FROM A ROLE-PLAYING GAME (RPG) TO A BRAND: STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS FROM AN OVER-TWO-DECADE CASE

ABSTRACT

By offering a delightful experience, role-playing games (RPGs) have attracted many players. However, their development has been challenged by issues such as the emergence of online/mobile games and the proliferation of pirate copies. Therefore, RPG developers should consider different strategies to sustain the RPG series. We conducted a case study on “Chinese Paladin,” an RPG series that has been successful for over two decades in the Greater China region. We identified four strategies for an RPG to sustain itself and develop into a brand, namely (1) timeline-moving strategy, (2) crossover strategy, (3) sublimation strategy, and (4) cross-media strategy. We also highlighted some theoretical and potential implications related to RPG and information systems (IS) brand development.

KEYWORDS:

• Case study
• brand extensions
• netnography
• role-playing games (RPGs)

1. Introduction

In a role-playing game (RPG), players assume the roles of a fictional character within a narrative (Cover 2014) based on a set of rules and guidelines (Hitchens and Drachen 2009). Evolving into various forms in the last 30 years (Hitchens and Drachen 2009), RPGs have been very popular across different generations (Hsu, Kao, and Wu 2006). In 2018, Nintendo made revenue of USD1.3 billion from “Pokémon Sun and Moon” by extending the series into different contexts (SuperData 2019), which indicated huge business opportunities for game developers (Gibson 2017). RPG, as a game genre, has drawn the attention of researchers in Information Systems (IS) (e.g., see Kwak et al. 2022).

However, owing to the proliferation of the Internet (Civelek, Liu, and Marston 2018), RPGs’ development has been challenged by the rise of free online and mobile games (Shchiglik, Barnes, and Scornavacca 2016) and the proliferation of pirate copies (Tan et al. 2020; Wang et al. 2009), which decrease customers’ willingness to pay (Wang et al. 2009). Some developers tried to develop online and mobile versions of their RPGs, but various issues, such as hardware constraints, may distort players’ experience (Huang 2009).

Previous literature related to RPG was mainly from the perspective of gamification, which may have discussed the role of individual gaming elements in engaging players (e.g., Tychsen, Hitchens, and Brolund 2008). But despite the substantial business opportunities, there is a relative lack of literature related to business successes and strategies of RPG development.¹ Therefore, existing literature may not be inadequate for developers to formulate strategies and practices for sustaining or extending the RPG series to other contexts. This may lead to missed opportunities for prospective market players, repetitions of previous failures, hinder the potential business value of successful RPGs, or even cause the decline of RPGs as a game genre. Moreover, given the proliferation and increasing competitiveness of the e-commerce landscape, brand management in IS has become more critical.

We aim to address this literature gap through a case study of the Chinese Paladin (CP) series, one of the most successful RPG series in the Greater China region. By examining the strategies and actions of the developers (and other relevant stakeholders) across the various stages of CP’s development, as well as their consequences, we seek to derive a process model of RPG series development. We hope that our study can complement the existing literature and provide more nuanced guidelines for practitioners on managing and developing RPGs effectively. Accordingly, our research question (RQ) is: “How does an RPG develop into a brand?”

2. Literature review

2.1. Role-playing games (RPG)

Among varying definitions of RPG, most of them commonly emphasized the interaction between players and imaginary characters in a fictional environment (e.g., Stenros and Hakkarainen 2003), with a storyline dimension included (e.g., Tychsen 2006). During the past 30 years, RPGs have gained worldwide popularity by offering players a sense of fantasy and achievement (Hitchens and Drachen 2009). Researchers have studied various aspects of RPGs, such as their characteristics and players’ motivations (See Table 1).

Table 1. A selected list of characteristics and motivations for playing RPGs.

Variance Factors	Description
Players’ Motivations
Achievement	Within the RPG world, the desire to gain power, progress, and status will encourage the players to continuously optimise their characters and play the game (Yee 2006). These may be realised in the forms of, for example, getting in-game weapons or items (Au 2021).
Discovery and immersion	Enabled by a virtual environment (Cole and Griffiths 2007), RPG players may start new adventures, interact with in-game characters, and explore the game world. These will offer them an exclusive (Yee 2006) and immersing fantasy experience (Cole and Griffiths 2007; Tychsen, Hitchens, and Brolund 2008).
Fantasy	Within the game’s fantasy world, players may take charge of everything (Tychsen, Hitchens, and Brolund 2008) or do something they may not otherwise do in real life (Au 2021).
Role-playing	In RPGs, players enact characters who participate in a narrative collaboratively with other in-game characters for self-realisation (Li et al. 2018; Tychsen 2006).
Characteristics
Advancement	RPGs may offer a sense of power, progress, and accumulation of wealth or abilities. Upon advancing in the game, players may encounter various challenges, which engage players further (Lui and Hang Au 2017; Yee 2006).
Character-controlling	In RPGs, players typically control the characters through which they interact with the fictional world (Hitchens and Drachen 2009). The sense of control, in turn, will foster players’ engagement (Lui and Hang Au 2017).
Goals and Rules	Game rules describe the goal structure, objectives, and reasons for actions within the game world (Planells de la Maza 2013). The goals within an RPG will usually be the character’s survival until the end of the game, but there may also be other victory conditions (Zagal and Altizer 2014).
Mechanics	The game mechanics may include the game masters interacting with the players and managing the realisation of different in-game elements (Hitchens and Drachen 2009; Yee 2006).
Storylines in a fictional world	Storylines are core features of RPGs, usually pre-programmed (Tychsen 2006) and “story-telling with rules.” The fictional world created by the storyline will offer players different narrative experiences through in-game interactions (Planells de la Maza 2013).

In addition, given the attractiveness of RPGs, some passionate players may establish game communities (Thorhauge 2013), which may extend the gaming experience and help retain the players (Tseng, Huang, and Teng 2015). However, RPG developers are recently challenged by the emergence of pirate copies, which lowered players’ willingness to pay (C. C. Wang et al. 2009) and the competition from online and mobile games (Shchiglik, Barnes, and Scornavacca 2016). Some developers may convert their RPGs into online or mobile forms, but this may lead to issues in human-computer interfaces (Huang 2009), gamer loyalty (Setterstrom and Michael Pearson 2019), and other aspects. Also, the global, intensified competition, along with copycat competitors, has harmed the likelihood of successful launches of mobile games (Civelek, Liu, and Marston 2018). RPG developers should consider more diversified measures to leverage existing brands’ reputations, such as entering non-RPG markets. Taking the “Pokémon Sun and Moon” series again as an example, Nintendo has expanded the series’ presence in different formats beyond RPG. At its core, these may be regarded as extending the brand of the game series. In response to our RQ, we review previous literature related to brand extensions to construct a theoretical lens and “sensitising device” (Klein and Myers 1999, 75) that can help us make sense of the collected data, as well as to serve as building blocks that we can use to develop our theory (Pan and Tan 2011).

2.2. Brand extensions

When launching new categories of products/services, some companies may extend their established brands (Arslan and Korkut Altuna 2010). Known as brand extensions (Völckner and Sattler 2006), these practices may diversify risks (Liu et al. 2018), foster brands’ growth (Aaker 1990), or address brands’ decline (Tauber 1981). Table 2 lists multiple arguments related to various dimensions of brand extensions.

Table 2. A selected list of previous arguments related to different dimensions of brand extensions.

References	Arguments
Applications of brand extensions
Reddy, Holak, and Bhat (1994)	To maintain the branding benefits in new product introduction, the first and most frequently used growth option is to introduce variations of the initial product within the existing product category with the same brand name.
Völckner and Sattler (2006)	The success of brand extensions depends on the contextual fits between parent brands and brand extensions, marketing support, parent-brand conviction, parent-brand experience, high consumer innovativeness, and overall strength of the parent brands.
Arslan and Korkut Altuna (2010)	Among different growth and market-entering strategies, brand extension is one of the easiest, most popular, and least risky options, given the popularity of the existing brand may foster higher consumer acceptance.
Sattler et al. (2010)	Parent brand quality, fit between parent brand and extension product, perceived availability, perceived advertising support, and consumer experience in the extension category drive consumers’ attitude toward brand extension, which, in turn, drives brand extension price premium.
Aguirre-Rodriguez, Bóveda-Lambie, and Montoya (2014)	Brand extensions may be in the form of crossover, leveraging the parent brand name’s familiarity and reputation to enter new product categories while introducing distinct cultural representations to the parent brand’s image.
Keller (2014)	Realising brand extension requires a well-designed and well-implemented roadmap that explains the brand’s goals and routes.
Chiu et al. (2017)	In online service contexts, brand commitment may positively affect attitudes toward brand extensions. With perceived fits, attitude collectively leads to higher acceptance intention of brand extensions.
Liu et al. (2018)	Extending brands into new categories is an option for a diversification growth strategy. Among the three types of brand extensions (substitutable, complementary, and independent), substitutable and complementary brand extensions aim primarily at the same group of consumers of the original products, while independent brand extensions may aim at different consumer groups.
Shokri and Alavi (2019)	Consumer-brand identification (CBI) is positively related to consumers’ attitudes towards brand extensions, which may also be influenced by the tie and fit between the parent brand and extensions.
Qian and Messinger (2022)	Consumers’ positive responses towards brand extensions are primarily driven by the perceived fit between extension product and parent brand but may also be mediated by parent brand characteristics, consumers’ individual differences and other information.
Risk and Impact
Aaker (1990)	Using an established brand name (i.e., extending a brand into new contexts) may reduce new-product introduction risks and guarantee profits, but brand extensions may not always be successful.
Chen and Chen (2000)	Unsuccessful brand extensions may dilute the original brand and canalise its market share, regardless of the distance of the brand extensions.
Thorbjørnsen (2005)	While brand extension can be a highly successful marketing strategy for profiting from the established brand image, it may weaken the parent brand’s image and harm the market share.
Arslan and Korkut Altuna (2010)	Ill-conceived brand extension strategies may fail both the extended products/services and the parent brand, especially when the parent brand and the extensions do not fit each other.
Ashraf, Merunka, and Melewar (2013)	When companies launch new products, systematic support from existing consumers is not guaranteed. More than 80% of brand extensions fail to achieve market and financial goals.
Liu et al. (2018)	In B2C markets, having more substitute brand extensions will decrease the firm’s profit, while having more independent and complementary brand extensions will increase the firm’s overall profit.
Nguyen, Zhang, and Calantone (2018)	A complex and dynamic brand portfolio may be established after several brand extensions, but such portfolios may also pose a severe challenge to firms in protecting their brand identity and retaining loyal customers. On the other hand, maintaining a brand portfolio coherence may improve (re)purchase decisions with regard to brands in the portfolio.

As indicated in Table 2, with well-formulated strategies, market support, and parent-extensions contextual fits, brand extensions may be used to diversify risk and expand businesses. Occasionally, artistic works may be developed or extended as if a brand via sequels (Sood and Drèze 2006). When these works have gained popularity, the brand may be extended, passively or actively (e.g., Einwächter and Simon 2017; Huang 2013). Under the catalyzation of brand communities, these works may foster the formation of brand culture, which refers to the brand’s cultural influences and implications in various ways, such as through the construction of self, emotional relationships, story-telling, and ritualistic practices (Dong and Zhang 2016; Schembri and Latimer 2016). These communities may also enhance the member-brand relationship and accumulate the brand’s social capital (Schembri and Latimer 2016). Yet, brand extensions may fail due to brand dilution and market share canalization (Chen and Chen 2000; Thorbjørnsen 2005).

3. Research method

We adopted exploratory case research methods, which are robust at exploring “how” research questions and processes inseparable from their contexts. Given that the phenomena of RPG consist of both social and technological dimensions, it has become too complex to adopt an objective research approach (Gable 1994). Instead, a case study approach has become more appropriate (Klein and Myers 1999).

Given existing literature did not study in-depth how business opportunities of RPG may be utilized, we believe a case study that goes deeply within a single RPG series will be suitable for identifying different possibilities. In response to our RQ, we should select a highly successful RPG series to build our theories based on proven, if not the best, practices (Pan and Tan 2011). Also, the developers of the selected series should have adopted a diversified range of strategies so that we may reveal more possible RPG extension options. We chose “Chinese Paladin” (CP) as our study target based on these criteria. Initially launched by Softstar in 1991, the CP series has been a tremendous commercial success in the Greater China region. These achievements will make our selection fulfill the first criteria. Additionally, different forms of commercial and derivative works based on the original series were developed by Softstar, its collaborators, and fans. These indicated a wide range of strategies adopted by Softstar, which made the series fulfill our second case selection criteria.

3.1. Data collection

We collected data from different sources (such as online forums, online news articles, and interview videos, See Appendix A) to include different stakeholders’ voices. These included various players and 20 significant informants, including the senior management of Softstar, various development team members of the series, representatives of Softstar’s collaborators for the series, and actors/actresses who starred in the CP-themed TV drama (See Appendix B). This provided a deeper understanding of the phenomenon under study, offered richer details to interpret the findings (Gable 1994), avoided possible biases, triangulated data, and ensured the case representativeness (Pan and Tan 2011). Including online forum data may avoid the weaknesses of retrospective recall (Glick et al. 1990), as well as the potential issues of social-desirability bias, post-hoc rationalization, and low external validity (Massis and Kotlar 2014).

Sources’ validity was evaluated before including them in data analysis (Shravanthi and Lavanya 2012). For example, upon seeing any articles in online forums that appeared to have originated from other sources, we sought the original and compared the respective posts at the online forums to maintain the data integrity. Also, we adopted the criteria for external criticism proposed by Porra, Hirschheim, and Parks (2014) for evaluating data credibility.

When handling the data sources from online forums (e.g., internet users’ comments), we adopted practices of netnography (see, e.g., Kozinets 2010). Netnography is a written account resulting from studying the cultures and communities that emerge from Internet-based communications, where both the fieldwork and the textual interpretation are methodologically informed by the traditions and techniques of cultural anthropology. It can help discover profound insights into less addressed phenomena and may be used with qualitative methods (Kozinets 2010). Netnography also retrieves informants’ thoughts without inhibition (Rageh, Melewar, and Woodside 2013) or considering researchers’ expectations, perceptions, or existence (Langer, Beckman, and Elliott 2005). Thus, it fits for understanding customers’ perspectives (Heinonen and Medberg 2018). We may also refer to informants’ online messages around major events instead of asking them to recall their potentially diminished memory.

3.2. Data analysis

We collected and analyzed the data concurrently to utilize the flexibility of the case research method (Eisenhardt 1989). Our literature review provided a set of the initial theoretical lens (See Appendix C). We coded the data using a mix of open, axial, and selective coding (Strauss and Corbin 1998). Open coding was used to identify new and validate existing theoretical dimensions, and axial coding was used to identify new and validate existing themes aligned with those dimensions. Selective coding was used to assign the findings into conceptual categories and map the categories onto the set of dimensions or themes (Gioia, Corley, and Hamilton 2013). Beyond coding data, we used visual maps to document the emergent theory in diagrams and relationships of various constructs (e.g., the timeline of game stories, see Appendix D and the relationships between different major in-game characters, see Appendix F), while we used different narratives to construct the stories that represented our understanding of what happened (Langley 1999). We continued utilizing the visual maps and narratives to build the emergent theory until we reached the point of theoretical saturation (Glaser and Strauss 1967), which means the induced model has a comprehensible account for the data, and we no longer gained new insights (Eisenhardt 1989). We also cross-referenced multiple sources to ensure data consistency and comprehensiveness of the research findings (Klein and Myers 1999).

Last but not least, during the data coding processes, we adopted some evaluation practices of qualitative intercoder reliability recommended by O’Connor and Joffe (2020). For example, two of our authors, who have been players in the CP series, were the main coders who carried out the coding processes independently. At the beginning of the coding process, we held pilot testing, which helped us identify potential difficulties in coding. Toward the data analysis completion, we considered the inconsistencies between the coding efforts among us, with the third author mediating these inconsistencies. We deliberated to reach a consensus on coding frame revision before finalizing our findings and implications.

4. Case description

Chinese Paladin (CP) is a series of game/media franchises developed by Softstar, a game developer based in Taipei, and its subsidiaries in Mainland China. Launched in 1995, the first installment of the series achieved substantial business success. Setting the game context in a supernatural fictional world of ancient China, the main characters are motivated by a passion for justice and may encounter various characters along their journey. The success of CP 1 enabled the development of various game prequels and sequels and the inclusion of CP elements or stories in other games, stage shows, and TV dramas. In 2015, CP 6 was awarded the gold award for domestic computer games by Game Star in Taiwan. These further developments and successes have made CP both a game series and a distinctive brand that engaged many players. Zhuang-xian Yao, the series’ founder, is occasionally known as “the father of Chinese Paladin.” Appendix D shows a brief timeline that illustrates the year of release of different official works, while Appendix E includes a list of sales statistics of various game prequels and sequels of the CP series.

5. Findings

5.1. Initial success of the first generation

Launched in 1995, CP 1 offered players a unique and fantasy experience. The game story was around the adventures of Xiao-Yao Li, Ling-er Zhao, and Lin Yue-Ru to defeat the devil and maintain world peace. An Internet user on Zhifu.com shared his unforgettable gaming experience after 24 years,

It had never been seen. Finally, there was an RPG with a whole world that fits our imagination of stories of angels and heroic characters … …It could allow us to immerse into the game.

Contributed by the engaging stories (Planells de la Maza 2013), heroic characters (Yee 2006), and discovery experience (Cole and Griffiths 2007), CP 1 was highly appreciated, which might be reflected by the multiple awards that it received. And yet, while the initial success suggested the possibility of further development (Völckner and Sattler 2006), the rise of the Internet has challenged RPG developers (Wang et al. 2009) and forced them to formulate various strategies to survive the game.

From the case study findings, we extricated four strategies (See Figure 1) of Softstar for extending CP into different contexts and developing CP into their valuable brand and asset (Aaker 1990). When the expected outcome is another digital game (RPG or other genres), implementing these strategies may involve realizing different gaming elements and characteristics (shown in Table 2).

Figure 1. A theoretical model on the development of RPG into different facets and the development of game culture.

When the RPG brand grows, both the size and diversity of players also increase. Yao, the father of CP, explained the need to address players’ diversity in an interview when CP 5 was released,

Now we have millions of players. We need to grab the players tightly and satisfy their needs. We need to be like a dual-sided hotpot to accommodate different tastes.

All extensions must fit the original game to some extent (culturally fitting to the ancient China context adopted by CP1 in our case, see Aguirre-Rodriguez, Bóveda-Lambie, and Montoya 2014; Arslan and Korkut Altuna 2010) and may offer opportunities for repetition of playing the game series or consuming the relevant products/services. In RPG contexts, these repetitions may create addiction and loyalty to the RPG series, which is vital given loyalty in games can be a trendy issue (Setterstrom and Michael Pearson 2019).

5.2. Timeline-moving strategy

Upon adopting a timeline-moving strategy, RPG developers develop prequels/sequels by extending the fictional timeline (Hitchens and Drachen 2009) established in earlier generations, launching variations of the initial product within the same category (i.e., RPG, see Reddy, Holak, and Bhat 1994). Enabled by significant popularity and previous successes, this strategy is of the utmost vital for the long-term development of the RPG into a brand (Aaker 1990).

In 2003, Softstar released CP 2, the second generation of the series. Setting eight years after the ending of the story of CP 1, the story of CP 2 was mainly related to the journey of Xiao-Hu Wang, who once lived in the same village as Xiao-Yao Li and inherited Li’s spirit of justice. In CP3, developers moved backwards along the storyline, setting the story 50 years before the story of CP 1 and was mainly around Zi-Xuan, the grandparent of Ling-er Zhao (See Appendix F for the relationships between some of the main characters in the stories). Moving along the timeline will build a more comprehensive view of the world, which enhances their discovery experience, immersion experience (Planells de la Maza 2013), and gaming motivation (Tychsen, Hitchens, and Brolund 2008). Indeed, the stories in the prequels/sequels were the most important part for many players and Softstar members (Planells de la Maza 2013). The project producer of CP in Softstar (Beijing) revealed in an interview how loyal players emphasized the game stories.

When talking about Chinese Paladin, the first response for the players is related to the stories. Many old players, upon learning about the new RPG of the Chinese Paladin series, were mostly concerned about the story and charismatic characters before they talked about the music, fight mechanism, or other issues.

Beyond the stories, developers should consider other desired gaming elements (Tychsen, Hitchens, and Brolund 2008) and be innovative in technologies, audio/visual effects, and game mechanics (Yee 2006) when developing sequels. These will improve the perceived brand innovativeness and enhance consumers’ attitudes and behavioral intentions (Boisvert, Ashill, and O’Cass 2011). Regarding the technological dimension, the general manager of Softstar (Shanghai) could recall the dilemma between choosing 2D and 3D when developing CP 3. In an interview, he explained his decision, which was endorsed by welcoming market responses within one year after the release of CP 3.

At that time, we had to decide, should we retain the 2D appearance or advance to 3D? I insisted that 3D is the future. We must develop towards 3D… it was a huge challenge.

Introducing sequels may also be a remedy option to secure the series’ reputation. In mid-2011, many players were disappointed by CP 5, given its monotonous maps and stories, lack of creativity, and unimpressive theme music. Sensing a crisis, Softstar developed and launched a prelude of CP 5 in early 2013. The efforts of prelude development were appreciated and thus secured the series’ fame. In Zhihu.com, a player highlighted the impressive story and sincerity of Softstar:

From different aspects, the quality of the prelude of Chinese Paladin 5 is much better. The story is touching, and the character settings are outstanding. It may not bring me to surprise like the even earlier generations … . But I can sense the sincerity of the development team.

The game mechanics within the series have also been evolving (Yee 2006). In CP 2, the game introduced the “Yuling” system. Players may convert some major enemies into their surrenders, which would support the players in the future. Besides, in CP 3, a price negotiation mechanism was introduced, which matched the background of one of the main characters working in a pawnshop.

Playing the subsequent sequels may be understood as a repetition of playing the same series, which would develop their loyalty (Teng 2013) and habits of sticking to the series (Marangunić and Granić 2015). In Zhihu.com, a user shared his insights about the role of habits,

For many old customers like me, the reason for buying the new sequel is no longer related to fun, but rather it is related to the support for so many years. It has just become a habit.

The primary outcome is the successful prequels/sequels of the RPG. For example, official statistics indicated that 720,000 copies were sold in Mainland China within one week after CP 6 had been released. These prequels/sequels may be considered the RPG brand’s flagship products, as they are least distanced from the original game in terms of product nature and the most essential extensions for paving the foundation of the entire series.

5.3. Crossover strategy

To extend the exposure of the RPG, developers may adopt a crossover strategy that integrates its elements into games outside the series as a crossover. Among different strategies, this strategy is a low-cost, low-risk option because the appearance of the parent RPG elements in another game may incur lower marginal costs given the existence of the game development plan. These element appearances may also remind the players about the RPG. However, the outcome is a fairly distanced and low-relevance extension, given the product nature difference (Aaker 1990). Brand extension risks, such as the dilution effect (Chen and Chen 2000), as well as the benefits, are limited.

In our case, Softstar made a crossover between CP and the Richman series, another successful game series. In 2001, they launched an expansion pack of Richman 4, which offered four new maps, including a CP-themed map. With many arenas named following the CP context, this map informed players more about CP or recalled their memories of CP (Keller 1993).

Another crossover example was “Paladin Inn,”² a business simulation game developed by Softstar. Players become Xiao-Yao Li, operating an inn together with various characters of CP 1. Similar to the case of Richman 4, many in-game items and places were named, aligning with CP 1 and fitting the original game culturally (Aguirre-Rodriguez, Bóveda-Lambie, and Montoya 2014; Shokri and Alavi 2019). Players may develop romantic relationships with their preferred female characters, explore the maps to obtain various items, and encounter various challenges. Players’ comments in different online portals indicated their strong favor for the game, given its innovativeness and triggers on attachment between the players and CP 1 (Park et al. 2010).

Chinese Paladin 1 has left so much sadness, while Paladin Inn has offered us a good dream. All the people are here, and there is no disheartening fate.

In terms of game nature, it was a relatively early business simulation game. … Creativity and nature are where the game is distinctive.

As a result, fans’ familiarity, exposure, and public awareness of the RPG brand are increased. The strategy may help recall players’ pleasant experiences with the brand (Keller 1993), enhance their purchase likelihood (Lavidge and Steiner 1961), and recruit future players from other contexts.

5.4. Sublimation strategy

When technology advances, newer games may include more polished effects not previously supported. Developers may, therefore, re-make old RPGs based on their original stories. We name it “sublimation strategy” as the same story is presented more freshly, possibly including enhanced audio/visual presentation and translation to newer Operating Systems (OS) (Au 2021). For example, Softstar re-made CP 1 in 2005 with improved animations and resolution for enhanced player engagement (Wohlgemuth 2013) and adoption to Windows XP, the latest OS at that time.

Stories may be slightly altered in these re-makes. For example, the re-make of CP1 in 2005 included alternative story endings in response to the diversified opinions about the original one. The ending that players encountered would depend on their earlier in-game choices, which addressed the inflexibility issues of the storylines of the original CP1 (Tychsen 2006), and polished the classics with a sense of freshness.

Developers may also improve the game in terms of other gaming elements. For example, in the earliest version of CP1, descriptions of in-game items were not available in the interface. This may be understood as a lack of in-game support (Planells de la Maza 2013), which was addressed in its re-makes (See Appendix G for an example of comparison).

Depending on the existing capabilities, a sublimation strategy may be implemented by collaborating with or authorizing some third parties (Arslan and Korkut Altuna 2010). For example, when re-making CP 4 with Virtual Reality (VR), Softstar worked with Iqiyi, who were stronger in VR development. This created a synergetic effect for both brand owners and collaborating parties by utilizing each other’s strengths and capabilities (Tauber 1981). In the VR remake of CP4, players could hold the “sword” to kill their enemies. This could enhance the sense of heroism and achievement (Hsu, Kao, and Wu 2006) and thus engage the players.

Yet, when adopting advanced technologies, players’ feedback and hardware capabilities should be considered (Arsenault 2009). Similar to timeline-moving strategies, some players are engaged more by the stories than by advanced technologies (Wohlgemuth 2013). For the VR remake of CP 4, some initial feedback included criticisms for not considering the stories and VR facilities’ cost.

The VR facilities are too expensive!

Not focusing on the story but the useless VR, I don’t what they are thinking.

The primary outcome of this strategy is the remakes of earlier generations of the RPG series, possibly with more polished audio/visual effects, minor alternation on the storyline, and adoption to newer OS or platforms. It may attract both new and old players to re-visit the classic stories and strengthen the emotional ties between the game series and the players.

5.5. Cross-media strategy

Significant players’ immersion (Völckner and Sattler 2006), as well as complete and attractive storylines (Hitchens and Drachen 2009), may enable RPG’s extension to other media formats. We name this strategy the cross-media strategy, given the primary outcome is in an alternative media format. The distinctiveness of this strategy is the relative independence of the extension, which may target alternative customer groups (Liu et al. 2018). In our case, the CP series has been extended to TV dramas, stage shows, and original soundtracks. Yao highlighted the role of TV drama in promoting the game to a newer audience.

TV Drama is a very good way to promote. It can expand the popularity of the series of Chinese Paladin from core fans to a larger audience. Also, there will be more people knowing about the story of Chinese Paladin.

This strategy may also create a new revenue source for RPG developers (Chen and Chen 2000), as some customers may pay for the TV and movies developed based on the RPG series but not the games themselves (Setterstrom and Michael Pearson 2019). Yet, if RPG developers have no production capabilities beyond computer games, they should choose capable collaborators (Völckner et al. 2010). In an interview, Yao explained further,

Before copyright authorisation, we will assess the development capabilities of our collaborators via, for example, their artwork capabilities and previous works. Usually, the other side is quite emphasising the project with us, given there have been many previous works of CP.

For other media production companies, using existing stories of successful RPGs will save the effort of creating stories, gain higher awareness on top of actors’ fame, and reduce the efforts for advertising (Aaker 1990), given that RPG fans will pay significant attention to the series. These advantages, in turn, may reduce the risk of failure and engage more capital support (Tauber 1981). A loyal CP player explained players’ expectations of the TV drama and fans’ role in boosting the overall TV drama popularity on Bilibili.com.

Audiences who previously played the game will certainly expect Chinese Paladin 1 TV drama prior to the broadcasting. The fans of the game will heavily discuss. Therefore, the TV drama will have obtained significant popularity before broadcasting, and the size of the audience will also be larger.

In our case, the success of CP 1 attracted the attention of Tongren Media, a media production company in Mainland China, to film a TV drama based on the story of CP 1.

In addition to capable collaborators, developers should ensure actors’ efforts to understand the characters and stories, possibly by trying the original game. Crystal Liu, who starred in the CP 1 TV drama as Ling-er Zhao, revealed how she prepared in a newspaper interview.

Before filming TV Drama, I had not played the game. Yet, after receiving the script, I tried the game, and I started liking it. Especially, how Ling-er yearned for her ideal life and how she was persistent for her love, it was touching for me.

As indicated by the viewership, the TV drama was a huge success in 2005. A news article in July 2005 reported the high viewership in different TV channels:

Earlier this year, Chinese Paladin 1 was broadcast in both Mainland and Taiwan. It was highly sought-after among the game fans. Especially in Taiwan CTV, the viewership reached a point of 2.77 on the first broadcasting day. With hundreds of TV channels in Taiwan, having a point higher than one is already good … In some Mainland cities, many TV stations were requested to re-play the TV drama.

Previous brand extension successes may motivate future brand extension projects. For example, the achievements of CP 1 TV drama motivated the further development of TV drama based on the same series. In 2008 and 2015, TV drama productions based on CP 3 and CP 5 began, respectively. The chief director of the CP 3 TV Drama revealed their motivations for adopting the CP 3 story.

At first, we found it (Chinese Paladin 1) an interesting story, and thus we adopted it, and the influence was significant. Therefore, we planned to film Chinese Paladin 3.

These extensions’ successes may require support from original developers. In our case, Softstar’s support might be reflected in Yao’s blogs and his involvement in some of the extensions. In 2015, Softstar collaborated with Youku (an online video streaming platform) for a TV drama called “Paladin Inn,” which adopted the non-story elements of CP 1. Yao starred in its prelude and acted as one of the chief producers.

Nevertheless, developers should carefully consider the issues of potential distortion from fans’ perspectives (G. Huang 2013). In 2018, when a development plan for CP 4 TV Drama was announced, many fans responded to the official microblog (Weibo) of the TV drama, asking for serious costume design and careful actor selection in order not to distort their beloved classic.

Before finalising the cast arrangement, please show the photos of actors with customs on Weibo and let the original game players keep the gate. Do not let the TV drama be destroyed.

Please find professional actors. Filming the game into drama is relevant to the acting, not to see a group of people cosplaying in ancient costumes.

Some players may perceive themselves as having deep conviction and knowledge of what is central to the brand (Swaminathan, Fox, and Reddy 2001). They may view potential distortions of the brand differently from developers. Therefore, developers may take the character and background elements of the RPG series without quoting the stories as a distanced brand extension approach (Aaker 2012). With no relationship with the original RPG stories, the outcomes will be less likely to be considered distortions of the originals since players will expect something different from what they know (Keller and Sood 2003). Take the “Paladin Inn” TV drama as an example; it was only based on the characters and elements of various generations of the RPG, but its story was entirely new.

The cross-media strategy may be used concurrently with other strategies. In our case, in response to the release of the CP 3 TV drama, Softstar released a re-make of the CP 3 game with a focus on supporting newer operating systems in response to the players’ needs and upgrades of hardware (sublimation strategy).

As a result, RPGs are more exposed in various forms, which may build a more distinctive brand image for the RPG (Aguirre-Rodriguez, Bóveda-Lambie, and Montoya 2014). Some TV drama audiences may become future players of the RPG series, while media production companies may benefit by using a story with proven attractiveness and having a more extensive audience base from the RPG players.

5.6. Formation and flourishing of unique game culture and fans community

With various successful extensions, the RPG series will attract more fans. The repetition of immersion into the RPG context may foster players’ loyalty (Teng 2013). On the grounds of players’ loyalty, emotional ties with the game, and insights regarding the game stories, some players may create derivative works and form some RPG brand communities (Schembri and Latimer 2016), which may be regarded as various forms of players’ involvement. These may also support the formation of a unique game culture, retain the players (Tseng, Huang, and Teng 2015), and reinforce players’ loyalty (Srinivasan, Anderson, and Ponnavolu 2002), which echoed previous literature about consumers’ involvement in the products and services (Dong and Zhang 2016).

In our case, some loyal players have established or participated in different CP-themed online communities and websites (Schembri and Latimer 2016), possibly enabled by their emotional ties and attachment to the game. In the communities, these players would share their knowledge, unique stories, playing strategies, and other insights related to the game (Woodside, Sood, and Miller 2008). In turn, these communities become a venue for players’ symbolic construction of the self (Schembri and Latimer 2016) and developers’ understanding of players’ feedback.

The emotional ties can be to both the RPG series and other community members (Schembri and Latimer 2016). In “PAL Union,” one of the most distinctive CP online communities, some members co-created their own theme song. Lyrics echoed CP stories and the ties among them.

Friends are made online. But upon rubbing the shoulders among so many people, how far can the relationship last?

In front of the thorny road, three people promise to be together forever.

Coming with a great passion, these communities may support different promotional activities. In a 20th-anniversary interview video, the general manager of Changyou.com (the distributor of the RPG in Mainland China) revealed how he was impressed by such passion.

I could remember in October 2012. We had a 17^th-anniversary event at Luwen Sports Stadium in Shanghai. We expected that, at most, there would be 2,000 participants. But it exceeded our expectations. We had more than 3,400 participants. They are coming from different places … . many parents brought their kids to Shanghai from distant places.

Beyond online communities, some fans may utilize various materials of the RPG to create derivative works to express their passion. In 2009, the CP3 TV drama was broadcast with a theme song called “The love for every life.” Some fans adopted some clips of the TV drama to make alternative MVs of the song (Au 2021), while comments over these MVs suggested that the fans-made ones were even more engaging (See Table 3 for selected comments on both MVs).

Table 3. A selected list of comments on the fan-made MV and official MV of the theme song of “Chinese Paladin 3” TV drama.

Comments on the fan-made MV	Comments on the official MV
“When I was watching it, I was still a primary school student. Now, I have graduated from high school. When I listened to the song, I just recalled my memory.” “The lyrics of the song highly matched with the stories. When the screenshots were there, the lyrics were matching … … If you have watched this TV drama and you are aware of that, you will find it more touching.”	“The MV should have an artistic conception relevant to the song. This song should match Chinese Paladin 3. But except for the part about running, it looks like it’s talking about reincarnation. The other parts (of the MV) just don’t match the lyrics.” “It is just better to use directly the (TV Drama screenshot) for the MV of CP.”

With higher popularity and a stronger culture, the brand’s community may be extended to other nonspecific online platforms and may keep the public updated about the series. Some fans may promote the RPG series outside the brand community, which may be considered a form of evangelism effect (Hsu 2019). The community may also address the weaknesses of RPGs in social elements, which are, on the contrary, the strength of the massively multiplayer online games (MMOG) (Setterstrom and Michael Pearson 2019). These communities may also enhance the social ties between players in different forms (e.g., organizing competitions based on CP 1, see Appendix H) and lower their likelihood of quitting the series (Weber 2020).

Yet, some companies may try to exploit strong RPG brands, harming brand owners’ benefits (Wang et al. 2009). Given the popularity of the CP series, a company called Fuzhou Cloud launched a mobile game called “The one from the Chinese Paladin.” Obtaining no authorization, they falsely claimed the inclusion of undisclosed stories and the involvement of the original CP development team in their game. This triggered Softstar’s legal actions and Yao’s call for fans’ support on Weibo.

As the establisher and maintainer of the game, it is the most disheartening that some scammers are embezzling the name of the game to mislead the players …. We recently found out a mobile game that has embezzled Chinese Paladin’s name and used some of our confidential updates for fraudulent promotions. It is not only infringing the legal rights of the Chinese Paladin series but also the rights of portraits for many famous actors.

On the grounds of the strong game culture, many long-term players supported Yao’s call-for-actions by sharing his Weibo post and stating their boycott of the copycat.

Support Chinese Paladin, Oppose copycat, Oppose pirate copies!

Damn it. Nowadays, some cunning businesses don’t care about their fame and reputation. Chinese Paladin, Cheers!

Yao and the fans’ joint effort forced Fuzhou Cloud to apologize to Softstar openly and rename their game. To migrate the potential harms due to others’ unauthorized use of the brand, RPG developers may need to launch some of the potential extensions early despite their low profitability or short lifespan (Wang et al. 2009), such as online and mobile games variants in our case. Yao described them as accompanied by the release of new sequels in an interview,

It takes two to three years to develop a single-player game. For the time between each sequel, players may spend their time on our mobile games so that the Chinese Paladin will be with you every day.

As a result, the game culture may increase the exposure and sustainability of the series. Some players may become fans of the RPG series who will support various RPG extensions and promote or protect the RPG brand in external contexts (Schau, Muñiz, and Arnould 2009).

6. Theoretical implications for RPG development

Given the importance of established plans for extending brands (Ashraf, Merunka, and Melewar 2013), our first theoretical implication for RPG is the four development strategies of building RPG into a brand, namely timeline-moving strategy, crossover strategy, sublimation strategy, and cross-media strategy. When launching online and mobile variants of RPGs alone may not be adequate given their short lifespan (Au 2021), a diversified range of strategies will facilitate addressing players’ differences in emphasis on gaming elements, IS capabilities, and other needs. As a result, these strategies may drive the development of different RPG extensions, which may match the preference types of customers. In turn, brand equity and customer loyalty are enhanced (Xu, Thong, and Venkatesh 2014). Leading to different brand extensions (e.g., prequels/sequels, TV dramas, non-RPG games, and re-make of some classics of the series), these strategies may foster the RPG brand culture (Tychsen 2006) and players’ engagement, which the brand communities may catalyze by allowing players to express their emotional experience in the RPG and various extension outcomes (Schembri and Latimer 2016). Among different strategies, an essential prerequisite of developing RPG into a brand is the attractive storyline and the immersion experience offered by RPG, which may promote brand engagement and, thus, brand equity (Xi and Hamari 2019). Adopting a crossover strategy by including the artwork elements of the RPG into another context may serve for testing the responses or gathering feedback for refinement before larger-scale actions (e.g., Characters’ appearance in Richman 4), as it will incur lower marginal costs and risks (Erevelles et al. 2008). In addition, the outcomes of the sublimation strategy and timeline strategy often involve another new digital game, where the inclusion of different gaming elements is still required, like how it is required to the RPG parent despite slight variance with respect to target users. Depending on the nature of extensions, external collaborators may be involved in implementing these strategies (e.g., cross-media strategy for producing TV drama series based on the RPG stories). With the avoidance of cannibalization (Liu et al. 2018), different strategies may be used concurrently as they may echo each other. As a result of these strategies, the RPG series can become a successful brand. In response to copyright infringers who tried to take advantage of the brand (Wang et al. 2009), brand owners may defend by taking legal actions and utilizing fans on the ground of solid game culture (e.g., Yao’s actions and fans’ response toward Fuzhou Cloud).

Our second theoretical implication for RPG is related to the gaming elements and critical success factors (CSFs) in developing RPG series, based on previous RPG literature around gaming elements. According to Rockart (1979), CSF approaches are effective in helping executives define their significant needs in information management contexts. In RPG development contexts, we refer CSFs as the factors that contribute to the business successes of the RPG series, which are related but not necessarily equivalent to gaming elements. As a result, the development strategies of the RPG series are highly oriented to realizing different CSFs. Among different CSFs, first, engaging storylines and unique game mechanisms are vital gaming elements for engaging RPG players and establishing the ground for future brand extensions (e.g., prequels/sequels and TV dramas), collectively forming the RPG brand. An attractive storyline may be developed in relation to games’ character-controlling and decision-making mechanisms (e.g., trading negotiation system in CP 3) and thus offer more personalized endings (e.g., alternative endings in the remake of CP 1, based on players’ in-game choices). Being offered a more unique and immersed experience, players are more engaged (Tychsen 2006; Yee 2006). In turn, the stories of CP 1 and CP 3 were later adopted and filmed as TV dramas. Second, we identified players’ emotional ties as a CSF of RPG series development, possibly established by storylines and other gaming elements. In our case, the importance of storylines is highlighted by some senior development team members and players. Emotional ties, in turn, may enhance players’ loyalty and foster the formation of player communities, and thus, a strong culture of RPG. Loyal players may help RPG developers defend in response to copyright-infringement incidents by speaking up and boycotting infringers (e.g., CP fans boycott Fuzhou Cloud in response to its copyright infringement). This echoes the arguments of Schau, Muñiz, and Arnould (2009) about the value of customer communities to the brand.

Third, we highlighted the consideration of potential players’ differences in IS capabilities and gaming elements emphasis as another CSF of RPG business successes. Along with technological advancement, newer technologies (e.g., 3D design) may be included in newer prequels/sequels or re-made previous generations of the RPG series. These may enhance audio/visual effects and thus players’ overall experience (e.g., the remake of CP 1 and the VR-remade of CP4). Yet, some players may emphasize the game mechanisms or storylines instead of polished effects (Wohlgemuth 2013). In our case, the original version of CP 1 remains popular among some players after decades despite its simple audio/visual effects. On the other hand, in response to the VR remake of CP4, some players criticized Softstar’s ignorance of storylines and players’ IS capabilities. Players’ differences in gaming elements emphasis and personal innovativeness (Meade and Rabelo 2004) collectively drive the need to adopt multiple strategies (e.g., sublimation strategy for effects-oriented players, timeline-moving strategy for storyline-oriented players).

7. Theoretical implications for brand management

Our theoretical implications in brand management theories are primarily related to contextualizing them in RPG in response to calls on theories validations in diversified contexts (e.g., Martinez, Polo, and de Chernatony 2008; Schembri and Latimer 2016). Assuming digital games (including RPG) are often considered hedonic IS products (see e.g., Au and Ho 2021; Kwak et al. 2022), we argue that our arguments may also apply to broader IS brand management. In addition, it is essential to explore these gaps given many technological firms are developing diversified software/services under the same brand name (e.g., Gmail and Hangout, under the common brand of Google, see Choi, Chengalur-Smith, and Nevo 2015)

First, we argued that RPG brands are hedonic in nature and are typically more elastic than other brands as they may be extended into different forms significantly distanced from the parent brand (Monga and Roedder John 2010). On the other hand, both the parent and extensions of functional-based brands tend to serve overlapping groups of users. For example, extensions (software) of the Adobe Photoshop brands commonly serve for image processing purposes despite micro-level feature variances. Nevertheless, the successes of all these RPG brand extensions require a stronger culture fit (Chiu et al. 2017) and players’ emotional ties to the brand, compared with those of non-hedonic brands.

Second, we identify how users’ co-creation and community involvement can impact IS brand development. More specifically, via the Internet, users may co-create the brand with owners actively yet unconsciously (Singh and Sonnenburg 2012) by, for example, forming brand communities and promoting the brand in external contexts (Hsu 2019). These communities may provide more information about the brand (e.g., the relationship between characters in the RPG stories) and thus enhance users’ satisfaction, loyalty (Cheng, Wu, and Chen 2020) and positive attitude toward brand extensions (Wang, Mei Cao, and Park 2019). Attached users may demonstrate some community citizenship behaviors, such as mutual support, experience sharing (e.g., difficulties encountered in the RPG), derivative works co-creation, and voluntary brand protection (e.g., defending against copyright infringement of authorized developers). Compared with other types of brands (Dong and Zhang 2016; see; Choi, Chengalur-Smith, and Nevo 2015), community involvement activities are more common for RPG brands, which may fortify brand equity (Xi and Hamari 2019) and thus defend against the impact of brand extension failures (Keller and Sood 2003). In our case, despite the disappointment from CP 5, the loyal players offered Softstar a chance, given the substantial brand equity they co-created. The chance to rescue the series was utilized by launching a prequel of CP 5. This echoes previous arguments about user co-creation and brand community involvement in overall brand development (e.g., see Dong and Zhang 2016). Beyond the context of RPG, similar brand communities are also seen in different contexts. For example, Both Microsoft³ and Apple⁴ have established their official communities to support their developers as well as users. In addition, some unofficial forums are established by voluntary users, such as elevenforum.com and surfaceforums.net, which are dedicated to Windows 11 and Surface laptops, respectively. Similar to the case of CP, community citizenship behaviors, in forms of technical peer support, experience sharing, and information updates, are often seen in these forums.

Third, while previous arguments suggested that attaching an established brand name to a new product may reduce the risk from the perception of users (Aaker 1990) and the brand owners (Srivastava and Sharma 2012), conflicting perceptions or evaluations on the risk of brand co-creation, proposed brand extensions and other brand development actions may exist between users and developers. In our case, despite the overall positive feedback of the TV drama, some players expressed concerns about potential damages and distortions on the original brand. This echoes the argument of Swaminathan, Fox, and Reddy (2001) about the deep convictions of loyal users regarding brands’ core values. The proposed extensions may sound less risky for brand owners but, on the contrary, riskier for users. In some IS contexts, viewpoints differences between users and brand owners regarding brand risks and co-creations may also exist. For example, in Microsoft 365, the “productivity score” feature was introduced, initially to create IT administrators’ insights about information systems usage, but was criticized by users as workplace surveillance (Hern 2020).

We also made theoretical implications related to parent-extension relationships. More specifically, the dilution effects of brand extensions (Arslan and Korkut Altuna 2010) may be mediated by (1) brand owners’ echoes and (2) brand communities and culture. For owners’ echoes in our case, when the CP 1 TV drama was released, Softstar launched a remake of CP 1 with enhanced graphical effects. Both the remakes and TV dramas were highly successful. For brand communities and culture, users’ involvement in various forms, such as derivative works, will foster users’ attachment, recognition (Schembri and Latimer 2016; Shokri and Alavi 2019), and a supportive attitude toward various extensions. In our case, some CP online community members wrote their own theme songs with lyrics around their relationship. This fostered their brand attachment and supportive attitude toward the extensions without compromising their loyalty to the core series.

8. Practical implications

Our study has provided practical implications for RPG developers. First, they should be informed about the CSF of RPG prior to formulating RPG development strategies. For example, a long-term RPG series development plan will start with an engaging storyline, which is a prerequisite for building prequels/sequels of the RPG and non-RPG extensions. Second, they should significantly consider the difference between players in terms of gaming elements emphasis and IS capabilities, which will require diversified strategies to address. Third, they should be more informed about the roles of fans in the brand. While fans may support different RPG brand extensions and help protect the brand from threats such as copyright infringement, they may evaluate the core values and extensions of the brands differently from the developers and may be more critical of the extensions. Thus, RPG developers should seek capable collaborators when extending their RPG brand beyond their strengths. Fourth, before developing non-RPG extensions, they should establish significant success in offering confidence to prospective collaborators, who may provide capabilities in areas beyond their strengths.

We also provided some practical implications for other IS developers. First, by extending the brand to more diversified areas, they may address more different users’ needs. This is similar to the adoption of an ecosystem approach to offer different software/services under the same brand (Choi, Chengalur-Smith, and Nevo 2015) and has become essential given the potential user differences in IS capabilities and features emphasis. Second, similar to RPG, the IS extensions may become more well-known than the parent brand, limiting benefits to the parent brand. This may be addressed by launching concurrent marketing actions to form parent-extension synergy like Softstar did for the CP series. However, brand owners should consider the nature of the parents and extensions and avoid cannibalization (Liu et al. 2018).

9. Conclusion

Identifying RPG as a brand and the strategies for building RPG brands, our findings hint at business opportunities for different parties, such as media production companies. We illustrated how these strategies might be applied and provided a range of theoretical implications for brand extension and management, which may facilitate users’ engagement, brand extensions, and sustenance.

We contend the value of our single-case study as a “typical and legitimate endeavor” (Lee and Baskerville 2003, 231) given it invokes the principles of analytic generalization (see Silva and Hirschheim 2007), as our study corroborated by recent literature and business cases on RPG and brand management. However, future research, such as multiple case studies that allow for comparing different RPGs, can aim to define the boundary conditions of our theoretical implications statistically.

In the end, it is hoped that our implications may facilitate RPG and other businesses to extend and manage their brands and achieve higher business success.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10919392.2024.2340786

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Cheuk Hang Au

Cheuk Hang Au (Allen) is currently an lecturer at the School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University in Australia. He received his PhD in Business Information Systems from the University of Sydney. His research focuses on Digital Entrepreneurship and FinTech. His related journal publications can be found in Information and Management, Communications of the Association for Information Systems, Internet Research, Government Information Quarterly, Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce, Australian Journal of Management, Information Systems Frontiers and Journal of Computer Information Systems. He is also currently a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Computer Information Systems and the Journal of Strategic Information Systems.

Chih-Yuan Chou

Chih-Yuan Chou is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management Information Systems at National Chengchi University. He received his Ph.D. in Technology from Purdue University. His research interests include social media, e-commerce, IT innovation and entrepreneurship, digital society and communication, and technology adoption issues. His work has been published in Information Systems Journal, Management Review, Leadership and Organizational Management Journal, and Business Journal of Entrepreneurs, as well as in the proceedings of the top conferences on information systems.

Kevin K. W. Ho

Kevin K. W. Ho is a professor of management information systems at the University of Tsukuba, Tokyo, Japan. His research interests include electronic services, information systems strategy, social media, and fake news and misinformation. He received his Ph.D. in information systems from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Organization Computing and E-Commerce and a (Co-)Editor(-in-Chief) of Library Hi Tech. He is a senior member of the IEEE, a member of the Association for Computing Machinery, and the Society of American Military Engineers, and a Certified Management & Business Educator. Contact him at [email protected].

Notes

¹ Using litbasket.io, we searched 51 IS academic journals (which included but not limited to AIS Senior Scholar Basket of Eleven), along with some leading management journals (e.g., Journal of Management, Strategic Management Journal). While some of them may acknowledge the importance of studying RPG development, we found no studies that focused on their development strategies.

² Based on the background of Chinese Paladin 1, a TV Drama and a business simulation game were developed separately, both namely “Paladin’s Inn” (仙劍客棧). To avoid confusion, we hereby put a footnote.

³ https://answers.microsoft.com/

⁴ https://developer.apple.com/forums/ and https://discussions.apple.com/welcome

Appendix A:

Summary Table of Data Source

Table

Source	Description
Games information portal	These websites inform us about users’ feedback related to the games as well as different brand extensions. Some of them have established specific forums for major and long-lasting game series, including Chinese Paladin. These portals included Gamersky.com, Game Base (https://gamebase.com.tw) and Gamer.com.tw.
TV Drama	Preliminary data collection indicated that the stories of Chinese Paladin had been adopted and transformed into TV dramas. To understand the process as a brand extension, we watched the TV dramas originating from Chinese Paladin 1, 3, and 5 to compare the major differences between the games and the TV dramas.
Official social media channels and websites	These websites and channels primarily illustrate (1) the development and updates of the series, (2) users’ feedback via the official channels, and (3) developers’ feedback in response to (2). These social media channels and websites may be established by Softstar or its partners (e.g., Changyou.com).
Fans-made Website/Wiki	These websites provide information on (1) players’ interpretation of different games and derivatives within the series, and (2) how to overcome the game’s challenges.
Large-scale online forum	The series has sustained for more than two decades and is made known to the larger public body. These websites included HKGolden Forum (https://forum.hkgolden.com), Hong Kong Discuss Forum (https://discuss.com.hk), PTT.cc, Zhifu.com and Bilibli.com
News articles and videos related to developers and other stakeholders	These articles and videos allowed us to include insights and information from the perspective of developers, actors, and different stakeholders of the series.
Games of the CP series	We explored all the games within the Chinese Paladin and may capture some relevant screenshots for comparison.

Appendix B:

List of Informants Covered in the Interview Videos and Articles

Based on the collected data, we identified 20 significant informants highly related to the Chinese Paladin Series (see table below). Some other informants identified in our data made limited contributions to our findings and thus were not listed.

Table

Name	Job Title or Role	Topic Discussed
Informants from Softstar
Zhuang-xian Yao	“Father” (a.k.a. founder) of the Chinese Paladin Series and General Manager of Softstar Beijing	Development history, story settings and emotional ties of the RPG series, challenges from online and mobile games, relationship with fans, the development of TV drama series
Yong-jin Li	Founder of Softstar	Impression on Yao, development history of the RPG series, impact of the series on Softstar
Ting Huang	Art Director of Softstar Beijing	Impression on Yao, emotional ties with the RPG series, challenges and evolution in the development, interactions with fans
Xiao-quan Zhang	General Manager of Softstar Shanghai	Impression on Yao, challenges in the development of the RPG series, stories and evolution of the game series
Jing Luan	Project Producer	Impression on Yao, emotional tie with the game series, relationship with collaborators, development challenges
Jun-ji Jiang	Artwork Designer	Relationship with fans, development history of the RPG series, RPG as a brand
Yi-long Zhao	2D Art Director and Chief Designer	Emotional ties with the RPG series, interaction with fans, The development of the series
Xiao-ke Ji	3D Art Coordinator	RPG mechanics and design, challenges in the development of the game, relationship with fans
Zhi-hao Zeng	Chief Musician of the Chinese Paladin series	RPG theme music production, emotional ties, history and challenges of development of the RPG Series
Xin-rui Xu	Music producer of the Chinese Paladin series	RPG theme music production, emotional ties, history of the RPG Series, collaboration with the core developers
Informants outside Softstar
Ga-be Pan	Deputy General Manager of Seven Stone Entertainment, a collaborator of Softstar for in-game animation	Emotional ties with the Chinese Paladin series, collaboration relationship with Softstar
Meng Sun	Director of Seven Stone Entertainment	Emotional ties with the series, working process on the animation, collaboration relationship with Softstar
Jiao-bin Peng	General Manager of Changyou.com, a collaborator of Softstar for game distribution in Mainland China	Emotional ties with the series, collaboration relationship with Softstar, difficulties of the RPG market
Sun-ya Xiao	Singer of various theme songs of the Chinese Paladin Series	Impact of game theme songs on her career, Emotional ties with the game series, relationship with fans
Jie Zhang	Voiceover Director of Voicegem, a collaborator of Softstar for in-game voiceover	Voiceover work (and its importance) of the RPG, trends of newly developed RPGs
Hugh Hu	Actor in TV Drama “Chinese Paladin” and “Chinese Paladin 3”	Impact of the RPG series on his career, emotional ties with the series
Wallace Huo	Actor in TV Drama “Chinese Paladin 3”	Filming process and challenges of Chinese Paladin 3 TV Drama
Wai-To Chan	Stunt Director of TV Drama “Chinese Paladin 3”	Filming process of Chinese Paladin 3 TV Drama
Crystal Liu	Actress in TV Drama “Chinese Paladin”	Impact of the RPG series on her career, Emotional ties with the series
Kwok-Lap Li	Chief Director of Chinese Paladin 3	Filming process of Chinese Paladin 3 TV Drama, Reasons for adopting the stories of the RPG series

Appendix C:

Dimensions and themes of the theoretical lens

Table

Theoretical Dimensions	Second-order themes
RPG	Characteristics, Motivations of playing (See Table 1)
Brand extension	Measures, risk, and impact of brand extension (See Table 2)

Appendix D:

The Year of Release of Different Official Works

Appendix E:

Sales Statistics of various game prequels and sequels of the CP series

Table

Prequels/Sequels	Number of Copies Sold
Chinese Paladin	Approximately 800,000
New Chinese Paladin	More than 250,000
Chinese Paladin 2	More than 300,000
Chinese Paladin 3	More than 500,000
The Aftermath of Chinese Paladin 3	More than 350,000
Chinese Paladin 4	More than 700,000
Chinese Paladin 5	More than 1,400,000
The prelude of Chinese Paladin 5	More than 1,500,000
Chinese Paladin 6	More than 760,000

Appendix F:

Relationship between some of the main characters of the Chinese Paladin stories

Appendix G:

A comparison of interfaces between the original version (on the right-hand side) and the re-made version of Chinese Paladin 1 (on the left-hand side)

Appendix H:

The broadcasting video of a competition based on CP 1