1,720,976 research outputs found
Exploiting limited players’ behavioral data to predict churn in gamification
No full textThe number of users attracted and engaged in a system dictates the value of the system itself. In gamification, timely detection of churners can produce more successful applications by informing both designers and algorithms. While churn prediction has been extensively studied in entertainment games, gamified systems often implement simpler mechanics, leading to a limited set of features compared to full-featured games. In this work, we studied whether limited players’ telemetry data describing in-game activity can be used to train a Random Forest model for churn prediction in a gamified application. Specifically, we analyzed different approaches for data preprocessing and sampling. Then, data from an online free-to-play (F2P) game was used as a validation set. Results show how in-game activity can be successfully used to predict churn. Moreover, from the tree’s visualization and interpretation, we found how players’ likelihood of abandoning the game is proportional to their time investment, both in the game and gamified system
The Quirks of Being a Wallflower: Towards Defining Lurkers and Loners in Games Through A Systematic Literature Review
No full textDo they Play as Intended? - Comparing Aggregated and Temporal Behavioral Analysis in a Persuasive Gamified System
No full textGamified systems nurture an ulterior goal set by their designers (e.g., a positive behavioral change). Behavioral profiling allows understanding whether users play as intended and reach such a goal. Analyzing in-game behaviors can also highlight unexpected interaction patterns or unengaged users. Current logging systems can track and store any in-game action. However, such high-dimensional data should be carefully processed to retain relevant knowledge while filtering unnecessary noise. Analysts can either aggregate data into a single data point per player or maintain temporal information. This study compares aggregated and temporal behavioral analysis conducted on a gamified system, promoting sustainable mobility (Play&Go). Results show how, in Play&Go, aggregated analysis conveys information on long-term winning strategies, whereas temporal analysis describes short-term strategies. Additionally, studying the temporal evolution of players' behaviors emphasizes a sharp division among engaged and unengaged users. We show how aggregated and temporal analysis hold a complementary view of players' experiences
Reading Between the Lines – Towards an Algorithm Exploiting In-game Behaviors to Learn Preferences in Gameful Systems
No full textPlayers’ retainment can be fostered by investigating whether the game elements players are interacting with are to their liking and tailoring game dynamics to meet their preferences. Thus, adaptive gameplay is a widely interesting topic in both the Game User Research field and the game industry. Considering that explicit information on players’ preferences often lacks, alternative approaches are needed. This task becomes even more challenging when the gameplay data available is limited due to the simplicity of the system employed, as it occurs in gameful systems in contrast to complex entertainment games or serious games. In this work, we propose an algorithm that exploits user behaviors as an implicit component to compute players’ preferences by measuring their level of activity. The application domain is a persuasive gameful system, and the customizable game elements are single-player challenges. The proposed algorithm uses offline gameplay data to compute a preference score for every viable option. The outcomes are then compared against a ground truth calculated from players’ in-game choices. Our findings suggest that players’ behaviors can be used to inform the generation of tailored game elements
A Gamification Platform to Analyze and Influence Citizens' Daily Transportation Choices
No full textAn effective, efficient, and ecological transport service needs a decision support system to inform the administrations, while intelligently assisting citizens’ daily transportation choices. This work presents a full-fledged Gamification Platform to develop and run sustainable mobility campaigns promoting individual green mobility behaviors. We organize geolocalized and temporal information on users’ tracked trips into a rich dataset that decision-makers can exploit to analyze citizens’ daily transportation choices and balance the demand and the offer of the mobility ecosystem. Through the Gamification Platform, we define three different use case scenarios - i.e., mobility within the city, home-work mobility, and home-school mobility. We also evaluate the platform according to both gameful design guidelines and persuasive technology best practices. Our findings show how long-term retention and engagement can be achieved when the gameful system’s design and maintenance are assisted by the Gamification Platform, merging both administrative requirements and users’ needs towards an iteratively adaptive and personalized experience
Do Influencers Influence? – Analyzing Players’ Activity in an Online Multiplayer Game
No full textIn social and online media, influencers have traditionally been understood as highly visible individuals. Recent outcomes suggest that people are likely to mimic influencers’ behavior, which can be exploited, for instance, in marketing strategies. Also in the Games User Research field, the interest in studying player social networks has emerged due to the heavy reliance on online influencers in marketing campaigns for games, as well as in keeping players engaged. Despite the inherent value of those individuals, it is still difficult to identify influencers, as the definition of influencers is a debated topic. Thus, how can we identify influencers, and are they indeed the individuals impacting others’ behavior? In this work, we focus on influence in retention to verify whether central players impacted others’ permanence in the game. We identified the central players in the social network built from the competitive player-vs-player (PvP) multiplayer (Crucible) matches in the online shooter Destiny. Then, we computed influence scores for each player evaluating the increase in similarity over time between two connected individuals. In this paper, we were able to show the first indications that the traditional metrics for influencers do not necessarily apply for games. On the contrary, we found that the group of central players was distinct from the group of influential players, defined as the individuals with the highest influence scores. Then, we provide an analysis of the two groups
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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