Playing to wait: A taxonomy of idle games

Sultan A. Alharthi; Olaa Alsaedi; Phoebe O. Toups Dugas; Theresa Jean Tanenbaum; Jessica Hammer

doi:10.1145/3173574.3174195

Playing to wait: A taxonomy of idle games

Sultan A. Alharthi, Olaa Alsaedi, Phoebe O. Toups Dugas, Theresa Jean Tanenbaum, Jessica Hammer

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Paper › Research › peer-review

65 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Idle games are a recent minimalist gaming phenomenon in which the game is left running with little player interaction. We deepen understanding of idle games and their characteristics by developing a taxonomy and identifying game features. This paper examines 66 idle games using a grounded theory approach to analyze play, game mechanics, rewards, interactivity, progress rate, and user interface. To establish a clearly bounded definition of idle games, we analyzed 10 non-idle games with the same approach. We discuss how idle games move players from playing to planning, how they question dominant assumptions about gameplay, and their unusual use of resources such as player attention and computer cycles. Our work illuminates opportunities for the design of idle games, suggests design implications, and provides a framework for researchers to clearly articulate questions about this genre.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Editors	Anna Cox, Mark Perry
Place of Publication	New York NY USA
Publisher	Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Number of pages	15
ISBN (Electronic)	9781450356206, 9781450356213
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/3173574.3174195
Publication status	Published - 2018
Externally published	Yes
Event	International Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2018 - Palais des Congrès de Montréal, Montreal, Canada Duration: 21 Apr 2018 → 26 Apr 2018 Conference number: 36th https://chi2018.acm.org/ https://dl.acm.org/doi/proceedings/10.1145/3173574 (Proceedings)

Conference

Conference	International Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2018
Abbreviated title	CHI 2018
Country/Territory	Canada
City	Montreal
Period	21/04/18 → 26/04/18
Internet address	https://chi2018.acm.org/ https://dl.acm.org/doi/proceedings/10.1145/3173574 (Proceedings)

Keywords

Clicker games
Game design
Grounded theory
Idle games
Incremental games
Planning
Playing
Taxonomy
Waiting

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10.1145/3173574.3174195

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title = "Playing to wait: A taxonomy of idle games",

abstract = "Idle games are a recent minimalist gaming phenomenon in which the game is left running with little player interaction. We deepen understanding of idle games and their characteristics by developing a taxonomy and identifying game features. This paper examines 66 idle games using a grounded theory approach to analyze play, game mechanics, rewards, interactivity, progress rate, and user interface. To establish a clearly bounded definition of idle games, we analyzed 10 non-idle games with the same approach. We discuss how idle games move players from playing to planning, how they question dominant assumptions about gameplay, and their unusual use of resources such as player attention and computer cycles. Our work illuminates opportunities for the design of idle games, suggests design implications, and provides a framework for researchers to clearly articulate questions about this genre.",

keywords = "Clicker games, Game design, Grounded theory, Idle games, Incremental games, Planning, Playing, Taxonomy, Waiting",

author = "Alharthi, \{Sultan A.\} and Olaa Alsaedi and \{Toups Dugas\}, \{Phoebe O.\} and Tanenbaum, \{Theresa Jean\} and Jessica Hammer",

note = "Funding Information: This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. IIS-1651532. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018 Copyright is held by the owner/author(s).; International Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2018, CHI 2018 ; Conference date: 21-04-2018 Through 26-04-2018",

year = "2018",

doi = "10.1145/3173574.3174195",

language = "English",

editor = "Anna Cox and Mark Perry",

booktitle = "Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems",

publisher = "Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)",

address = "United States of America",

url = "https://chi2018.acm.org/, https://dl.acm.org/doi/proceedings/10.1145/3173574",

}

Alharthi, SA, Alsaedi, O, Toups Dugas, PO, Tanenbaum, TJ & Hammer, J 2018, Playing to wait: A taxonomy of idle games. in A Cox & M Perry (eds), Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems., 621, Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), New York NY USA, International Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2018, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 21/04/18. https://doi.org/10.1145/3173574.3174195

Playing to wait: A taxonomy of idle games. / Alharthi, Sultan A.; Alsaedi, Olaa; Toups Dugas, Phoebe O. et al.
Proceedings of the 2018 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. ed. / Anna Cox; Mark Perry. New York NY USA: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), 2018. 621.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Paper › Research › peer-review

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T2 - International Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2018

AU - Alharthi, Sultan A.

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AU - Hammer, Jessica

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N2 - Idle games are a recent minimalist gaming phenomenon in which the game is left running with little player interaction. We deepen understanding of idle games and their characteristics by developing a taxonomy and identifying game features. This paper examines 66 idle games using a grounded theory approach to analyze play, game mechanics, rewards, interactivity, progress rate, and user interface. To establish a clearly bounded definition of idle games, we analyzed 10 non-idle games with the same approach. We discuss how idle games move players from playing to planning, how they question dominant assumptions about gameplay, and their unusual use of resources such as player attention and computer cycles. Our work illuminates opportunities for the design of idle games, suggests design implications, and provides a framework for researchers to clearly articulate questions about this genre.

AB - Idle games are a recent minimalist gaming phenomenon in which the game is left running with little player interaction. We deepen understanding of idle games and their characteristics by developing a taxonomy and identifying game features. This paper examines 66 idle games using a grounded theory approach to analyze play, game mechanics, rewards, interactivity, progress rate, and user interface. To establish a clearly bounded definition of idle games, we analyzed 10 non-idle games with the same approach. We discuss how idle games move players from playing to planning, how they question dominant assumptions about gameplay, and their unusual use of resources such as player attention and computer cycles. Our work illuminates opportunities for the design of idle games, suggests design implications, and provides a framework for researchers to clearly articulate questions about this genre.

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KW - Game design

KW - Grounded theory

KW - Idle games

KW - Incremental games

KW - Planning

KW - Playing

KW - Taxonomy

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PB - Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)

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ER -

Playing to wait: A taxonomy of idle games

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Keywords

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