of how we appraise and evaluate games. The lack of appreciation is connected to the nature of many free-to-play games, which are often never-ending and slow-paced, and offer challenges that differ from other games. The experiences that these games offer are different from the traditional, meritocratic values we have come to expect from games, and especially allowing advancement with money is in direct conflict with these values. The devaluation is shown in how the games are discussed, how they are reviewed (or not reviewed at all) by game journalists, and how they are studied. The players who engage with these games can also be excluded from gaming communities and gaming identities. At the same time, the challenges of the revenue model have resulted in new, creative solutions that bring diversity into game experiences and offer flexible playing for wider audiences.
The ethical issues connected to free-to-play games do need to be taken seriously. Problems connected to a lack of transparency, problematic playing, a resemblance to gambling, marketing to under-aged players, and privacy issues raise valid concerns. While free-to-play companies need to be especially mindful in giving players enough information and to implement tools to prevent accidental purchases and problematic playing, the industry also needs regulation that comes from outside itself. Thus, to create fair and functional legislation, we need academic and industry expertise in the committees doing the legislative work.
Despite the challenges and undervaluation that free-to-play games encounter, it is an indisputable fact that their impact on the game industry and on game consumption is both formidable and irreversible. They therefore deserve our attention and a critical exploration as a legitimate part of game culture. If you do not know free-to-play games, you do not know games.
Arjoranta, Jonne
Playing the Nonhuman: Alien Experiences in Aliens vs. Predator
In: Karkulehto, Sanna; Koistinen, Aino-Kaisa; Varis, Essi (Ed.): Reconfiguring Human, Nonhuman and Posthuman in Literature and Culture, pp. 108-124, Routledge, 2020, ISBN: 978-0-367-19747-6.
Book chapter Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Alien vs. Predator, Experience, Game characters, Posthumanism, Video games
@incollection{Arjoranta2020c,
title = {Playing the Nonhuman: Alien Experiences in Aliens vs. Predator},
author = {Jonne Arjoranta},
editor = {Sanna Karkulehto and Aino-Kaisa Koistinen and Essi Varis
},
url = {http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202011166657},
doi = {10.4324/9780429243042},
isbn = {978-0-367-19747-6},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-07-30},
booktitle = {Reconfiguring Human, Nonhuman and Posthuman in Literature and Culture},
pages = {108-124},
publisher = {Routledge},
abstract = {What is it like to play a nonhuman character? In his classic essay, philosopher Thomas Nagel (1975) argues that we are fundamentally unable to imagine what it is like to be a bat, because our senses and cognition are structured in a way that is uniquely human – whereas bats’ senses and cognition have a uniquely bat-like configuration. In spite of this, media genres from fantasy to science-fiction routinely strive to imagine and show what it could be like to be something other than human. What is more, different media achieve this effect by different means: literature provides textual descriptions, audio-visual media rely on moving images, and comics employ different kinds of multimodal compositions, as discussed in the previous chapter. In the fifth chapter, Jonne Arjoranta continues investigating these medium-specific imaginations by examining how video games portray the nonhuman, what kind of assumptions they make about being nonhuman, and what kind of tools and techniques they use to convey the (imagined) experience of nonhumanness. The analysis focuses on Aliens vs. Predator (2010, Rebellion Developments), which features three different but intertwined campaigns that allow the player to play as a human, an alien, and a predator. The game thereby evokes two playing experiences that are supposedly nonhuman, and enables direct comparison between them and the “normal” experience of playing as human. The discussion around these playing experiences is further complemented with examples from other games that present playable nonhuman characters and, like the previous two chapters, draws theoretical support from the notion of embodied cognition.},
keywords = {Alien vs. Predator, Experience, Game characters, Posthumanism, Video games},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
What is it like to play a nonhuman character? In his classic essay, philosopher Thomas Nagel (1975) argues that we are fundamentally unable to imagine what it is like to be a bat, because our senses and cognition are structured in a way that is uniquely human – whereas bats’ senses and cognition have a uniquely bat-like configuration. In spite of this, media genres from fantasy to science-fiction routinely strive to imagine and show what it could be like to be something other than human. What is more, different media achieve this effect by different means: literature provides textual descriptions, audio-visual media rely on moving images, and comics employ different kinds of multimodal compositions, as discussed in the previous chapter. In the fifth chapter, Jonne Arjoranta continues investigating these medium-specific imaginations by examining how video games portray the nonhuman, what kind of assumptions they make about being nonhuman, and what kind of tools and techniques they use to convey the (imagined) experience of nonhumanness. The analysis focuses on Aliens vs. Predator (2010, Rebellion Developments), which features three different but intertwined campaigns that allow the player to play as a human, an alien, and a predator. The game thereby evokes two playing experiences that are supposedly nonhuman, and enables direct comparison between them and the “normal” experience of playing as human. The discussion around these playing experiences is further complemented with examples from other games that present playable nonhuman characters and, like the previous two chapters, draws theoretical support from the notion of embodied cognition.
2018
Alha, Kati; Kinnunen, Jani; Koskinen, Elina; Paavilainen, Janne
Free-to-Play Games: Paying Players' Perspective
In: Proceedings of the 22nd International Academic Mindtrek Conference, pp. 49–58, 2018.
In proceedings Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Attitudes, Digital games, Ethics, Experience, Free-to-play, In-game purchases
@inproceedings{Alha2018,
title = {Free-to-Play Games: Paying Players' Perspective},
author = {Kati Alha and Jani Kinnunen and Elina Koskinen and Janne Paavilainen},
url = {https://researchportal.tuni.fi/en/publications/free-to-play-games-paying-players-perspective},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3275116.3275133},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-10-01},
urldate = {2018-10-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 22nd International Academic Mindtrek Conference},
pages = {49–58},
abstract = {This paper investigates the free-to-play revenue model from the perspective of paying players, focusing on high-spenders. As the free-to-play model has proven successful, game developers have increasingly adopted it as their revenue model. At the same time, worrying concerns over the revenue model have been voiced, calling it exploitative, unethical, or simply claiming it to offer poor gameplay experiences. We investigated these concerns by conducting an interview study with 11 players who have spent money on free-to-play games, on their perceptions about free-to-play games, experiences on playing them and paying in them, and opinions on ethical issues in the games. The results shed light on how players themselves experience these games.},
keywords = {Attitudes, Digital games, Ethics, Experience, Free-to-play, In-game purchases},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
This paper investigates the free-to-play revenue model from the perspective of paying players, focusing on high-spenders. As the free-to-play model has proven successful, game developers have increasingly adopted it as their revenue model. At the same time, worrying concerns over the revenue model have been voiced, calling it exploitative, unethical, or simply claiming it to offer poor gameplay experiences. We investigated these concerns by conducting an interview study with 11 players who have spent money on free-to-play games, on their perceptions about free-to-play games, experiences on playing them and paying in them, and opinions on ethical issues in the games. The results shed light on how players themselves experience these games.
Koskela, Oskari; Tuuri, Kai
Investigating Metaphors of Musical Involvement: Immersion, Flow, Interaction and Incorporation
In: AM'18: Proceedings of the Audio Mostly 2018 on Sound in Immersion and Emotion, pp. 1–8, 2018, ISBN: 9781450366090.
In proceedings
Abstract | Links | Tags: Conceptual metaphor, Enactive perception, Experience, Image schema, Immersion, Music
@inproceedings{Koskela2018,
title = {Investigating Metaphors of Musical Involvement: Immersion, Flow, Interaction and Incorporation},
author = {Oskari Koskela and Kai Tuuri},
doi = {10.1145/3243274.3243293},
isbn = {9781450366090},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-09-01},
urldate = {2018-09-01},
booktitle = {AM'18: Proceedings of the Audio Mostly 2018 on Sound in Immersion and Emotion},
pages = {1–8},
series = {AM'18},
abstract = {The concept of immersion, despite being relatively unknown within music research, presents a potentially productive way for understanding the well acknowledged phenomenon of “being drawn into music”. This paper 1) discusses immersion as a metaphor for conceptualizing musical involvement by drawing on the research into video games and virtual reality and 2) aims to clarify the metaphor of immersion by utilizing the concept of image schema to analyze it in relation to alternative metaphors of flow, interaction and incorporation. The theoretical stance of the paper is based on the paradigm of enactive cognitive sciences, which stresses the bodily, constructive and interactive nature of experience. As a conclusion, the paper suggest several ways to consider the differences between the chosen metaphors based on their image schematic structures. In line with the enactive approach, it is suggested that the experience of immersion should be considered as a constructive activity of using music, thereby highlighting the view of experience as a skillful activity. All in all, the paper aims to offer one kind of approach for considering different experiences with media and to stress the role of metaphors in how we understand experiences.},
keywords = {Conceptual metaphor, Enactive perception, Experience, Image schema, Immersion, Music},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
The concept of immersion, despite being relatively unknown within music research, presents a potentially productive way for understanding the well acknowledged phenomenon of “being drawn into music”. This paper 1) discusses immersion as a metaphor for conceptualizing musical involvement by drawing on the research into video games and virtual reality and 2) aims to clarify the metaphor of immersion by utilizing the concept of image schema to analyze it in relation to alternative metaphors of flow, interaction and incorporation. The theoretical stance of the paper is based on the paradigm of enactive cognitive sciences, which stresses the bodily, constructive and interactive nature of experience. As a conclusion, the paper suggest several ways to consider the differences between the chosen metaphors based on their image schematic structures. In line with the enactive approach, it is suggested that the experience of immersion should be considered as a constructive activity of using music, thereby highlighting the view of experience as a skillful activity. All in all, the paper aims to offer one kind of approach for considering different experiences with media and to stress the role of metaphors in how we understand experiences.