線上遊戲玩家成就分析與跨國比較

Abstract

隨著網際網路的蓬勃發展，線上遊戲(Online Games)如雨後春筍般產生。在高度競爭之下，遊戲公司為了吸引更多玩家，開始設計全球發行的線上遊戲。然而各個地區的玩家由於文化背景不同，如何讓線上遊戲內容能夠有效的涵蓋各種遊戲文化玩家所需要的樂趣結構，將是遊戲公司就線上遊戲因應文化差異進行修改，或是設計新的全球性線上遊戲時，首要考慮的重點。 本研究旨在透過分析論述台灣與美國地區的玩家行為，是否如網路輿論以及過去的初步研究所述-台灣玩家較注重遊戲中個人成就的取得，美國玩家較重視遊戲中的休閒性以及社交行為，而有顯著的差異。研究過程中主要使用目前世界上最多人遊玩，且深受台灣以及美國玩家歡迎的全球發行線上遊戲-魔獸世界(World of Warcraft)做為樣本。藉由使用遊戲中的玩家設計界面技術，收集台灣與美國遊戲伺服器中的玩家角色資料，進行玩家行為的分析之後，發現台灣玩家與美國玩家在遊戲中成就的達成上，實際上各有其擅長之處。

As internet develops rapidly, the number of online games has grown fast just like up-springing mushrooms after a spring rain. In order to stay competitive and attract more players, game companies begin to develop new online games operated globally. Moreover, because of the diverse cultural backgrounds of different regions, one of the most important things for game companies is to develop new online games which are suitable for different interests from various kinds of players.

This research aims at comparing players’ behaviors between Taiwan and the USA and analyzing whether there is a distinctive difference between Taiwanese and US players or not. We found that the primary difference is resulted from the different emphasis of players; players in Taiwan stress the importance of achievement while those in the US emphasize recreation and social behaviors.

The case study of this research is based on World of Warcraft (WoW), an online game which is current issued internationally and very popular with both Taiwanese and US players. This research firstly collects the dynamic data of avatars through WoW’s unique client-designed user interface feature. An in-depth analysis of players’ behaviors is further conducted and we conclude that Taiwanese and US players in fact put different emphases on the pursuit of achievement.