Researchers and developers constantly seek novel ways to create engaging applications that are able to retain their users over the long term, make them desire to spend time using the application or go back to using it after a break. With this aim, video games can be an insightful source of inspiration, as they are specifically designed to maximise playing time, increase players' intentions of playing during the day or enhance their willingness to replay. In a gaming context, ‘time’ is an important factor for engagement because game designers can design the game time to retain players in the game environment. Drawing on social practice theory, which is increasingly used in Information Systems (IS) research, I conducted an ethnographic study in World of Warcraft (WoW) to understand how various temporalities are produced within a video game and the effects that they have on players' engagement. The findings show that game temporalities stem from the complex interaction between the design features of the game and the norms, routines and expectations that are part of the game practices. Moreover, these temporalities can engender temporal experiences that may stimulate engagement in various ways. The study contributes to IS literature by proposing a novel understanding of how time can be intentionally designed to sustain user engagement. Finally, it suggests that ‘time design’ in video games could inspire designs in broader IS contexts, such as in the gamification of online communities, crowdsourcing platforms and crowd working systems.

中文翻译：

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时间、参与度和视频游戏：游戏设计元素如何塑造大型多人在线角色扮演游戏的时间性

研究人员和开发人员不断寻求新颖的方法来创建能够长期留住用户的引人入胜的应用程序，使他们渴望花时间使用该应用程序或在休息后重新使用它。以此为目标，电子游戏可以成为富有洞察力的灵感来源，因为它们专门设计用于最大限度地延长游戏时间、增加玩家白天玩游戏的意愿或提高他们重玩的意愿。在游戏环境中，“时间”是参与度的一个重要因素，因为游戏设计师可以设计游戏时间以将玩家留在游戏环境中。借鉴越来越多地用于信息系统 (IS) 研究的社会实践理论，我在魔兽世界 (WoW) 中进行了一项民族志研究，以了解视频游戏中如何产生各种时间性以及它们对玩家参与度的影响。研究结果表明，游戏时间性源于游戏设计特征与作为游戏实践一部分的规范、惯例和期望之间的复杂相互作用。此外，这些时间性可以产生可以以各种方式刺激参与的时间体验。该研究通过对如何有意设计时间以维持用户参与度提出新的理解，从而为 IS 文献做出贡献。最后，它表明视频游戏中的“时间设计”可以激发更广泛的 IS 背景下的设计，例如在线社区、众包平台和众包工作系统的游戏化。