Distribution of online hardcore player behavior: (how hardcore are you?)

ABSTRACT

Within the last few years the game market has seen a tremendous growth. On pair with that, the way games are played has also evolved. Not only the community and variety of gaming has grown in numbers; the way games are understood has fundamentally changed. In fact terms like "hardcore" and "casual" became well known in the player scene. Even so called pro-gaming (professional gaming for money - like sportsmen) has led to tournaments and world championships.

The underlying social deterministic and the changing player behavior are responsible for upcoming game design. First of all one must understand the user's perspective to find effective solutions for open problem fields.

This paper introduces a large user survey about hardcore player behavior and gaming. It will show correlations between game types, deterministic factors, game related behavior and different ways of approaching games. Furthermore it features a detailed statistic analysis with surprising results.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.8 PERSONAL COMPUTING
      K.8.0 General
          Subjects: Games

Additional Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.1 MODELS AND PRINCIPLES
      H.1.2 User/Machine Systems
          Subjects: Human factors

  K. Computing Milieux
  K.1 THE COMPUTER INDUSTRY
      Subjects: Markets

General Terms:
Human Factors

Keywords:
analysis, characterization, game behavior, hardcore, modeling, multiplayer mobile and ubiquitous games, social deterministic, usage studies, user survey