Because Players Pay: The Business Model Influence on MMOG Design

The authors explore Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG) business models in order to characterize two main problems: big initial investment and continuous expenditures. The four main actors of a MMOG environment – game producer, Game, Players and Business Model – are analysed resorting to Actor Network Theory in order to understand their alignment in Business Models and how they can influence game design. The conclusion ends in the fact that the Business Model, directly or indirectly, influences and constrains the game design in the following ways: the high economic risks inhibits game design innovation, the players have power to demand poor game design decisions while the virtual economy games simply embrace the business model into its design. Author