“I Just Can’t Commit to That Level Anymore”: Players, Demands of Games, and Player Services

Abstract

People, the author holds, instinctively believe quitting a game to be a simple <br/>choice: you are either playing or you are not. But she finds quitting play more <br/>complex. To understand better the whole ecosystem of play, she maps out the <br/>reasons Finnish players abandon or reduce their gaming and examines these <br/>reasons through the lens of specific demands. Using an online survey and <br/>interviews, she reveals that the dedication and effort needed to play—and <br/>the expected audience for a game—can drive players away from the games <br/>they once so enjoyed. She concludes that using the player service model <br/>promoted by Jaakko Stenros and Olli Sotamaa in 2009 can identify the actions <br/>game designers might take to lessen the effect of these game demands.