Help advise the topic of my masters thesis :)

[Yvaelle]

As some of you know - I'm doing a masters in commerce right now - and economics is one of my personal favourite topics

Originally I was planning to do my dissertation on something boring like arbitrage / hedging - but looking at my life path - that would make me probably either work for some evil empire bank - or something like the SEC. Dull, suit-ish, early mornings and money-peen contests - unexciting.

So I started thinking about how I would much rather do it on the topic of video games, as a prelude to working in the games industry somewhere - hardcore gamer, economics nerd, masters student - that's got to stick me somewhere high on the CV pile right? Especcially if my dissertation is something they'd actually want to read about how you make money off F2P systems or micro-transactions?

So, I suspect I want to look at something along the lines of cost sensitivity for F2P (free to play) models, or micro-transactions, or Steam sales, or Blizzard/WoW store pet sales - or Riot/LoL skin sales - or new MOBA champion sales.

I feel confident I can wrap it up and stick a bow on it (and I have a specific topic in mind already that I've looked into and like), but I realized given all the economics debate we do here, and all the video game fans on the site - this is a fantastic sounding board for helping me either confirm the topic I'm already keen toward: or open my eyes to something I hadn't even considered?

[Deleted]

I like the idea of combining something you like (gaming) with writing a scientific research paper especially in a "dull" area like economics. However, I think you might find it a bit problematic to incorporate actual facts e.g. numbers in your thesis which is essential. Those numbers are usually highly sensitive information that is not publicly available and I'd imagine it would be really hard to get any company to reveal those even to someone whose interest is purely academic.
If you feel confident that you can get your hands on the necessary information to back up your thesis, go for it!

[diddle]

Great topic, another interesting idea for a report might be how the inclusiveness and accessibility of modern technology is drastically changing the dynamics of software economics. Pretty much a fancy title for a report on how big commercial video game developers will adapt to an opensource based market growing to be reliant on the F2P model.

Of course that is a similar enough point it could probably just be a subsection your original topic. An interesting topic might also cover the dichotomy(or lack thereof) between F2P and P2W.

[Yvaelle]

I like the idea of combining something you like (gaming) with writing a scientific research paper especially in a "dull" area like economics. However, I think you might find it a bit problematic to incorporate actual facts e.g. numbers in your thesis which is essential. Those numbers are usually highly sensitive information that is not publicly available and I'd imagine it would be really hard to get any company to reveal those even to someone whose interest is purely academic.
If you feel confident that you can get your hands on the necessary information to back up your thesis, go for it!

If I can get my advisors to agree the topic is valid enough I would then approach a number of games companies looking to see what data they'd be willing to give me. Given I'm looking for a career in the field it's also a networking step of course, and since I'd be creating something of value to them - I suspect someone will be interested

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Great topic, another interesting idea for a report might be how the inclusiveness and accessibility of modern technology is drastically changing the dynamics of software economics. Pretty much a fancy title for a report on how big commercial video game developers will adapt to an opensource based market growing to be reliant on the F2P model.

Of course that is a similar enough point it could probably just be a subsection your original topic. An interesting topic might also cover the dichotomy(or lack thereof) between F2P and P2W.

I hadn't thought of that thanks! At the very least it needs to be a topic if I focus on micro-transactions and particularly for PC and mobile platforms where ya - F2P models are becoming dominant (consoles not so much, but nobody likes consoles!)

[Deleted]

The impression i am getting is that you are striving for something that you actually want to do - but may or may not be less concieveable and more on the idealistic aspect more so then on a practical "doable" aspect.

An example of this would be to finding the numbers from Companies - Or finding willing companies whom are large enough to actually create a gradient scale of comparison and analysis. Which i think in question would be very hard - And i also don't really know what the companies would gain from such. Exposure? Large titles has plenty of that. And exposure on pure numbers is questionable compared to making cool advertisement or going the organic way.

I mean, it just SEEMS a lot more natural to be going "this is the new popular, hyped, awesome graphics next gen shooting game" or build hype that way. rather then Going "50 billion people play this game" - Why would i find incentive to play that then?

Anyways - This is in essence me just questioning wether it's sound in a practical way to do what you are thinking of doing, compared to be going the route of bankings etc. Because the route of banks etc. sounds like an actual doable plan that could create careers etc.

Where as of combining business with fun? Idealistic and Enjoyable sure... But doable and pratical? I mean, for most people it's a pipe dream.

[satimy]

You should contact blizzard and try to run economic tests on games economy and then try to extrapolate data from it. Imagine a stimulus plan for a WoW server. Would it get people doing dailies again or would they stay in Orgrimmar gambling?

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Oh Op you could also look at the F2P model that a lot of game companies are using and the economics of it.

[Yvaelle]

Anyways - This is in essence me just questioning wether it's sound in a practical way to do what you are thinking of doing, compared to be going the route of bankings etc. Because the route of banks etc. sounds like an actual doable plan that could create careers etc.

Where as of combining business with fun? Idealistic and Enjoyable sure... But doable and pratical? I mean, for most people it's a pipe dream.

I'm not too worried about finding work when I finish

It's always better to become an expert / specialist in a specific topic - forex can be highly lucrative, but it's been around forever and it's flooded with experts and professionals. I still have a relative advantage in becoming an expert in virtual economies. Further - video games are a ~$1.5 trillion dollar industry now - it might be small potatoes compared to derivatives and forex, but it's still big business. F2P models and micro-transactions are the trend/future of both AAA and indie games titles across all platforms, except perhaps consoles. It's not a bad career move.

[Skroe]

I strongly advise against doing anything "gaming" related for a thesis. I don't think I played WoW more ever, than when I was getting my masters (in Computer Science) and I was tempted to do something MMO-related (at least tangentially), but then decided I wanted to do something forward thinking that will stand the test of time, rather than be maybe about irrelevant subject matter in 10 or 20 years.

Whatever topic you go on, I'd try to make it as timeless as possible.

[Yvaelle]

You should contact blizzard and try to run economic tests on games economy and then try to extrapolate data from it. Imagine a stimulus plan for a WoW server. Would it get people doing dailies again or would they stay in Orgrimmar gambling?

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Oh Op you could also look at the F2P model that a lot of game companies are using and the economics of it.

MMO Economies aren't really closed systems - so conclusions drawn about the nature of 'subsidies' - like lower cost of vendor goods - wouldn't likely have the same effects they would IRL. That's both good and bad - it's bad (not really bad but you get the idea) in that it wouldn't inform our real world knowledge - but it's good in that it would tell us how it affects virtual MMO economies: which is something new and unstudied

I could see a lot of potential / career in it - there are a few already out there of course, but there is plenty more to learn Thanks!

[obdigore]

How political economic rhetoric infects even gaming communities.

[Yvaelle]

I strongly advise against doing anything "gaming" related for a thesis. I don't think I played WoW more ever, than when I was getting my masters (in Computer Science) and I was tempted to do something MMO-related (at least tangentially), but then decided I wanted to do something forward thinking that will stand the test of time, rather than be maybe about irrelevant subject matter in 10 or 20 years.

Whatever topic you go on, I'd try to make it as timeless as possible.

I think if I focus on microtransactions I could make that pretty timeless, it would relate to the levels of discretionary income of the consumers - and it's not a model that will be gone in ~20 years at least? I definitely share the concern though, I think that's the strongest argument for doing something more traditional.

[Deleted]

The rise of bitcoin and other crypto-currencies, the possibility of taxation, there use within the virtual world and the predicted downfall.


I would advise not doing anything regarding gaming, the amount of posts I see on various forums reading "help me with this dissertation by filling in this gaming questionnaire" would suggest that there is quite a few people using gaming as a basis on their thesis.

[cncrules45]

My only advice would be to make sure you're filling in a gap in the existing literature. Yes, micro-transactions are new-ish, and I'm sure there is a ton of stuff that has yet to be studied, but there is a ton of foundational work that has already been done. I don't have any idea what the literature out there is already like, so this is more of a question to you. Do you have a subsection of the micro-transaction world that you'd like to study or that particularly enthralls you?

[Skroe]

I think if I focus on microtransactions I could make that pretty timeless, it would relate to the levels of discretionary income of the consumers - and it's not a model that will be gone in ~20 years at least? I definitely share the concern though, I think that's the strongest argument for doing something more traditional.

I don't know. *maybe*. It's hard to say. Conventional wisdom about gaming is almost always wrong. Plenty of self aggrandizing opinionators said that no one was supposed to buy Xbox One and PS4 because people only care about casual games on iphones and tablets now. Meanwhile in the real world, the new consoles set sales records and the lack of AAA titles on mobile media is becoming glaringly apparent.

So what we think about microtransactions could be relevant insofar as the medium term, especially if the next generation of phones have the processing and rendering heft they are anticipated to, and AAA titles made on substantial budgets start showing up. Such games will come with pretty huge price tags (for mobile) and addons would be closer to "DLC" than "microtransactions" conceptually (if you define the two rigidly, because technically DLC is a microtransaction or a sort).

I read in passing an article about (I think it was the British Channcellor stated) how the game industry in the UK is falling behind other counties due to lack of capital and money making titles. Maybe you can tie that into something about microtransactions and chart a way forward to revitalize it by bringing the two together. It would certainly be relevant, and maybe attract attention.

[Kuntantee]

As some of you know - I'm doing a masters in commerce right now - and economics is one of my personal favourite topics

Originally I was planning to do my dissertation on something boring like arbitrage / hedging - but looking at my life path - that would make me probably either work for some evil empire bank - or something like the SEC. Dull, suit-ish, early mornings and money-peen contests - unexciting.

So I started thinking about how I would much rather do it on the topic of video games, as a prelude to working in the games industry somewhere - hardcore gamer, economics nerd, masters student - that's got to stick me somewhere high on the CV pile right? Especcially if my dissertation is something they'd actually want to read about how you make money off F2P systems or micro-transactions?

So, I suspect I want to look at something along the lines of cost sensitivity for F2P (free to play) models, or micro-transactions, or Steam sales, or Blizzard/WoW store pet sales - or Riot/LoL skin sales - or new MOBA champion sales.

I feel confident I can wrap it up and stick a bow on it (and I have a specific topic in mind already that I've looked into and like), but I realized given all the economics debate we do here, and all the video game fans on the site - this is a fantastic sounding board for helping me either confirm the topic I'm already keen toward: or open my eyes to something I hadn't even considered?

Are you asking us to find a research topic for you? Or seeking help for a scientific study on a gaming board? This is serious business, go talk with your supervisor instead of random gamers here unless you want to publish your paper in a third-class shitty journal.

[Deleted]

Are you asking us to find a research topic for you? Or seeking help for a scientific study on a gaming board? This is serious business, go talk with your supervisor instead of random gamers here unless you want to publish your paper in a third-class shitty journal.

Why do people have the urge to post something even if they don't have anything to contribute?

[Yvaelle]

Why do people have the urge to post something even if they don't have anything to contribute?

I'm not bothered by it

To answer his questions:
a) I have a few interesting topics, and people came up with some more - but which gets past my advisors is anyone's guess - it was more about trying to see if people came up with something I hadn't considered yet: and lots of people offered useful ideas
b) I am not seeking help for a scientific study on a gaming board.
c) MMOC-OT isn't random gamers, it's a collection of experts on MMO's, MOBA's, F2P models, and micro-transactions - many of whom also engage in frequent informal economics debate on these forums. Academic supervisors are useful for the academic portions of my paper - but this forum is a nexus of informal experts on the intersection of these topics. I appreciate their input, that doesn't mean I won't also spend a great deal of time talking to supervisors once a topic is approved

[Gheld]

Shouldn't masters thesis cover a broader topic than that? I thought super specialized topic for thesis = PhD level? (I could be wrong though)

But within the economics of the gaming industry you do have certain dynamics that don't exist within all markets that you could look at, that being the youth factor, wherein trends are a lot shorter lived than in other markets, and that a certain portion of revenues is dependent upon parental consent (I.e. consumers not entirely in control of the money with which they consume)

[Yvaelle]

Shouldn't masters thesis cover a broader topic than that? I thought super specialized topic for thesis = PhD level? (I could be wrong though)

I'd like to approach with a fairly specific topic - which I can either flesh out or expand if it is deemed too specific. If I were to just approach with a topic like micro-transactions I'd likely have to narrow it down a good deal: it's flexible (and subject to approval).

But within the economics of the gaming industry you do have certain dynamics that don't exist within all markets that you could look at, that being the youth factor, wherein trends are a lot shorter lived than in other markets, and that a certain portion of revenues is dependent upon parental consent (I.e. consumers not entirely in control of the money with which they consume)

That's definitely something I will need to consider closely - but with all the studies that announce the average age of gamers to be up to 35 now - I'd actually guess that the majority of gamers have independent purchasing power. Still, it's a topic I could definitely add in to describe the forces acting on those decisions within that demographic! Thanks

[Deleted]

I worte my bachelor thesis about D3 (religouse studies image of angels and demons) and found it hard to sometimes describe and quote correctly. So even if it is about numbers and such you wont be able to get reliable numbers and quotes out of forums and such. At least ours profs were against it as you only get a small sample of a community. But it is interesting how much intrest there is in games right now in all scientific fields. So maybe it would be an idea to grab a game and see how economics work there? Ingame as well as out of the game? Just saw some great videos about eve online and how the auction house work there and such. Maybe that could be a good start to investigate? And I think the developers seem open enough to maybe share some numbers? Just an idea.