We have chosen to focus this paper on the importance of game-components in the MMORPG-game World of Warcraft, in order to discover which of them who are the most important and create the biggest motivation to play the game for the players of World of Warcraft. We made this  investigation because we wanted to find out more about the specific reasons about what people think is especially great with World of Warcraft and makes them want to play it for hour after hour. By doing this we wanted to find out what it is that is so appreciated with this game. But this is a big area and it has therefore been difficult to find a way to satisfy and make those who have answered on our survey to feel that the game-component they enjoy most has been a part of our questions. To solve this problem we did a survey that included 200 persons and two interviews. When both the survey and the interviews had been completed, the result was being compared against each other and together to see if there was any difference between them or if they had any similarity to the attraction and motivation. This comparison was done with two theories and one model there was made for game designing. After going through the result we managed to find out that there isn’t a big difference between what attracts and what motivates a player. Our methods showed that most of the players in World of Warcraft play the game to maintain their social network that they have built up for some time. This reason was both the strongest attraction and the most important motivation to play the game. The konwledge we gained from our studie could be used by the game-creators to see which components that is of certain interest of the player. By this the creators (in this case Blizzard) could focus on making these components even better and making the player appreciate the game more.

The aim of this thesis is to demonstrate a methodological approach to explore a potential connection between player types and preferences in emotional character attachments. To do so, the thesis investigates connections between player types and emotional attachments to NPCs by conducting two studies. Study 1 provides general data about the audience of Detroit: Become Human (2018) through a survey about player types and how players feel about NPCs from the game, and forms three hypotheses. Study 2 tests the hypotheses through a second survey. The results demonstrate how to gather data regarding player types and preferences, indicates that Performers prefer to form relationships with NPCs that display traits related to a Close Friend attachment, and suggests that Explorers display a preference for pragmatic traits. However, future research must further examine other player types’ preferences to fully support the claim that player types affect preferences in emotional attachments to NPCs.

This thesis is focused on gamification and practical testing in internal training of new-hired employees. The main objective was to introduce gamification as a term and show how gamification can help with internal training of new-hired employees. In the theoretical part games and their meanings are defined. Then it is necessary to describe gamification itself with historical evolution and used player types. To understand principles of gamification and player's motivation, game elements and mechanism are defined. Selected examples of gamification divided by fields of applications are at the end of the theoretical part. Practical part describes the gamification environment of tool New Hire Orientation made by MindTickle and practical application of testing at H1.cz. Conclusion contains results and suggested recommendations for H1.cz and for MindTickle.

This thesis explores the distribution of Hexad player types present within game development students currently studying at the University of Skövde. The study isgrounded in self-determination theory and previous player typology studies. Data was gathered through a survey distributed through email and posters to the students at the university. A total of 78 participants were recruited for the survey through that method. The data gathered was analyzed and some differences were made evident between different disciplines. Additionally, the participants' motivations for playing games were explored where trends pointing towards students analyzing games for personal interest was found. However, this would have to be further explored to conclude fully.

Virtual worlds give us the opportunity to explore another self, a virtual character of the real life you. Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) have become extremely popular over the last decade. It has also grown into a lucrative business. To keep the players, the game needs to be more than just a game. This study aimed at finding out what factors that determine which features of the character creation interface that are most important to players. The following research question was formed; “Which underlying factors affect how important different features of the character creation interface are to experienced MMORPG players? To be able to answer the question an extensive literature review was conducted. A qualitative approach was taken. Long interviews were made with five participants, two female and three male players. The interviews took place while they created a number of avatars in different MMORPGs. The interviews were then followed up. During the follow-ups, the impact the character creation process had for the players, were discussed. The findings indicate that the character creation interface is important for the players to get a good gaming experience. However different types of players require different things. Important features for the users to change were mainly; the head; the name; and adding parts of yourself on your character. The factors that determined the importance of these features were found to be; Player types; Identity types; Immersion levels; and whether or not the game or the gaming experience were new to the player. Another finding showed that the longer you have played a game the less bizarre the different races, classes and gender will seem. The study also indicated that the female participants had a hard time identifying with their male characters.

This study aims to answer the research question: How does the academic accounts of user profiling compare to how practitioners of game development use user profiling? Knowing one’s users is a key part of designing a product, so that you know which features to prioritise. This is of course also true for video games. One way to achieve this is to categorise the users based on key characteristics, such as their age or their motivations. This is also known as user profiling and is commonly discussed in academic literature. However, it is not known how user profiling is used within the industry of game development; if even at all. To research this, two UX/UI designers at a Swedish game development studio have been observed and interviewed, which has resulted in a list of differences in how the academic literature says about user profiling and how practitioners use user profiling. This can be used to bridge the gap between the two, which could aid in designing and researching for a better user experience in video games.

This research looks at how interactive marketing can become more motivating for customers by designing it as a full game, not only by adding some game elements like in gamification. The result of the research gives marketers an alternative and complementary way of incorporating game design in marketing.The theory builds on fundamental online game elements and player types, assembled into a model for analysis also useful as a planning tool. The research conducted a qualitative case study of the Volvo XC90 First Edition campaign which gave insight on how game theories can be applied for more engaging interactions. Through dialogue with team members and an overview of design artefacts it showed that when all elements reinforce each other for a certain mix of player types, not only one type, it creates dynamics that strongly motivates the audience to interact. The data also revealed that when any of the fundamental elements are missing the result will not be as engaging, which confirms what have already been found in earlier research. / Denna studie undersöker hur interaktiv marknadsföring kan bli mer motiverande för kunderna genom att designa det som ett komplett spel, inte bara med några spelelement som i spelifiering. Resultatet ger marknadsförare ett alternativ och komplement till hur man kan använda teorier från speldesign för bättre interaktion. Teorin baseras på grundläggande spelelement och spelartyper som har satts samman i en analytisk modell, också användbar som ett planeringsverktyg. Studien genomfördes i en kvalitativ fallstudie av Volvo XC90 First Edition-kampanjen och gav insikt om hur spelteorier kan tillämpas. Genom dialog med medarbetare i kampanjens projektgrupp och en överblick över designartefakter visade det sig att när alla element förstärker varandra för en specifik mix av spelartyper, inte bara en typ av spelare, skapar det en dynamik som starkt motiverar målgruppen att interagera. Studien visade också att när några av de grundläggande elementen saknas blir inte interaktionen lika engagerande vilket bekräftar vad tidigare forskning hittat.

Game-based Learning (GBL), Gamification und Serious Games werden im heutigen Bildungs- und Wissensmanagement immer prominenter und es ist wichtig, so viele Menschen wie möglich zu motivieren, sich lange Zeit mit einer Anwendung auseinanderzusetzen (Finster, Eckardt, & Robra-Bissantz, 2018). In den letzten Jahren sind verschiedene Forschungsansätze in den Bereichen Persönlichkeit, Spielertypen und Spieldesign entstanden und es gibt theoretische (Ferro, Walz, & Greuter, 2013) sowie empirische Studien (Monterrat, Desmarais, Lavoue, & George, 2015). Ihr Ziel ist es, einen Weg zu finden, um motivierendere und befriedigendere Spiel(-ähnliche) Erfahrungen zu gestalten. Die Forschung zum personalisierten Spieldesign von Gamification, aber auch im GBL, steht noch an den Anfängen. Bisherige Veröffentlichungen sind meistens theoretisch, zum Beispiel mit dem Schwerpunkt auf der Identifizierung verschiedener Persönlichkeitsmerkmale oder Präferenzen für die Personalisierung (Tondello, Orji, & Nacke, 2017). In diesem Beitrag wird daher empirisch der Zusammenhang der drei Komponenten Persönlichkeit, Spielertypen und Spielelemente untersucht. [...aus der Einleitung]