Virtual and Augmented Reality in Ten Square Games

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Table of Contents

Company Background
Problem Statement
Critical Discussion
References

The present report outlines the benefits and drawbacks of using virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) in the videogame industry and recommends a comprehensive strategy of utilizing these technologies to acquire a competitive advantage. The report focuses on Ten Square Games, a videogame company specializing in the mobile game industry. First, the report provides an overview of the company providing context for further analysis. Second, the report describes a problem the company may face in the nearest future due to the changes in the videogame industry. Finally, the report discusses how Ten Square Games can improve its current performance using AR and VR technology. The final section describes the benefits and drawbacks of both AR and VR, proposes a solution for the defined problem, and provides justification for the proposed solution. The report claims that Ten Square Games will benefit from introducing AR into its successful fishing and hunting simulators.

Company Background

Ten Square Games is a mobile games development company with headquarters in Poland. The company is famous for its outdoor hobby simulators, such as fishing and hunting (Ten Square Games, 2021). The key products of the company are Fishing Clash, Hunting Clash, Let’s Fish, and Wild Hunt. These are 3D free-to-play games that provide people with an opportunity to hunt and fish in a wide variety of places worldwide. Additionally, the company released Solitales (a card game) and Flip the House (a matching game) as side products. Currently, the company is working on the development of Undead Clash, a 3D shooter in the world with zombies.

The company demonstrated outstanding financial performance in 2020, as the company grew its revenues 141.94% from 237.37 million PLN in 2019 to 574.29 million PLN in 2020, while net income improved 104.06% from 73.80 million in 2019 PLN to 150.59 million PLN in 2020. The company entered the stock exchange market in 2018, and its stock price increased from 20 PLN per share in 2018 to around 400 PLN in 2021 (Financial Times, 2021). The success of the company is assured by a team of professionals and a functional workplace culture that focuses on the self-development of employees, promotion of trust, and constant improvement (Ten Square Games).

Problem Statement

Currently, Ten Square Games’ products at the peak of their popularity, as Fishing Clash in the top 50 of Google Play Market. The game has more than 50 million downloads with almost 1.5 million reviews with a rating of 4.6 out of 5 (Google Play Market, 2021). The company utilizes an effective marketing strategy that allows it to make high profits from in-game purchases (Financial Times, 2021). However, there is a significant threat that the company will not be able to maintain its pace in the future. The problem is that the company is developing a game about zombies that has the clash (player versus player) mechanic (Ten Square Games, 2021). According to Latour (2019), zombie games no longer grasp the attention of the public, and the trend is going away. Some zombie games are still successful because they bring a little more than just killing zombies to the game, such as the human drama of living in a post-apocalyptic world. Even though the company is adding clash mechanic to simply shooting zombies, it is doubtful that the game will become successful based on this mechanic only.

The doubt in future financial success is also reflected in the recent trends of share prices. According to Financial Times (2021), the company’s share prices decreased from around 600 PLN in August to 335 PLN in November. Thus, the company needs to demonstrate to the investors that it will sustain its financial position in the future by acknowledging the trend in the videogame industry. In particular, the global AR market reached $4.7 Billion in 2020, and it is expected to grow to $28.6 Billion by 2026, exhibiting a CAGR of 34.80% during the 2021-2026 period (Research and Markets, 2021). Moreover, the pandemic fueled VR to gain popularity in the videogame industry (Smith, 2021). Ten Square Games fails to acknowledge these tendencies, which may affect investor interest in the future.

Critical Discussion

Benefits and Drawbacks of AR and VR

The benefits of VR are difficult to overstate, as it offers a range of opportunities to experience events that otherwise would be impossible to experience. For instance, Bailenson (2018) states that VR can be crucial for safety training in natural disasters, such as earthquakes. VR creates a sense that an event is really happening, which makes the body to respond as if everything was real, even though the users are warned that the event is simulated (Bailenson, 2018). As a result, VR helps the user experience an event on-demand without any risks. Similarly, VR can be used for training in sports, which is a powerful tool to learn new tactics and strategies at any place and any time. However, there are certain disadvantages of VR mentioned by Carter and Egliston (2020), including the inability of some users to perform motion control, requirement of certain body positioning, inaccessible hardware, and focus on able-bodied users. As a result, VR causes some ethical issues and makes manipulation in video games challenging. Additionally, VR may cause trauma, as people, being unaware of the actual surroundings, can run into a wall or stumble upon a chair, for example (Bailenson, 2018).

As for AR, it is associated with significant benefits, as it is more accessible in comparison with VR. Pesce (2021) states that even though AR does not replace the real world, it creates a reality so captivating that people find it difficult to look away from. The technology does not require massive equipment, as people can use their smartphones to engage in AR. Additionally, Radu and Schneider (2019) mention that the mere presence of AR attracts attention to the product. Pesce (2021) expects that AR will help people to take their eyes off the screens of their smartphones by creating introducing glasses that will make everything a person sees a big screen. Thus, AR is a promising technology associated with significant benefits.

The accessibility of AR causes different concerns that may be considered drawbacks. For instance, AR is associated with significant privacy issues, as people may dislike them or their private property being part of a game. For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic, people were screened for body temperature using AR, even though the method had little support from evidence (Carter and Egliston, 2020). One of the most successful AR applications was Pokémon Go, which encouraged people to roam around cities in the search for rare species of digital creatures. The application led to significant ethical problems, as it put increased emphasis on racial and gender inequality, concerns about unusual walking patterns, and conflicts with physical property laws. Thus, the drawbacks of AR are significant.

Proposed Solution

Ten Square Games is recommended to introduce AR function into one of its applications. It is best to include AR mechanics into either Fishing Clash or Hunting Clash, as these are the most successful games. In particular, the players may be offered to fish or hunt for different species depending on the area. Such fish or animals should be added to a separate gallery of achievements. Moreover, players are to be given the opportunity to compete in fishing or hunting if they are located close to each other.

Discussion of the Solution

The proposed solution is optimal for Ten Square Games, as it uses all the benefits of AR while minimizing drawbacks. First, AR does not require special equipment, which allows all users that have a smartphone to utilize the technology. Second, adding AR to the Fishing Clash and Hunting Clash allows interaction between players. When discussing the success of Twitch.tv, a streaming platform, Egliston and Carter (2020) state that interaction through chat is the key to the streaming platform’s success, as users can exchange emotions. While introducing AR to Let’s Fish or Wild Hunt was also possible, it is better to integrate AR into games, where people could interact with each other. Third, adding AR to Fishing Clash or Hunting Clash will help to avoid some ethical problems Pokémon Go faced, as people will not roam the streets of cities disturbing the citizens; instead, they will go to lakes, rivers, or forests.

It is crucial to understand that adding AR to the current products is not guaranteed to lead to significant financial benefits short-term. However, adding AR to the existing project instead of introducing an entirely new game is associated with fewer risks. First, the company already has a long-term plan of introducing Undead Clash, and changing this plan may negatively affect the trust of investors. Second, the existing projects can serve as testing platforms for introducing AR into other projects. Since Fishing Clash and Hunting Clash are successful projects, failure of AR is not likely to negatively affect the success of the company or the products. However, if a new game fails, the investors may become unhappy. Finally, the introduction of AR to Undead Clash after testing the technology on the existing projects will allow it to gain the attention of players despite the decline of interest in zombie games.

References

Bailenson, J.N. (2018). Experience on-demand: What virtual reality is, how it works, and what it can do. W.W. Norton.

Carter, M., & Egliston, B. (2020). Ethical implications of emerging mixed reality technologies. Socio-Tech Futures Lab.

Egliston, B., & Carter, M. (2020). Twitch.tv and the work of watching.

Financial Times. (2021). Ten Square Games SA.

Google Play Market. (2021). Fishing Clash.

Latour, J. (2019). Days Gone Bye: Why the casual market may have finally killed the zombie genre. The Gamer.

Pesce, M. (2021). Augmented reality: Unboxing Tech’s Next Big Thing. Polity Press.

Radu, I., & Schneider, B. (2019). What Can We Learn from Augmented Reality (AR)? Benefits and Drawbacks of AR for Inquiry-based Learning of Physics. In Proceedings of the 2019 CHI conference on human factors in computing systems (pp. 1-12).

Research and Markets. (2021). Worldwide Augmented Reality Gaming Industry to 2026. PR Newswire.

Smith, N. (2021). Virtual reality is starting to see actual gains in gaming. Washington Post. Web.

Ten Square Games. (2021). About us.

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