Berens's Temperament Theory

4) Participant: Enjoys social (living-room) play, or involvement in an alternate world. In this typology there is a further cross-type split between dedicated or hardcore players, and recreational or casual players.

Berens’s Temperament approach

Another theory that was considered to understand player behavior was the Temperament Theory (Berens, 2000). Berens tried to establish sets of skills corresponding to qualitative typologies.

Player Archetype Drawn to… Behaves with… Tolerant of…

Logistical Optimization, planning, trading Caution, meticulousness Repetitions, rules, procedures

Tactical Improvisation, operation, controlling single characters, thinking on the spot Impulsiveness, competence Risk, speed, variation

Strategic Solving, hypothesizing,

The two most common strategies are the sale of advertisements and the sale of virtual items. In this thesis, the latter approach will be of interest since Hearthstone revenues are mainly generated through the sale of in game virtual items. Virtual items can be offered either to relieve the frustration of the limits impinged on players (e.g. waiting time) or to enhance the gaming experience. Depending on the game, virtual items can be bought using in-game currency (e.g. gold), which is usually earned by playing the game, or real currency (e.g. dollars), or both. Common types of items sold in games are:

Consumable items are often items that can be used only once, but can be bought multiple times. In Hearthstone, the booster packs containing five cards could be considered consumable items.

Content items are gameplay content. For example buying access to additional features or levels. In Hearthstone, the adventures available for sale are a typical example of content items.

Customizing items typically affect the aesthetics of the game. Players can buy different costumes for the characters in Hearthstone. These costumes do not have an effect on the gameplay; they only have an effect on the visual aspect of the game.

Promoting the sales of in-game virtual

(2015) examined the promotion of virtual items in video games based on psychological and behavioral engagement and posited that the amount that a player spends in online games is by determined the level of psychological and behavioral engagement that the player exhibits toward the game. The more engaged the player is, the more inclined he will be to spend money on the game. Chan et al. (2015) presented a model (figure below) representing the relationship between engagement and online sales in video games. Their study also stated that psychological engagement is a key factor that induces game players’ behavioral engagement. This study also identified the antecedents of customer engagement in online games from three different aspects. In particular, game satisfaction, game customization, and social interaction all had statistically significant effects on psychological engagement. It is common for online game players who experience an overall positive feeling about the target game, to be more likely to devote their energy to the game, and be enthusiastic and immersed in the game. It is also necessary to note that the three factors exert statistically significant total effects on online sales, and their relationships with users’ spending in online games are either fully or partially mediated by psychological