This study investigates the use of coagents in the book industry. To reach international markets, domestic publishers typically license a title’s rights to third-party international publishers, a practice known as ‘selling rights’. Rights sellers can either choose to work directly in a local market or with intermediaries known as coagents. Using a data set of over 2,000 international rights sales for Australian-authored titles of a major publisher, we examine whether employing the services of a coagent leads to superior outcomes as measured by the size of the advance. We find a positive relationship between the use of coagents and the size of the advance. This result is robust to a variety of contract lengths and international market conventions. The evidence suggests that, on average, coagents help secure better outcomes for authors and domestic publishers. More broadly, our study suggests that international intermediaries may play an important role in the export and subsequent success of cultural goods.

With the onset of COVID-19, online gaming has become a widely popular form of entertainment among both adults and minors globally (Hodent, 2019). This phenomenon has generated over 150 billion US dollars in revenue annually, making it a significant contributor to the global economy (Wijman, 2019). The online game industry has evolved from a subsidiary position to a leading global role in China since 2000 (Chew, 2019). The state has fostered the largest online gaming market and population in the world (Simon, 2018). According to statistics, China's online game industry generated approximately $3 billion in related businesses throughout the country by 2005 (Martinsons, 2005). Since 2010, the ascendancy of Chinese game companies, such as Tencent and NetEase, has indicated China's role as a new leading online game production centre in Asia (Cao and Downing, 2008).

The growth of the online gaming industry in China can be attributed to the rapid advancement of the country's digital infrastructure and the widespread adoption of smartphones and emerging technologies in daily life. Technological development and innovation are crucial in enabling local game companies to incorporate AI, IoT, and immersive technologies such as VR and AR, which transform the industry by redefining the production and design of online gaming experiences. However, public discourse in China often emphasizes the potential for online gaming to give rise to social problems such as addiction, online fraud, financial loss, and intergenerational conflicts between minors and adults. Despite this, online gaming faces public stigma over concerns of problem gaming, violence, and moral panics, which can hinder the industry's balance of commercial and social value. In response, the Chinese government has taken an active role in regulating online game content and promoting responsible game development to minimize the negative impacts of online gaming.

The Chinese government exerts significant influence in the realm of academic focus, serving as both a neoliberal and authoritarian force in the monitoring and control of game content and genres (Nonini, 2008). The state has highlighted the cultural significance of online games, which reflects the state's policies and digital surveillance, guiding a techno-nationalist practice of designing and producing online games. In particular, online games are utilized as a popular form of entertainment to construct a new Chinese cultural image and enhance soft power through active digital production (Szablewicz, 2016; Jiang and Fung, 2017; Gong and Hassink, 2019). Several studies have investigated the interplay between the market and the state and their impact on game design practice in China's online game industry (Liu, 2013; Jiang and Fung, 2017; Gong and Hassink, 2019; Zhao and Zhu, 2020; Huang, 2022). Given the multitude of actors and governing bodies that interact with the local online game industry ecosystem, the author believes that China's online game industry is a unique field that requires further exploration by researchers.

This study aims to investigate the impact of Chinese government policies and regulations on game design and production practices in the gaming industry, utilizing Glenn Parsons' The Philosophy of Design and Felton et al.'s Design and Ethics: Reflections on Practice. To achieve this, policy analysis will be conducted through the review of 30 key policy documents in the online game industry since 2000, aiming to understand the government's efforts in regulating online game content. Additionally, 25 in-depth, semi-structured interviews with game designers, producers, and developers in the industry will be conducted to examine game practitioners' considerations of moral and ethical obligations to users of game design. The objective of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of how these regulations influence the direction of game design and how game practitioners make decisions on game content and gameplay design. This research aims to address the current lack of understanding of the practical implications of government regulations on game design and production, particularly in the context of China.

This study analyzes the complex manner in which Chinese game designers and developers navigate the interplay between their artistic expression and the government's mandate for healthy content, positive energy, socialist values, and patriotic spirit, as well as the ethical and social challenges they confront in creating online games. The research findings aim to provide insights into the impact of cultural policies on game design practices and the perception of ethical design in China's online game industry.

Keywords: Game design; Ethical design; Cultural policies; online game industry; China

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