Game Creation, Monetisation Models, and Ethical Concerns

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Karlsen Faltin
2020 DiGRA ’20 – Proceedings of the 2020 DiGRA International Conference: Play Everywhere

This paper explores the relationship between monetisation models, game design and ethical considerations from the perspective of three different small-scale Norwegian game companies. Interviews with game designers and CEOs form the empirical basis of the analysis. The analysis shows that their notion of the market situation differs and that concepts like quality and ethical responsibility vary greatly between the companies. A concern they all share is that the computer game market is becoming increasingly difficult to monetise and that using models like loot boxes seem more relevant now than before.

 

Dark game design patterns in online games: exploitation, loyalty and engagement

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Karlsen Faltin
2016 DiGRA/FDG '16 - Abstract Proceedings of the First International Joint Conference of DiGRA and FDG

 

Analysing the history of game controversies

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Karlsen Faltin
2014 DiGRA '14 - Proceedings of the 2014 DiGRA International Conference

The aim of this paper is to discuss some of the controversies that have surrounded digital games. Within media studies, such controversies are often referred to as moral panics or media panics. They are understood as cyclical events that arise when new media or media phenomena are introduced into society. The paper’s point of departure is the controversy that erupted after the launch of Death Race in 1976, which initiated the first worldspanning debate concerning digital games and violence. Similar debates followed the launch of games like Doom and Mortal Kombat. More recent controversies about game violence have erupted specifically in the wake of school shootings. My analysis shows that, while these debates certainly share similarities, they also undergo important transformations over time. Via a historical perspective, I will demonstrate the importance of these changes to our understanding of the status of digital games in society.

 

Theorycrafting: from collective intelligence to intrinsic satisfaction

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Karlsen Faltin
2011 DiGRA '11 - Proceedings of the 2011 DiGRA International Conference: Think Design Play

My aim with this paper is to explore theorycrafting as cultural praxis, closely related to gaming. Theorycrafting can be defined as ‘the attempt to mathematically analyze game mechanics in order to gain a better understanding of the inner workings of the game’. I will engage two perspectives in my analysis. First, I will focus on theorycrafting as a collective enterprise from a techno-social perspective. This will include an analysis of how web resources are furnishing the activity. Second, I will focus on what motivation players have for engaging in theorycrafting in the light of the meaning that the crafters find, or import, in this activity. This will also address how a general fascination for technology, and not only games, can be an important aspect of theorycrafting. The empirical basis for my analysis is 12 interviews of excessive World of Warcraft players and websites dedicated to the game.