Problem
Research questions and friction points this paper is trying to address.
video game genres
market structure
temporal evolution
Steam ecosystem
genre dynamics
Games Mapper: Topological Data Analysis of Steam Genres
🤖 AI Summary
This study addresses the challenge of tracking the fuzzy and dynamically evolving genre structure of games on the Steam platform by proposing an innovative approach grounded in topological data analysis. Building upon the Mapper algorithm, the method incorporates an automated clustering-based labeling mechanism and integrates interactive visualization to construct an interpretable model of dynamic evolution. Applied to simulation game data from Steam spanning 2015 to 2025, the framework successfully identifies coherent and persistent subgenres, accurately capturing shifts in market structure. The results demonstrate the approach’s scalability and generalizability within complex gaming ecosystems, offering a robust tool for longitudinal genre analysis.
📝 Abstract
The video game industry comprises a vast, continuously evolving landscape of themes and genres. For studios and publishers that navigate this competitive market, understanding the structural dynamics and temporal evolution of specific game categories is crucial for identifying viable entry points. In this paper, we introduce Games Mapper, a novel analytical tool based on the Mapper algorithm from topological data analysis. Unlike traditional clustering techniques, Games Mapper captures the continuous topological relationships between datasets over time (or other guiding variables). We extend the standard algorithm with an automated cluster labelling method, ensuring highly interpretable and interactive visualisations of genre evolution. To demonstrate the efficacy of our approach, we present a comprehensive case study on Simulation games released on Steam between 2015 and 2025. Games Mapper autonomously segments the genre into coherent, persistent subgenres, and captures dynamic market shifts. Ultimately, we provide a scalable, generalisable tool for researchers and industrials to unravel complex market structures and track the evolution of the Steam ecosystem.
Innovation
Methods, ideas, or system contributions that make the work stand out.
Topological Data Analysis
Mapper Algorithm
Automated Cluster Labelling
Genre Evolution
Interactive Visualization
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