Denna studie utforskar vad som motiverar spelare till köp av utsmyckningar i spel. Studien undersöker League of Legends (2009) freemium modell och hur de uppnått sin framgång med säljandet av alternativa utseenden till spelkaraktären. Undersökningen studerar om och hur identifikation, demand through inconvenience och loot boxes påverkar spelarens beslut att köpa en viss spelutsmyckning. Data samlades in genom fokusgrupper och en mindre enkät där deltagarna fick diskutera frågor eller påståenden om ämnet. Målet är att skapa riktlinjer och ge råd till spelutvecklare för hur de uppnår framgång med säljandet av spelutsmyckningar och hur det blir omtyckt av spelare. Studien kommer fram till att spelare motiveras att köpa spelutmyckningar om spelet är underhållande och spelutsmyckningar är av god kvalitet, om spelaren favoriserar en viss karaktär och därmed köper många om inte alla spelutsmyckningar till den karaktären och slutligen väljer spelaren olika typer av spelutsmyckningar beroende på hur tävlingsinriktade de är. Dessutom finner undersökningen att identifikation inte var en drivande faktor till varför de köpte spelutsmyckningar i League of Legends (2009), men att det kan öka favorisering av en viss karaktär. Demand through inconvenience är förekommande i spelet League of Legends(2009) men rekommenderas att inte användas av etiska skäl. Loot boxes är inte värdesatta av League of Legends (2009) spelare men detta kräver ytterligare studier.

Microtransactions are part of a business model used almost extensively in the video-gaming industry where developers offer virtual goods or features via micropayments. The concept is relatively new and still unknown to many but deeply rooted in modern video-game developers’ business strategies. Microtransactions are found in smartphone applications, online games played on computer or gaming consoles, and while the concept might be unfamiliar to many, the odds are most have encountered it.   Most published games will feature in-game purchases where users have to option to purchase features, items or content for a small amount of money. A microtransaction in its most simplistic form is ad-removal, here developers offer the user a way to get rid of ads by charging a small amount, like $.99. While one microtransaction may seem insignificant, multiple impulsive purchases can quickly add up to considerable sums. This has resulted in the use of microtransactions becoming the most profitable business strategy for game developers.   This study seeks to describe what stimulates a person to complete a purchase by using the components of hedonic motivation from the HMSAM theory leading to the research question: Which hedonic motivations induce use of microtransaction systems and does it vary by age? To research the phenomena a quantitative questionnaire was formed based on hedonic motivations, including three motivations added by the author, gathering responses from 398 video-game players having completed a microtransaction purchase.   After analyzing the results, some components protruded more than others while the consensus suggested that the influence of hedonic motivation was comparatively low. The argument for this outcome may be that players see in-game items as objects of real-world value, making the microtransaction system within a game a utilitarian-motivation system. The general attitude towards microtransactions appeared to be poor which contradicts some elements of previous research while supporting others.   This thesis will contribute to the field of informatics by complementing the traditional technology acceptance model (TAM) with hedonic motivations, as proposed by Lowry et al. in 2013. The author of this study argue it is a modernized way of researching intentions to use asort of system.

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This master's thesis describes the use of microtransactions in video games and their influence over the game design, player experience, and virtual goods presentation. The goal was to compare the titles that use different monetization methods (paid and free to play games) and different types of microtransactions (functional and cosmetic), and to identify which parts of those games could be influenced by microtransactions and how. The research focuses on five titles - The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, Anthem, Warframe a Path of Exile. The first part of the thesis summarises the historical evolution of monetization models used in video games and defines the terms microtransaction, micropayment, virtual goods, or loot box. It also contains a typology of microtransactions, describes their implementation methods, and possible consequences tied to their use. The second part focuses on the analysis of the chosen five games. The research used the following methods - analysis of my own gameplay and mutual comparison of each game. Each game was examined over the course of ten hours, in sessions about 45-60 minutes long - the gameplay was accompanied by video recordings of the gameplay, screenshots, and a journal that contained detailed information about each gaming session. The research...

This thesis explored the potential patterns and connections which could be uncovered through careful analysis of the royal inscriptions mentioning horses as a form of plunder or tribute, dedicated to the kings of the Neo-Assyrian empire. This was accomplished by analysing all royal inscriptions attributed to Neo-Assyrian kings found within the RINAP and RIAo projects for passages that meet said criterium. Once all the relevant texts had been tabulated, the results were sorted into larger categories and then compared to each other. This resulted in certain patterns emerging. It became clear that during the first half Neo-Assyrian period, before the great expansion of the empire started under Tiglath-Pileser III, the mountains to the north of Assyria, which for the purposes of this thesis have been designated ‘the Caucasus’, was a major source of horses through looting and extracting tribute. It was not the region which was attacked the most, that honour falls to the mountains to the east, designated as ‘Persia’ for the purposes of this thesis. Towards the end of the Neo-Assyrian period, the importance of the Caucasus as a source of horses was severely diminished, while the importance of Persia grew. Exact numbers of horses are very rarely given, making the few instances they are mentioned stand out. Because of this, no reliable numbers or estimates can be given.

In recent years, microtransactions have become a norm for monetization and a standardbusiness model in free-to-play games. This is something that affects multiple individuals andhas caused quite a stir among players. Through this research, we want to gain anunderstanding of why some microtransaction types might be considered more acceptable thanothers. In addition, to gaining potential data that could possibly give us a look into the futureof the design of microtransactions. We have gathered our data by conducting online chatbased semi-structured interviews with current and former university students studying gamedesign at Uppsala University.The research found that game design students have a predominantly negative opinion aboutmost microtransactions, especially when they were affecting the gameplay, contrary to whenthey were not.