
Through one-to-one and face-to-face interviews and focus groups, it is found that the life cycle of an online game can be divided into four stages—Trying Stage, Indulging Stage, Retaining Stage, and Leaving Stage—on the basis of how the players like or indulge in as well as how much time and energy the players spend on it. The online-game life cycle contains not only the above typical four stages but also some other exceptional forms.
| selected citations These citations are derived from selected sources. This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | 3 | |
| popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network. | Average | |
| influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | Average | |
| impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network. | Average |
