Randomness in Apex Legends: Influences on Player and Esports Viewer Experiences : A Study on User Retention and the Effects of RNG
Mihai, Tudor (2024)
2024
Master's Programme in Game Studies
Informaatioteknologian ja viestinnän tiedekunta - Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2024-04-11
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202404023239
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202404023239
Tiivistelmä
When looking at esports and directly at Apex Legends, its randomness has always been contested, and along with its esports scene, the community branded it as a downside that has to be dealt with when playing. From the randomness of in-game mechanics around the map to finding loot, to unpredictable strategies caused by the shrinking play area of a battle royale game, it seems that randomness is, indeed, a nuisance creating unfair situations, affecting both players and viewers. However, has this really been the case or has it been just a reaction of the game community to what is perceived on the surface as random?
This paper takes up that vision and looks deeper into the effects of randomness and how they affect the retention and motivation of playing the game and watching its esports broadcasts. Using online autoethnography with observations as data collection, player data on in-game amount of action, game duration and perceived randomness among others was collected. Watching the Apex Legends Global Series, viewer data was also gathered on in-game action seen on stream, perceived randomness and informativeness among others.
Somewhat contrary to the discourse on the negativity of randomness, it was found that if approached skilfully, randomness can be used to the user’s advantage. With numerous, but finite, possibilities for the random elements in Apex, they can be planned for. As a casual player, the randomness is used to extract more fun when playing the game, while as a viewer, the randomness is transmitted through the point of view of the esports players, who in turn tend to avoid unpredictability if possible and instead adapt to it in order to achieve a better tournament placement, with the better prepared teams having greater results. Likewise, this produces a more positive experience for the viewer derived from watching a higher level of play. Consequently, randomness is more than just a chaotic element of the game; when used adequately, it results in greater satisfaction for the casual player, while in esports, teams adapting to it means higher viewer retention as well as higher quality gameplay. This can also be applied to the larger game industry, where properly incorporating randomness into games can result in positive experiences for all users, rather than an annoying game mechanic to deal with.
This paper takes up that vision and looks deeper into the effects of randomness and how they affect the retention and motivation of playing the game and watching its esports broadcasts. Using online autoethnography with observations as data collection, player data on in-game amount of action, game duration and perceived randomness among others was collected. Watching the Apex Legends Global Series, viewer data was also gathered on in-game action seen on stream, perceived randomness and informativeness among others.
Somewhat contrary to the discourse on the negativity of randomness, it was found that if approached skilfully, randomness can be used to the user’s advantage. With numerous, but finite, possibilities for the random elements in Apex, they can be planned for. As a casual player, the randomness is used to extract more fun when playing the game, while as a viewer, the randomness is transmitted through the point of view of the esports players, who in turn tend to avoid unpredictability if possible and instead adapt to it in order to achieve a better tournament placement, with the better prepared teams having greater results. Likewise, this produces a more positive experience for the viewer derived from watching a higher level of play. Consequently, randomness is more than just a chaotic element of the game; when used adequately, it results in greater satisfaction for the casual player, while in esports, teams adapting to it means higher viewer retention as well as higher quality gameplay. This can also be applied to the larger game industry, where properly incorporating randomness into games can result in positive experiences for all users, rather than an annoying game mechanic to deal with.