Creating Games to Create Communities

Abstract

Video game communities of varying sizes have existed for as long as gaming has been relatively popular, but these days when the video game industry has grown to be one of the most lucrative industries in the world, communities around interactive media have grown and multiplied as well. When interest for a product grows, a community begins growing. And as this happens, companies have an opportunity to engage their community in different ways and keep them interested in the product for years to come. The research explores different tactics and techniques companies can employ to engage their community, as well as how the community reacts to different changes, plans and motivators.

Data collection was performed through the creation of a theory base, which contains data from various articles, research pieces and industry blogs. One of the main pieces of data used comes from researching The Octalysis Framework and the gamification design it introduced, as well as reflecting how the Core Drives of the framework can be utilized within community management. The qualitative method was mostly utilized through the research to find accurate information regarding proven tactics and methods within community management. The quality of the selected articles and other written works was determined by checking the backgrounds of various authors and websites who are cited through the theory base. The data collected was used to point out motivators and wants of the community members, as well as methods used within community management, and analyze how effective these methods are in practice when it comes to satisfying the wants of the community and the wants of the company.

The results of the research show that video game communities are overall beneficial to the development company, as well as the community members. The behavior, motives and drives of the community members were investigated, and the benefits that a video game community offers to the company were identified. The methods a company can utilize when engaging their community were discovered and summarized in the conclusions of the investigation. The conclusions also summarized the positives that video game communities can bring to companies, as well as the motives of the community members, knowledge of which can be utilized within community management. The usability of the conclusions were considered, and their usefulness has been examined.