This paper deals with the relatively new business model for digital games called Free toPlay and how aspects of that business model can affect the players gaming experience. Thestudy is done through user studies with the use of interviews, observations and diaries. Forour analysis of the data we’ve looked for themes and then categorized the data intoelements from the CEGE Model by E.H Cavillo-Gámez et al. that we use to measure howFree to Play affects the Core Elements of the Gaming Experience. The paper concludes thatwhen measuring gaming experience and business model together one might have to add asub-element that represents the business model, which can affect the elements all togetheror one by one.

Det här examensarbetet utfördes från februari till mitten av april, våren 2010 på företaget Junebud. Jag arbetade efter hypotesen att en stark närvaro på sociala medier har en positiv effekt på aktiviteten på spelets hemsida samt för att få nya spelare att hitta till spelet. Spelet som marknadsfördes heter MilMo och är ett socialt massivt multiplayer spel för barn och ungdomar, som är gratis att spela. Om spelaren vill få tillgång till extra material kan han/hon betala en mindre summa pengar men något köptvång föreligger ej för att endast spela. För att genomföra marknadsföringen på de sociala medierna valdes fyra stycken nätverk på Internet ut; Facebook, Deviantart, MySpace och Youtube. Det som skapades var en fangrupp, en sida för konst, en profilsida och en kort film som visar spelet. Till detta kom även tre stycken nyhetsbrev, att strukturera upp och underhålla ett forum för spelare samt att emaila traditionella medier som nyhetssidor om spel och se vilken effekt det fick. Resultatet visar att många företag idag har en profil på sociala medier, men att de ofta bäst utgör ett komplement till produktens egen hemsida. Det som drev upp spelaraktiviteten mest var omnämnande på externa sidor om spel, samt det första nyhetsbrevet ut till spelarna

<p>Det här examensarbetet utfördes från februari till mitten av april, våren 2010 på företaget Junebud. Jag arbetade efter hypotesen att en stark närvaro på sociala medier har en positiv effekt på aktiviteten på spelets hemsida samt för att få nya spelare att hitta till spelet. Spelet som marknadsfördes heter MilMo och är ett socialt massivt multiplayer spel för barn och ungdomar, som är gratis att spela. Om spelaren vill få tillgång till extra material kan han/hon betala en mindre summa pengar men något köptvång föreligger ej för att endast spela. För att genomföra marknadsföringen på de sociala medierna valdes fyra stycken nätverk på Internet ut; Facebook, Deviantart, MySpace och Youtube. Det som skapades var en fangrupp, en sida för konst, en profilsida och en kort film som visar spelet. Till detta kom även tre stycken nyhetsbrev, att strukturera upp och underhålla ett forum för spelare samt att emaila traditionella medier som nyhetssidor om spel och se vilken effekt det fick. Resultatet visar att många företag idag har en profil på sociala medier, men att de ofta bäst utgör ett komplement till produktens egen hemsida. Det som drev upp spelaraktiviteten mest var omnämnande på externa sidor om spel, samt det första nyhetsbrevet ut till spelarna</p>

This thesis investigates the game mechanics utilized in popular free-to-play games and how these mechanics can be used within a gamified system to attempt to affect student retention at higher educational institutes. Free-to-play has become a highly popular revenue model within the game development industry due its ability to attract a larger player base.Several games were chosen for analysis and a game design document was created based upon the findings within this analysis. An application was then developed and used in a case study to evaluate the design. Results found that implementing successful mechanics into a gamified system could positively affect the motivational levels of students.

Throughout the last two years the revenues from in-game transactions in video-games have increased due to its growing presence both in traditional retail games as well as digital due to the fact that more and more games have become free. This growing presence is the basis for answering the question of what motivates players to spend money on in-game purchases in freeto-play games. The research found that having a well designed game is a very important factor that makes players purchase content. Many respondents made purchases based on emotional reasons such as wanting to look cool. People also made purchases to avoid grinding and to gain competitive advantages. In summary people think that their purchases were justifiable since the games are free but the common consensus is that while cosmetic items are acceptable, pay-towin items which provide a competitive advantage are not.

Seasoned players of free to play trading card games or players that invest large amount of money in digital or physical trading card games, end up having superfluous cards that hold no value to them. The purpose of this thesis is to create designs that would counter this problem. We analysed a selection of popular games on the market to get a better understanding about the depth of the problem and existing designs and mechanics to counter said problem. With the knowledge gained from the research, we intended design several systems that would give cards a polymorphic value. To validate those designs we decided to conduct qualitative interviews with highly experienced players of the genre. We discovered from our research and interviews that the problem with superfluous cards was larger than we had anticipated, and few games had taken steps to counter the problem. The systems we designed gave cards a polymorphic value, and the designs were proven successful through our validation. Our research and interviews suggest that by implementing polymorphic attributes to cards it could lessen or even remove the problem of superfluous cards, and at the same time increase the sales figures on booster packs. / <p>Jerry Jonsson går speldesign och programmering och Lina Tonegran går speldesign och grafik.</p>

The decision of which business model to follow, when developing a game, has become one of the most important choices a company has to make. In our re- search we have compared and evaluated different kinds of freemium based busi- ness models. The objective with the research is to follow a constructed business model when developing a game. The game concept is based on an existing game called GoSupernova complemented with a litarature-based study. Which parts of the concept that has been implemented follow the client’s requests, but also discussions on which parts are most essential for the gameplay. The goal with the game concept is to have good potential to consolidate a continuous playing behaviour. To accomplish this we had to take many different factors into account that could affect the user’s opinion of the game, both in short and long term. The game should be satisfying enough to get users to play, but unsatisfying enough so users to have something to work for. This can also benefit in-app purchases, when users try to achive different goals.

The goal of the dissertation Marketing of PC game from the view of Youtuber is to characterize the latest practices in influencing masses of players of War Thunder PC game through video service Youtube and social network Facebook. This is a real project during which author created a large community of fans around the game counting more than 10 000 people on Youtube and almost 4 500 people on Facebook. Author applied the latest trends and the most innovative practices in connection with a traditional promotion of gaming content. This work shows that both channels can have a positive impact on the gaming company revenue from microtransactions based on freemium business model. Author also describes detailed and comprehensive view on one of the biggest gaming phenomenon in history.

Background: In the last couple years, the free to play sector in gaming has taken a rise compared to their pay to play counterparts, being able to generate up to 85% of all gaming revenue. More and more game developers have opted to change their game from a paid model to a free-to-play business model, with prominent cases being games like CS:GO and Overwatch. It all started with cosmetics and skins, but companies started to develop new ways to get players into the cycle of spending money in free-to-play games. Purpose: For this reason, the purpose of this study focuses on exploring how the purchase of microtransactions in free-to-play games impacts the way players experience flow. Similarly, we also aim to learn what happens after the initial purchase and how, by using money in this way, players can enhance the quality of their overall play time. Method: We conduct a qualitative study examining how microtransactions impact flow through conducting a set of 21 interviews with players from different platforms and games, 4 individual think aloud protocols, and various relevant reddit posts. Conclusion: Our findings build upon past research, illustrating how there are contrasting effects regarding how microtransactions impact flow. The results challenge previous flow literature, incorporating the novel view that microtransactions and the social context can also help trigger and destroy flow.

Background: P2W games (Pay-to-Win) occupy a significant position in the Chinese gaming market, attracting a large number of players to participate and spend money. However, there is still a knowledge gap in understanding the motivational factors behind the behavior and psychology of Chinese players in terms of their purchase motivation in specific games Diablo: Immortal. Purpose: The objective of this study is to use the TCV framework to explore in depth the purchase motivations of Chinese players in the P2W game Diablo Immortal and to find out what factors have the greatest impact on the purchase of virtual items within this game. Method: In the method section, the article uses a qualitative research method to conduct semi-structured interviews. Convenience sampling and snowball sampling were conducted through friends close to the author, and 8 respondents were selected who met the research criteria. After data collection, a thematic analysis approach was used to analyze the data.  Conclusion: This study reveals that Chinese players in the P2W game Diablo: Immortal are motivated to purchase virtual items based on five key themes: functional value, social value, emotional value, conditional value, and monetary value. Among these, social value emerges as the strongest motivator, followed closely by conditional value, emotional value, functional value, and monetary value. The findings highlight the importance of enhancing the social aspects of the game, such as fostering player interactions and creating a sense of community. Additionally, developers should consider offering attractive discounts and promotions to stimulate player buying behavior. These insights provide valuable guidance for game developers and operators seeking to understand and cater to the motivations of Chinese players in the context of virtual item purchases.