Positive and Negative effects of Game Analytics in the Game Design process : A Grounded Theory Study

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this Grounded Theory study is to investigate the positive and negative effects of Game Analytics and how it may affect the Game Design process within the Game Development process. This is done by reviewing and observing available source material appertaining to Triple AAA Games Industry Experts regarding the topics of Game Analytics, Gameplay, Game Design as well as Game Development. The source material consists of publications, presentations, articles and lectures directly linked to the aforementioned areas in which will be used to reinforce the theory. Through the collected data the theory will emerge which will present the potential positive and negative aspects as well as issues regarding using Game Analytics to track the player’s behavior in order to directly affect and possibly alter the Game Design process. The results highlight the positive aspects of using Game Analytics in the Game Design process in which indicate that it is helpful for the Game Designer to utilize the player’s behavioral data captured from Gameplay. This acts as a powerful extension over the traditional design process. The negative aspects have indicated that Game Analytics is a new practice and is still met with prejudice as it requires a lot of knowledge to be able to be used right in the Game Design process. The theory indicates that Game Analytics is a step in the right direction as it enables the Game Designer to gain further understanding of their players with the end goal of creating a better Gameplay experience.