I used to work in a videogame development and publishing industry as a PR manager and community manager about 15 years ago when I still lived in Russia. I stayed in touch with my former colleagues for a while after I left.
I did not encounter any OR/MS algorithm applications when I worked there, unless you count linear algebra in 3D visualization and physics equations. But I could see a lot. For MMORPGs, especially before cloud computing, capacity planning was a risk: if the marketing was too successful, players would "overcrowd" the server, leading to performance issues, and the players would stop playing. I don't know how it works now that AWS is around.
Switching from subscriptions to microtransactions brought a lot of interesting challenges. How much advantage should the paid content give a player in the game? What is the right balance between paying and non-paying players? Then, especially when most of your revenue comes from just a few players (which happens more often than the general public likes to think), how do you handle the situations when a revenue-driving player is cheating or is abusive towards other players?
For the publisher, since the costs are fixed per game developed, and the revenue is proportional to sales, and there is only so many players in the market who have that many days during the Christmas break, selecting the right project portfolio and making decision when to terminate a project that is not going to be worth it are important.
For the game design, in MMORPG there was often a problem that one clan establishes a dominance on a server, creating the situation like in "Make Love, not Warcraft" South Park episode. Since the reward for winning a battle is getting control over the resources that would help you win more battles, this is what to be expected. How do you prevent it?
Ironically, when it comes to game theory, cannot see many applications in the games I used to play or work with, unless it is a behavioral game theory.
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Yulia Vorotyntseva
Saint Louis University
St Louis MO
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Original Message:
Sent: 03-27-2023 02:34
From: Xiao Lei
Subject: Using Operations Research to Level Up Video Games
Hello everyone!
As an operations researcher who loves and works on video games, I'm excited to be invited by INFORMS to create this post to discuss the applications of operations research in video games.
Video games are complex systems with multiple decision points, making them a great playground for optimization. That's where operations research comes in! As OR experts, we can help game developers balance game mechanics, optimize player engagement, improve monetization strategies, enhance matchmaking algorithms, and streamline game development processes.
In my research, I've explored the use of OR in video games through two recent papers. The paper 'Loot Box Pricing and Design' (Management Science 2020, link) focuses on monetization through a random selling scheme called loot box. The paper 'Matchmaking Strategies for Maximizing Player Engagement in Video Games' (link) investigates the use of linear programming to optimize matchmaking in a multiplayer online game.
But I also want to hear from you! Have you worked on any video-game-related projects? It may not be a research paper; for example, one student shared with me his final project in a simulation class, where they used simulation to find the optimal matchmaking policy (link). Furthermore, what are some promising applications of operations research in video games? What ethical considerations do we need to keep in mind?
Looking forward to your thoughts!
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Xiao Lei
Assistant Professor
University of Hong Kong
www.xiao-lei.org
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