Cash Trade Within the Magic Circle: Free-to-Play Game Challenges and Massively Multiplayer Online Game Player Responses

Author
Lin, Holin and Sun, Chuen-Tsai

Year
2007

Publication information
Proceedings of DiGRA 2007: Situated Play. Tokyo: The University of Tokyo, September, 2007. Pp. 335-343.

Suggested citation
Lin, Holin and Sun, Chuen-Tsai (2007). Cash Trade Within the Magic Circle: Free-to-Play Game Challenges and Massively Multiplayer Online Game Player Responses. Proceedings of DiGRA 2007: Situated Play. Tokyo: The University of Tokyo, September, 2007. Pp. 335-343.

Available online at:
http://www.digra.org/dl/db/07312.38207.pdf

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Abstract from the paper

Cash trades for virtual items in game worlds are now a recognized part of the “free game” business model, but perhaps at the expense of players’ senses of immersion, fairness, and fun. We review several perspectives related to Huizinga’s [8] “magic circle” concept in order to establish an analytical framework, then discuss player opinions in support of or opposed to free games, based on data collected from various sources. Our hope is that this study will be useful for those researchers who are monitoring the rapidly changing line separating game worlds and the physical world.

Keywords: free-to-play game model, magic circle, MMOGs, cash trade for virtual goods.

By Vili Lehdonvirta at Thu, 2008/01/31 - 18:51 | login or register to post comments