In-game, displaying user names seems to be the preferred method of identifying users. Out of 38 games, a system generated ID was displayed in only 13. Out of those, viewing another players ID was only possible in 3. In contrast, 28 games dis-played user names . User names can be chosen by the player himself. Generally, the use of a yet unused name is required. While games like “Clash Royal” (fig. 3) require the player to choose a user name after the tutorial phase and players can only inter-act with other players after this, games like “Final Fantasy XV: A New Empire” allow players to play the game without changing the default user name, consisting of a series of numbers. The latter only requires a unique user-chosen name to enable the game’s chat function.
Figure 3 shows screenshots from the game “Clash Royale”, depicting the unusual display of both, user ID and user names. Both can be seen by the player himself, as well as by other players. However, the user ID displayed to the player in the settings screen (fig.3 left side, below the word “Einstellungen”)
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How and what kind of personal information is displayed largely appears to coincide with two factors, game developer and game genre. Especially the latter seems to be very influential in determining what kind of information developers chose to gather and to display. The games “Hay Day” (Supercell) and Township (Playrix) were for example developed by different companies. However, the game design is exceedingly similar. As can be seen in Figure 4, they display the same characteristics in concern to the display and handling of personal information. Similarly, the games “Final Fanta-sy XV: A New Empire” (Epic Action LLC), “Game of War – Fire Age” (Machine Zone Inc.), and “King of Avalon: Dragon Warfare” (Diandian Interactive Holding) exhibit almost identical game design, also evident in the way personal information is