Knowledge Management Systems in the Video Game Industry

The purpose of this research is to demonstrate how the video game industry achieves overwhelming success through its usage of knowledge management systems. This paper will specifically focus on how EA Games, a popular video game company, relies on various forms of KMS to retain customer satisfaction with their most famous personal computer game, The Sims. The Sims is one of the most popular computer games of the 21st century, and its advanced artificial intelligence features keep players engrossed in the game [1]. First, the player creates their own person (known by Sims in the game) and develops his/her physical appearance, personality traits, and even life ambitions [2]. Through the advanced vision system component of the game’s KMS, players experience realistic, 3D images of their characters that they almost come to life. The high-end graphics in The Sims represent a form of virtual reality, since the design of the people and objects in the game are so believable. The powerful KMS in The Sims allows players to create physically diverse, humanlike characters from the versatile options for their appearances, a versatility that is comparable to the unique appearances of real people. In addition to the visions system of the KMS, The Sims maintains its sophisticated features through its learning systems software. Not only does each Sim look physically realistic, but they display intelligent behavior so that the players can develop unique life stories for each character. Since the player creates individual personalities for each character, the KMS compares each character’s unique trait which causes one character to gravitate to some other characters more than other ones. The learning systems software is effective when one Sim has a negative encounter with another Sim, and then these two characters often react aggressively towards one another in future interactions. In contrast, two Sims will naturally be friendly or romantic with one another, depending on the nature of their previous interactions. Like real people, the characters in the Sims create unique relationships by learning how they feel about one another through trial and error [3]. As EA Games upgraded the Sims games with sequels, the features of the artificial intelligence in the KMS continued to improve. For example, the sequels allowed even more options of physical appearances, life ambitions, and added scenarios in relationships between Sims. A new feature in the third sequel of the Sims is the idea of rumors among all of the characters that spread, such as rumors of cheating spouses [4]. As the KMS system advances through the sequels, the interpersonal relationships among the characters become more realistic, ambitions broaden, and physical appearances become increasingly humanlike. The EA Games business and many other video game companies have thrived due to one similarity; they all had efficient Knowledge Management Systems. The more advanced the KMS is, the more the game comes to life. The key to success in a video game business is having customers that can play the game for hours on end, and The Sims is an example of a game with that powerful response. In the Sims, the above descriptions of the stellar programs that make up the vision system and the realistic learning system software that influence the characters’ behavior attract millions of loyal customers. The KMS that stems the success of EA Games places the company as a role model to other aspiring video game businesses. [1] http://www.sims-hr.com/design-gameplay-sims-games.html [2] http://www.sims-hr.com/history-sims-games-facts-sims-games.html [3] http://www.ea.com/the-sims-3 [4]http://www.ign.com/articles/2010/06/01/the-sims-3-ambitions-review