Situating everyday journeys of play: Rethinking engagement in a live service world

This article analyses the various temporal logics governing the functioning and play offered by modern live-service-games. It examines the different ways in which such games build underlying mechanics to engage the player and enable building repetitive commitments to in-game processes like grinding where time and acts of labour are repeatedly extracted. By using the ALNI framework to examine three live-service-games: Hitwicket, Skull and Bones , and Zenless Zone Zero , the article identifies both standard and unique approaches to developing audiences and sustaining the time players spend in-game. The article juxtaposes these measures against success criteria for live-service-games, to highlight the homogeneity in everyday play mechanics and ways in which time-bound content and incentives are delivered. It questions how players’ time and efforts can be protected when games’ engagement strategies fail and calls for adopting nuanced perspectives that rebalance play and access in game design.