ABSTRACT:
Online games are the most widely used information system application in the world, with more than 3 billion users. There are many game genres, each of which strives to provide compelling gameplay experiences by offering users a variety of affordances. As a result, understanding how each affordance influences gameplay routines and game loyalty in different genres is crucial for building theories about online games. We developed a theoretical framework of 15 motivational affordances that lead to four gameplay routines and tested it using games from four major game genres. Our survey of 1,075 users found that some affordances and routines are important for some genres but unimportant for others, and may even have unintended negative effects in some cases. This shows that in multi-user systems such as online games, affordances that enable users to engage in certain routines may increase their loyalty but reduce the loyalty of other users who are affected by those actions. Our research offers contributions for researchers developing theories for online games by enabling them to focus on the effective affordances within each genre and by identifying which affordances have generally positive or generally unintended negative effects for each genre. From a practical perspective, by showing which affordances to offer and which to avoid in each of the four genres, our research can guide practitioners in making more effective design decisions to attract and retain users. The findings may also have implications for the design of other multi-user systems and workplace gamified systems by showing which affordances are impactful for most users.
Key words and phrases: Affordances, online games, gameplay routines, game genre, loyalty