Gaming the gift: The affective economy of League of Legends ‘fair’ free-to-play model

Jarrett, Josh

doi:10.1177/1469540521993932

Cited by 13 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…The tensions around legitimate forms of play hence persist here, which in turn raise questions about the actual value of these Pokémon, a subject worth further study which has echoes in other popular games (cf. Jarrett 2021). Nevertheless, these nonhuman streams enable unprecedented levels of access and opportunities for players to live up to the ultimate challenge of the Pokémon games by aspiring to, indeed, catch ‘em all .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Twitch, Fish, Pokémon and Plumbers: Game live streaming by nonhuman actors

Johnson

Jackson

2022

Convergence

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In this exploratory paper, we consider the phenomenon of gameplay live streaming by nonhumans. The live streaming of games, exemplified by the platform Twitch.tv, has emerged in recent years as a major and growing component of gaming culture. Although previous research has addressed some agential dimensions of streaming, scholarship has yet to examine the unusual phenomenon of watching streams lacking any kind of human agent. Ordinarily a human streamer operates gameplay and directs the flow of conversation, curating the content of the stream and mediating the agency of other participants. Removing the central figure of the human streamer thus creates what we call an ‘agency gap’ to be filled by other users. In this article, we explore different ways this occurs through four case studies involving the broadcast of gameplay by biological and digital nonhumans. These range from random number generators and automated controller inputs, to a live fish with a motion tracker observing its movements around its tank (with these movements then being used to attempt completion of a digital game). Through these case studies, we argue that the absence of a human streamer democratises video game play through ways of experiencing games which were not possible until the emergence of game live streaming. To this end we interrogate when and how nonhuman streamers can also be influenced by the agency of human spectators, and how the stakes of these streams are understood in relation to the game being played and spectator motivation. We further characteristic the distinction between human and nonhuman agencies in terms of affective intentionality. Game streaming allows for an unprecedented visibility of nonhuman play which merits close attention; this paper consequently problematises current understandings of nonhuman play in an era of gameplay streaming, and extends and challenges scholarship in both of these areas.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Twitch, Fish, Pokémon and Plumbers: Game live streaming by nonhuman actors

Johnson

Jackson

2022

Convergence

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“…To gather data, the researcher created a post on r/leagueoflegends asking players why they spent money on a free-to-play game. With that post, the researcher obtained 49 direct responses and 37 comments (Jarrett, 2021).…”

Section: Methods Of Data Collection Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

Passive data collection on Reddit: a practical approach

Rocha-Silva,

Nogueira,

Rodrigues

2023

Research Ethics

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Since its onset, scholars have characterized social media as a valuable source for data collection since it presents several benefits (e.g. exploring research questions with hard-to-reach populations). Nonetheless, methods of online data collection are riddled with ethical and methodological challenges that researchers must consider if they want to adopt good practices when collecting and analyzing online data. Drawing from our primary research project, where we collected passive online data on Reddit, we explore and detail the steps that researchers must consider before collecting online data: (1) planning online data collection; (2) ethical considerations; and (3) data collection. We also discuss two atypical questions that researchers should also consider: (1) how to handle deleted user-generated content; and (2) how to quote user-generated content. Moving on from the dichotomous discussion between what is public and private data, we present recommendations for good practices when collecting and analyzing qualitative online data.

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“…For instance, game developer EA made 28% of its net revenue in 2019 for its FIFA Ultimate Team service alone (Electronic Arts, 2019), whilst the popular free-to-play Fortnite game has generated over $1 billion in microtransactions since its development in 2017 (Henry, 2018). Moreover, the free-to-play League of Legends (2009) game provides players with the opportunity to only purchase cosmetic 'skins' for their avatars with no competitive in-game advantages available (Jarrett, 2021). This design generated over $2.1 billion in microtransaction sales worldwide despite providing no in-game advantages like other games' loot boxes can provide for players (Nutt, 2014).…”

Section: Gamersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microtransaction spending and problematic gambling of UK university call of duty gamers

Hunt

2022

International Gambling Studies

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Increased implementation of loot boxes within computer games has received widespread concern for the wellbeing of gamers, especially given the increased engagement during COVID-19 restrictions. Loot boxes share similarities with traditional gambling mechanisms that influence addiction-like behaviours and the amount of money spent on in-game items. The present study investigated loot box expenditure alongside peer engagement, perceptions of gaming value, self-worth, and problematic gambling behaviours of 130 Call of Duty players.Results identified significantly higher Risky Loot Box Index and visual authority scores for high-risk and medium-risk problem gamblers than non-problem gamblers. High-risk problem gamblers were also found to have higher purchase intention and validation seeking scores than non-problem gamblers. However, problem gambling risk and all but three self-worth and perceived value subscale behaviours were not associated with loot box expenditure, contrasting previous findings. Concerning peer influence, non-problem gamblers were significantly less likely to play any Call of Duty game with friends whilst having all or most friends purchase loot boxes were also found to be associated with higher RLBI scores. The findings continue to support the associations between loot box engagement and problematic gambling and suggests the need to continue to explore individual in-game motivations for engaging with microtransactions.

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Gaming the gift: The affective economy of League of Legends ‘fair’ free-to-play model

Cited by 13 publications

References 27 publications

Twitch, Fish, Pokémon and Plumbers: Game live streaming by nonhuman actors

Twitch, Fish, Pokémon and Plumbers: Game live streaming by nonhuman actors

Passive data collection on Reddit: a practical approach

Microtransaction spending and problematic gambling of UK university call of duty gamers

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