정보과학회 논문지 (Journal of KIISE)

  • 제44권3호
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  • Pages.314-322
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  • 2017
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  • 2383-630X(pISSN)
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  • 2383-6296(eISSN)
한국정보과학회 (Korean Institute of Information Scientists and Engineers)
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온라인 게임 내 최고 레벨 유저의 이탈 분석

Churn Analysis of Maximum Level Users in Online Games

  • 박건우 (한국과학기술원 전산학부 웹사이언스대학원) ;
  • 차미영 (한국과학기술원 문화기술대학원)
  • 투고 : 2016.08.05
  • 심사 : 2016.12.05
  • 발행 : 2017.03.15
⟨ 이전 논문 다음 논문 ⟩

초록

대규모 다중 사용자 온라인 롤플레잉 게임 유저들은 시나리오를 따라 주어진 임무들을 수행하며 최고 레벨을 향해 캐릭터를 성장시킨다. 최고 레벨 유저를 보유하는 것이 온라인 게임의 성공적 운영에 중요함에도 불구하고 이들에 대한 연구는 크게 이루어지지 않았다. 이 연구에서는 5만여명 유저들에 의해 기록된 약 6천만 건의 게임 내 로그 데이터 분석을 통해 유저들이 최고 레벨에 도달하는 과정과 그 이후 게임 이탈 현상을 분석하며, 최고 레벨 유저의 이탈에 영향을 미치는 요인을 이해하고자 한다. 분석 결과, 최고 레벨 이전의 행동 패턴을 이용해 최고 레벨 유저의 이탈을 예측할 수 있으며, 최고 레벨 이전에 사회적으로 활발하고 많은 사람들과 대화하는 게이머가 덜 떠난다는 것을 발견하였다(p<0.05). 이 연구는 유저간 소통 패턴이 최고 레벨에 도달한 유저들의 지속적인 사용에 주요한 요인임을 확인하며, 엘리트 유저의 지속적인 게임 이용을 유도하는 실무적 시사점을 제공한다.

In MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game), users advance their own characters to get to the maximum (max) level by performing given tasks in the game scenario. Although it is crucial to retain users with high levels for running online games successfully, little efforts have been paid to investigate them. In this study, by analyzing approximately 60 million in-game logs of over 50,000 users, we aimed to investigate the process through which users achieve the max level and churn of such users since the moment of achieving the max level, and determine possible indicators related to churn after the max level. Based on the result, we can predict churn of the max level users by employing behavioral patterns before the max level. Moreover, we found users who are socially active and communicate with many people before the max level are less likely to leave the service (p<0.05). This study supports that communication patterns are important factors for persistent usage of the users who achieve the max level, which has practical implications to guide elite users on enjoying online games in the long run.

키워드

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