entertainment, Research, Strategy, Gamification
Staff Researcher
How Games as a Service (GaaS) and Transmedia ...

In Part II, this part of the study moves from industry context to empirical analysis, translating strategic questions into evidence-based insights drawn from primary research. While Part I established the historical and market foundations of Games as a Service (GaaS) and transmedia adaptation and framed the challenges of player retention, monetization, and franchise longevity, Part II examines how these dynamics operate in practice. Using findings from a 1,159-response U.S. consumer survey, nine industry interviews with developers, influencers, and experiential professionals, as well as supporting secondary research, this section analyzes player behavior perceptions and expectations. Part II identifies the mechanisms that drive sustained engagement and trust in live service ecosystems, evaluates the effectiveness of current GaaS and transmedia strategies, and surfaces actionable insights that inform the strategic recommendations presented in the final chapter.

How Games as a Service (GaaS) and Transmedia Strategies Sustain Video Game Franchises, Part II
entertainment, Research, Strategy, Gamification
Staff Researcher
How Games as a Service (GaaS) and Transmedia ...

This study provides a foundational analysis of how live-service game models and transmedia strategies are reshaping the contemporary video game industry, with a particular focus on Games as a Service (GaaS), player engagement, and franchise longevity. As gaming continues to outpace film and television as the world’s most lucrative entertainment sector, publishers face growing pressure to sustain player communities, balance monetization with satisfaction, and extend intellectual property beyond the game itself. Part 1 examines the historical evolution of GaaS and game adaptations, situating SEGA’s legacy within today’s competitive landscape. Drawing on existing literature, industry reports, and market context, this section frames the central research questions and methodological approach that guide the study. By establishing the strategic challenges and opportunities facing live-service games and transmedia franchises, Part 1 lays the conceptual groundwork for the data-driven analysis and recommendations presented in Part 2.

How Games as a Service (GaaS) and Transmedia Strategies Sustain Video Game Franchises, Part I
Audience Engagement, Community Building, Policies
Hales Wilson
Murals: A Right to Protest and Preserve

This article explores the evolution of murals from ancient cave paintings to modern digital advocacy, highlighting their role as a vital tool for social resistance and cultural preservation. Through this lens, the public wall is revealed as a primary battleground for community identity and the right to protest in the 21st century.

Murals: A Right to Protest and Preserve
Laws & Legal, Artificial Intelligence, Public Policy, Extended Reality
Staff Researcher
Building Digital Guardrails: Toward a ...

As immersive technologies merge with AI-driven platforms, the boundaries between physical and digital life are rapidly dissolving - bringing new ethical, legal, and safety challenges into focus. This article examines the history of virtual harm in online and XR environments, from early text-based worlds to contemporary VR gaming and performance spaces, and argues for a privacy-first framework as the foundation for immersive safety. By analyzing legal gaps, platform accountability, and global policy efforts, it proposes digital “guardrails” that prioritize user dignity, data protection, and well-being as core design principles rather than afterthoughts.

Building Digital Guardrails: Toward a Privacy-First Framework for Immersive Safety
Blockchain, Digital Futures, Emerging Technology
Staff Researcher
Blockchains or Pawprints? Furries as a ...

This article explores the intersection of digital art, NFTs, and community governance through the lens of the furry fandom, a decentralized community of artists and enthusiasts. With the rise of NFTs, the ability to authenticate digital art and protect creators' work has become a critical concern. The study examines the resistance within the furry community to adopt NFTs, highlighting their reliance on community-based trust and governance over "trustless" blockchain systems. While some see potential in NFTs to safeguard intellectual property, many furries are skeptical, valuing social trust and ethics over commercialization. By studying the furry subculture's approach to art ownership and the challenges they face, the article poses larger questions about the future of NFTs and blockchain technology in creative spaces.

Blockchains or Pawprints? Furries as a case-study for understanding digital art provenance through NFTs and community governance

Technologies to Deepen and Grow Board Engagement

Technologies to Deepen and Grow Board Engagement

As arts organizations grapple with how to keep board members active and engaged, computer software and online technologies provide affordable means to address common governance challenges. From conflicting communication styles to assessment of board performance, these tools enable organizations of all sizes to improve the efficacy and efficiency of their board members, ultimately leading to increased engagement. AMTLab's newest publication, Computer Software and Online Technologies to Deepen and Grow Board Engagement, explores options for cloud-based document management, private social networking, integrated calendars, and online assessment, discussing how each can be used to resolve common issues facing boards of nonprofit arts organizations.

Data That Matters: Three Metrics to Grow Audience Relationships

Data That Matters: Three Metrics to Grow Audience Relationships

This article is cross-posted on the blog Analysis from TRG Arts.

With the arts and cultural annual conference season in full swing, we’re thrilled to see the priority that integrated patron loyalty now has in field dialogue. Prioritizing patronage can have a real impact—on year-over-year revenues, the volume of people attending and visiting arts and cultural organizations, organizational relevance, and more.

Performing Arts in the Wearable Age

Performing Arts in the Wearable Age

Wearable computing devices--including smartwatches, fitness and health tracking devices, and smartglasses--are projected to quadruple between now and 2018. What does their increased use mean for the performing arts? In their follow-up paper to "Through The Looking Glass: How Google Glass Will Change the Performing Arts," guest correspondents Thomas Rhodes and Samuel Allen explain wearable technology, provide an overview of current experiments with these devices among performing arts professionals, and discuss potential implications and challenges for the field.

New Publication Available: Social Media Management Software

New Publication Available: Social Media Management Software

With nearly 75% of all Americans using social media as of 2013, arts organizations of all sizes increasingly need to devise social media plans to determine which platforms to use and manage how they use them. But particularly among small arts organizations, where time, staffing, or other resources often fall short to effectively implement a social media plan, social media management software is particularly valuable.

Research Update: Technology Planning in Crowdsourced Exhibition

Research Update: Technology Planning in Crowdsourced Exhibition

Crowdsourcing was coined as a term in 2006 by Jeff Howe, editor of Wired Magazine, when he wrote, “Crowdsourcing represents the act of a company or institute taking a function once performed by employees and outsourcing it to an undefined network of people in the form of an open call. The crucial prerequisite is the use of the open call format and the large network of potential laborers.”

Use Technology to Help your Board Prioritize Private Philanthropy

Use Technology to Help your Board Prioritize Private Philanthropy

Many board members have difficulty understanding fundraising as a task in which they need to take part, believing that government grants and a capable development director will be sufficient. BronxWorks proves that with the right planning, convincing your Board to embrace philanthropy is possible.  Through this, Board members will be better positioned to play an active role in the fiscal health of the organization. 

Leveraging the Potential of Spatial Data in Artistic Programming

Leveraging the Potential of Spatial Data in Artistic Programming

Spatial data--information that relates to or identifies a specific geographic location--are frequently used by the corporate and public sectors to make management decisions, be it to improve shipping logistics or to create a marketing campaign. They can also be an asset for arts organizations seeking to maximize program impact. To better understand how spatial data analysis can help arts organizations, AMTLab presents Using Spatial Data to Advance Programming Missions, the latest white paper in its publication series on management.

Research Update: How to Do an Online Exhibition – Reviewing Award Criteria

Research Update: How to Do an Online Exhibition – Reviewing Award Criteria

If you have an idea about developing an online exhibition for your organization, but aren’t exactly sure how to get from point A to point B, looking at award evaluation criteria is a good place to start. Regardless of whether a project will be designed to win a certain prize, award evaluation criteria provide insight on what is considered by the field to be good practice, and shed insight on the narrative possibilities that are unique to the web.

Present vs. Future Return on CRM Selection: Lessons from the Pallas Theatre Collective

Present vs. Future Return on CRM Selection: Lessons from the Pallas Theatre Collective

When adopting a CRM system, especially as a young organization, it is often better to enter the process with a view that focuses less on the expectation of immediate business returns and more on making an investment in the future. Indeed, even the implementation of a user-friendly system like Artful.ly or PatronManager will likely involve significant staff-hours to clean data, transfer files, and train users. During a recent series of interviews conducted with nano-nonprofit administrators either on the verge or in the midst of CRM implementation, ensuring that this huge productivity drain is a one-time occurrence and not a recurring nightmare emerged as a common concern.

Increasing Inclusion Through Assistive Technology

Increasing Inclusion Through Assistive Technology

As performing arts organizations strive to increase diversity among their audiences, assistive technologies provide an opportunity to create more inclusive environments. But what is assistive technology? How do arts organizations currently use it? What is preventing organizations from providing assistive technologies in their venues? Where can organizations find support? Assistive Technology in Performing Arts Organizations, the latest paper in the AMTLab publication series, addresses these and other questions, and presents findings from a national survey of arts organizations on the use and management of assistive technologies.

What Are They Thinking? Using Online Assessment Tools to Improve Board Behavior

What Are They Thinking? Using Online Assessment Tools to Improve Board Behavior

Many arts organizations want to improve the functionality of their boards. But it is impossible to know areas of board strength and weakness if the experiences and efforts of board members are not understood. Whether feedback is gathered from an online assessment, an electronic survey, or both, the resulting information can be compiled and shared at both the next Board meeting and on the Board portal, potentially sparking a candid and engaged discussion about the optimum path toward improving board engagement, motivation, and performance.

Brave New World: Symphony Orchestras & Online Experiences

Brave New World: Symphony Orchestras & Online Experiences

Just what is an online audience? How does it differ from an offline audience? How does participating in the arts through electronic media and online channels relate to the attendance of arts events? Moreover, exactly what (and how) are symphony orchestras using these digital technologies to engage with individuals around the world?

Utilize Both Computer Software and Online Technology to Deepen and Grow Board Engagement

Utilize Both Computer Software and Online Technology to Deepen and Grow Board Engagement

It is difficult for board members to connect with the activities of the organization merely by attending quarterly meetings in sterile rooms. How can the passion that brought board members to the organization be reinforced if they are not directly (or even indirectly) experiencing the impact of the organization’s activities? Software specifically designed for board management is a growing market with the potential to address board engagement through unique and pervasive methods. 

Technology and Social Media in Crowdsourced Exhibition

Technology and Social Media in Crowdsourced Exhibition

In recent years, crowdsourcing has become an increasingly familiar concept implemented by multiple arts organizations to develop and engage audiences. Examples include “Click! A Crowd sourced Exhibition” (Brooklyn Museum, 2008), “Soapbox!” (Museum of Photographic Art, 2013), “Boston Loves Impressionism” (Museum of Fine Art Boston, 2014), and “People Choice”(Gibbes Museum of Art).