Hey there! Many years ago now when I was in university, instead of writing a dissertation, my class was tasked with writing an academic paper. No sweat you may think, so did we. However, we were limited to, font size 11, single line spacing, only 8 A4 pages of double column text, including images (not including references), for what was essentially, a dissertation's amount of work (normally about 10,000 words). Not an easy task. For me, it involved writing what was practically a full dissertation and then condensing down and summarising to fit the specified requirements. But here is it below if you fancy a long read.
Social Interaction within Online Games and its Effects on Society: A study using World of Warcraft
Christopher Potter
Liverpool Hope University, Sciences and Social Sciences Department
Hope Park, Taggart Avenue, Liverpool, UK
08000284@hope.ac.uk
Abstract
Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG) have become an extremely popular pastime in recent years. MMORPGs are games which bring together vast numbers of players from across the world via an internet connection and allow subscribers access to a continual virtual world in which thousands of players can play simultaneously with each other in real-time. This paper looks at previous research in this area to look at the way in which players interact with each other socially within online games and any possible effects this may have upon a society delving deeper and deeper into the digital realms. The findings discussed by this paper and their implication will hopefully be used to re-evaluate that socialising through a digital medium can lead to positive changes in players and that the findings can be used as a starting point for future investigations and improvements of social activities in MMORPGs.1. Introduction
MMORPGs have become a popular pastime for many people in recent years and offer a cheap way of stress relief, entertainment and the ability to play with other players from around the world in competition and teamwork. The front-runners of this genre are World of Warcraft (WoW), Final Fantasy XI, Lord of the Rings Online to name a few, and these all follow the same structure. Players must complete quests for rewards and experience and as they do more of the storyline is revealed. Players will also have to group up with other players to take on the harder elements of the game. Current research has delved into how players can interact with each other and expresses complex theories to reference playing time as a solo gamer and as parts of groups. There is some investigation into the social side of gaming however this more technically orientated than the views and opinions of the gamers themselves. Using questionnaires, interviews, current research and first-hand gameplay experience this topic is investigated and discussed to show positive and negative trends in the experiences of gamers as they play the game.2. Background Research
This paper uses research from a vast selection of article and journals to investigate the topic but focuses mostly upon World of Warcraft as the game with the largest subscriber base and one that the researcher is familiar with. To research the possible effects successfully there are four main areas that require looking into.2.1 Why do people play these games?
It is important to ask this question as a person’s reason for playing and their own personality will determine how they will interact with other people, how they will behave and communicate. In ‘Fanboys, Competers, Escapists and Time-Killers: a Typology based on Gamers’ Motivations for Playing Video Games’ (Schuurman et al, 2008) they try to look past the standard gamer stereotypes and it is noted that “Surprisingly, to date little research has been devoted to the characterisation of the gamer, based on general game motivations”. Their paper appears to note a distinct disagreement between categories proposed by different researchers such as Bartle’s Typology of Killers, Achievers, Explorers and Socialisers (2001), which is criticised by both Malliet (2007) and Yee (2006) by saying that these labels are far too narrow in description as the majority of players would say they belong in part to many categories. Sherry et al (2006) proposed a more comprehensive set of categories based directly upon the characteristics of the games and interview responses from focus groups. Sherry et al, identified eight types of gamer, Social, Competition, Challenge, Fantasy, Identification, Escapism, Past-Time and Arousal. It is agreed that this is the most accurate categorisation of the different gamer types as the gamer will feel they can belong to many types. Schuurman et al discovered that the majority of players tended to be male and that the results they gathered could not be seen as definite representation, but could act as a fresh starting point for future researchers.In terms of behaviour, Suznjevic et al (2009) looked into player behaviour and communication and player actions with the virtual world. Such actions began with categories of trading, questing, raiding and PVP combat, but progressed to social and stationary periods. If was identified that there was a strong relationship between the amount of time the gamers would play for and social interaction; in essence, gamers would play for longer as they were playing with friends. The paper however only focuses upon game behaviour as in what gamers were doing in the game and not the behavioural characteristics of the players themselves.
In Yusuf Pisan’s paper ‘My Guild, My People: Role of Guilds in Massively Multiplayer Online Games’ (2007) he states that,
“MMOs are not just a form of entertainment, they are also
becoming the primary socialization space for many people.”
However, he notes that Ducheneaut et al, (2006) argue that social activity and the roles it plays within games is overestimated, players just desire an audience. It is viewed that this may be an incorrect assumption as Pisan goes on to show that players join guilds and remain within them due to the other players that populate them and the enhanced social relationships that develop and proposes that the reason MMOs are so popular is that socialisation is the primary factor. Drachen and Smith (2008), concur with this belief in their paper “Player Talk – The Function of Communication in Multiplayer Role-Playing Games” saying that the games act as a backdrop for social interaction.
From all the papers researched only one has been located that delves into the area of behaviour and personality traits. Fleming Seay & Kraut, (2007) look into the issues of addiction, injuries and depression not only as a result of playing the games but also as a way of dealing with problems. However, the paper focuses on addiction, the inability for self-regulation and resulting depression that comes from those issues. While these aforementioned articles are in-depth into their own areas, they lack adequate descriptions of behavioural personality traits.
2.2 How does this type of socialising affect other types of socialising?
Perhaps the question should be “Does this type of socialising affect other types of socialising?” How meeting people through a digital medium may differ instead of meeting in a real-life situation. Does it enhance the experience, do you become more sociable as a result, or can it lead to isolationism?“Cases of Study on the Social Effects of Online Gaming” (Pitsch and Quevedo Torrero, 2010) looks into the social aspect of online gaming and positive and negative effects they may result from playing. They make reference to the ability to meet people from different backgrounds, race and culture that you wouldn’t normally interact with otherwise. In some cases, these interactions have helped gamers become more fluent in speaking and typing English. However it goes on to state that any achievements made in the game are virtual and have no real impact in real life, and also brings up the issue of addiction and obsession with negative consequences. The article, however, is lacking in depth.
As MMORPGs are generally teamwork-oriented games it is possible that skills used in the game can be also used in the gamers normal life outside of the game. Jang and Ryu, (2010) propose how MMORPGs can be used to educate and improve leadership skills through experience and interaction and that people who enjoy playing as part of a team may go through a greater number and variety of social interactions than those who don’t. This leads on to the ability to work together to solve problems and thus promoting teamwork, but also leads onto the branching out of communication from in-game via the use of VOIP programs and in-game chat to websites, forums and players exchanging phone calls indicating a greater level of socialisation then just playing together as proposed by Voulgari and Kromis, (2008).
“Social Praxis within and Around Online Gaming: The Case of World of Warcraft” (Herodotou, C, 2010) looks into social practises in and around the game. The research shows that Warcraft has become more than just a game in that a rich social culture has developed around the game and also,
“The majority of interviewees stated that involvement with
WoW was motivated by real-life friends that were playing
the game… The game is utilised as a platform for being
with friends rather than a game played per se. Also it is
indicated that gaming is an issue of concern even when
gamers are not actually involved with it. This is evident in
occasions of offline, face-to-face communication about
game-related issue… Involvement with the game
overcomes gameplay per se also when implemented in
order to maintain distant friendships. Game’s interactivity
enables remote friends to do things together, it transforms
into a virtual arena for practicing existing relationships.”
This would appear to prove that socialising in-game can enhance existing relationships and encourage new ones to develop. Fleming Seay & Kraut reference to addiction and depression proposes the idea that if gamers become too addicted to the games, they can become anti-social in real life, become withdrawn from society and as a result, they can slip into depression.
2.3 Is this type of socialising a good thing, or can it be hazardous?
This point needs to be split into two areas, health and real-life and commitments. Can socialising in this way be bad for your health, and can socialising in the game lead to detrimental effects on work, study and other social activities, or are there advantages that can found that can be incorporated into everyday life? This question is partially looked into in the previous section in that it appears that it can enhance and increase social experiences, nurture new relationships and lead to gaining new social and leadership skills. However issue such as addiction, isolationism, depression, becoming anti-social and withdrawal. From the literature, it appears that the views on this area can be approximately 50/50. There is little information on the negative effects of developing relationships outside of the game that were started within the game. In general, it appears that the majority view is this type of socialising is a good thing.Jang and Ryu’s reference to improving leadership is one of the possible advantages to be gained along with effective management of other players during grouping activities. Pitsch and Quevedo Torrero show that it can improve social skills and give the player a more diverse social group, but also lead to addiction and obsessive behaviour. Fleming Seay & Kraut bring up questions of detachment, depression and addiction and also propose links to dry eyes, carpal tunnel syndrome, but these can be attributed to other activities, not just game playing and effects that can occur to work or schooling.
2.4 Effects on Society
There are theories that playing violent computer games can promote violence in the younger generation, but is this just a way of ‘passing the buck’ when in reality violent or anti-social behaviours are already a part of the gamer's personality and games are just used as an excuse. Zhang et al, (2009) look into this area and suggest that violent games can increase a player's pre-existing aggression, anti-social emotion and hostility, but if these games are used “in a correct way” gaming could be used to develop our problem-solving skills and improve the way we think. They also mention three research studies that found playing video games helped to improve the quality of long-term healthcare patients and also suggested that games could help to control aggression, and help with strategic planning.3. World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft launched in November of 2004, as a new instalment of a franchise dating back ten years. In the following 6 years, the game has grown dramatically with continual content updates and with three expansion packs, ‘The Burning Crusade’ (2007), ‘Wrath of the Lich King’ (2008) and ‘Cataclysm’ (2010). Currently, World of Warcraft boasts more than 12 million subscribers making it the most subscribed to game in the world to date,“Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. announced today that the
subscriber base for World of Warcraft®, its award-
winning massively multiplayer online role-playing game
(MMORPG), now exceeds 12 million players worldwide.
This milestone was reached in the wake of the mainland
Chinese launch of World of Warcraft's second expansion,
Wrath of the Lich King®, and also as global anticipation
continues to mount for the December 7 release of the
game's third expansion, Cataclysm™.”
This is one of the reasons as to why this game was picked as a gamer base for the investigation. The game consists of gamers creating themselves an avatar from a selection of races and picking class that the race can perform. Gamers can then play solo or in groups to advance through the game, however, grouping is necessary for the end game content and more difficult quests that cannot be achieved by a single player unless they a higher level than the quest. Blizzard promotes the point that players must work together to advance the storylines and reach higher levels.
Christopher has played Warcraft for the last 3 years and feels that he has an insight into the game that most researchers lack due to their inexperience of involvement. While participating he has experienced both the bad and the good aspects of socialising within this game and feel a more in-depth study into the players' experiences is needed.
4. Investigation
Prior to the investigation the game was played extensively for a period of approximately three years and has familiarised the researcher with all aspects of the gaming environment and social elements inherent in the game. To fully research the topic, different areas were investigated to discover the best approach and methods of obtaining useful workable data. The research was conducted into gamer psychology, player type and characterisation categories, positive and negative attributes that stem from MMORPG gameplay and studies into the four main questions proposed for research. ‘Massively Multilayer Online Role-Playing Games: The Past, Present and Future’ (Achterbosch et al, 2008) looks into the reasons as to why MMORPGs may be so successful by looking at the games evolutionary aspects, player perceptions and expectations and their expectations of future games. They note that “socialization is a key aspect in all MMORPGs that are available or in development”, hence the investigation into the social side of gaming.To gather information and usable data from WoW gamers, questionnaires, and interview questions were devised to look into the gamers personal experiences and attitudes towards the game.
4.1 Questionnaires
Five questionnaires were created following a common theme, each containing ten questions in selected areas viewed to yield the most useful information. Each questionnaire had questions based upon its own topic, Player Background, Social Background, Health and Work, Behaviour and Grouping Relationships. These questionnaires contained a variety of multiple-choice questions along with some open-ended questions. While more difficult to interpret these questions were seen to provide more detailed and enlightening answers.The questionnaires were uploaded and links were posted upon the World of Warcraft European Forum site (http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/forum/) and also upon the social networking site Facebook, on the researchers' profile and upon the many Warcraft based group pages in an attempt to reach a large sample group.
The questionnaires consisted of questions about a gamer's character, how often they play, why they play, what prompted them to start playing; questions about social relationships, occupation health issues, self-regulation, their own behaviour and other players behaviour and their view upon the elements of grouping in the game. Response collection lasted for approximately one month and then the responses were downloaded and reviewed.
4.2 Interviews
Originally interviews were scheduled to be conducted over the Internet via VOIP software and recorded for later analysis. However, during the second month of investigation, a Guild called the "Seekers of Divinity” was holding a Guild Reunion locally and it was arranged that a meeting could be held with them to conduct interviews as it was thought they would valuable source of data due to their social dynamic. Interview questions were devised with a selection of generic questions enquiring into names, character names, time played for; with a selection of sub-questions depending on specific responses and keywords or phrases. Specific questions were made for members who held specific roles within the Guild and for young members and those who had travelled longer distances to attend. Interviews were conducted and filmed so the responses could be analysed at a later date.4.3 First-hand Gameplay Experience
Since first starting the game, Christopher has been a member of the ‘Seekers of Divinity’ and was encouraged to join the game by pre-existing friends. During the years that he has been involved with the Guild, he has attended numerous Guild Reunions, holidays and participated in the grouping activities within the game. The amount of social contact within the game is immense; players as part of a Guild can play the game by themselves but chat to friends and the members of the Guild as if they were there with them in the same room. Both good experiences and bad experiences have been had, whether it was arguments, aggressive players in PuGs (random player groupings for instances and raids), or the fun and enjoyment from playing a game with friends helping Guild members and strangers with quests and meeting new people. In essence, you get out of the game what you put into it. If you are friendly, polite and don’t mind helping out, you meet like-minded people, but on the other hand, if you're just out to get what you can regardless of other players, you are more likely to meet rude and aggressive personalities.5. Results
Initially, the questionnaire analyses are presented here separately.5.1 Player Background
This questionnaire received a total of 91 responses and one was removed due to its content being erroneous. Responses show that the majority of the participants are between the ages of 18 and 30, were male, played for 3-5 hours on average during their gaming sessions and played daily; the majority of all responses are located within the area of daily play. From the responses, it appears that the main driving force behind why participants started playing the game is because their friends played the game.
The most popular type of realm to play on is the Normal PvE (Player vs. Environment) and the most popular side to play on in the game is the Alliance with 65.5% of participants selecting their main character from this side’s available races. The most popular races are Human and Night Elf and while all races are humanoid in essence, the results appear to show that the majority of participants picked races that are closest to the norm of the human image; Humans, Night Elves, Orcs and Blood Elves. The most popular classes or roles/jobs appear to be the ones that have abilities that allow the players to heal themselves through spells or classes that give a player a “pet” which helps the player deal greater amounts of damage compared to other classes. Classes appear to be picked on a non-social level and that the majority of players would like to play and level up their characters by themselves.
This is not to say that the players won’t group up with other players to take on harder quests or monsters. Certain races have proven to be more popular than others and some classes are shown to be more often selected than others available. From the participant group, the most popular race/class combination is Human Paladin with Night Elf Druid coming a close second. Both of these classes are ones that enable players to deal good amounts of damage but also have abilities or spells that allow the player to heal themselves. These would appear to be good solo levelling classes that allow players to play alone should they wish without too much difficulty. The main reasons players continue to play is the because friends and family also play, and the social aspect of the game; that they enjoy the game itself and the challenges it presents with its ever-changing contents; that is fun and enjoyable and that it is often something more interesting to do than watching television.
5.2 Social Background
This questionnaire received a total of 68 responses. The majority of responses to these questions show that players do make new friends and acquaintances from playing the game and 39.7% of participants believe that it is easier to make friends through the game than in real life whereas 30.9% remain undecided. The responses to this question are more evenly spread across the options however the highest percentage of participants believe that in games friends are not as good as real-life friends. The majority of responses show that most of the participants do socialise with friends and other gamers through the game; however, the majority of participants say that they socialise more with friends outside of the game than in it.The majority of participants say that they would meet with other players that they only know from within the game and believe that playing this game has affected their social life in a number of ways. Many participants stated that by playing the game, their social life has improved by making a lot more friends and in the case of a few entering a relationship. By interacting within such a large group some have become more confident within themselves and in the case of one participant has allowed then to have a social life they wouldn’t have otherwise had due to health issues. Some participants have stated that it has had a negative effect upon their social lives in that it has made them become more anti-social in that they would rather play the game than go out with real-life friends or that they miss some social occasions due to playing.
An equal amount of participants that said their social life had improved; said that there had been no change to their social lives from playing the game and that this is due to playing the game only when they have nothing else important to do. These participants stated that they had a good balance of social activities and gaming activities along with work and home. From the individual statements, very apparent themes start to show through. The majority of participants have already met other players from the game that they had never met with before in real life and the main reason being that they had played with these other players for a long time. A lot of participants stated that they would like to meet up with other players but it would depend upon the situation, such as if they had known the other person or persons for a long time, location in relation to each other, and if the meeting was done in a safe manner for both parties. Some participants stated that they didn’t want to mix their gaming lives with their social lives or that they just didn’t want to meet people because they wouldn’t be who they said they were within the game.
5.3 Health and Work
This questionnaire received a total of 59 responses. The majority of participants who completed this questionnaire were Full-Time Students with Full-Time Employment coming second and it is intriguing that the options that require the participants to do the most work are also the ones who play the game the most. The majority of the participants have been playing the game for five years or longer do not feel the need to reduce the amount of time they spend playing the game as they believe that they have a good balance between the game and work, coursework, social commitments and that work is prioritised over the game.
However, the rest of the participants stated that they do indulge in the game when they should be doing other activities.
The majority of participants believe that playing the game has not affected their current occupation or affected their health directly. A few state that they have played the game when they should have been doing work or other activities and that if they didn’t play they may become more active. Another small few say they have become less active as a result and put on weight but look to remedy it when they have more free time.
The majority of participants stated that they would recommend playing the game to other people. The majority of participants say that they would recommend the game as it is a thoroughly enjoyable and fun experience but also that some of the players would only do so depending upon the attitudes and personalities of other people, i.e. if they knew the other person didn’t like MMO’s they wouldn’t recommend it, or to people who are students or have addictive personalities as they may become hooked and stop studying or working. Very few said that they wouldn’t recommend the game due to reasons such as they believe that the game has become boring.
Participants stated that they are aware that there have been and are health incidents as a result of playing the game, however about half that stated this also said that it wasn’t directly a result of playing the game itself. They say that most incidences occur from pre-existing conditions and those incidents happen when people don’t take their activities into moderation and that this can be said about most activities in life and that the game cannot be held responsible as the cause.
5.4 Behaviour
This questionnaire received a total of 59 responses. The most prominent responses show that most gamers are social and Pass-Time players as these options were picked 59.3% of the time and it is possible to extrapolate that the majority of all players are Social Past-Time players. A full account of player types can be seen in Figure 5. The results here show that 59.3% of the participants have already met other players from the game, however the ones that haven’t may wish to in the future.
The majority of participants believe that playing these types of games can lead to detrimental effects but that is not the fault of the game, it is the pre-existing personality traits that further the compulsion to play that can lead to anti-social behaviour and brings up issues of addiction. A few participants stated that the game had positive effects such as increased social circles and in one case help to cure chronic depression. Players stated that they don’t believe the theory that violent games instil violent behaviour in people and that it is down to the personality or psychological temperament of the person playing the game that determines violent behaviour, however a small selection of the participants believes that violent games can affect behaviour.
The majority of responses show that the participants have met up with other players mainly through organised Guild Meets and as a result of playing with these other members of the Guild a few participants have developed close personal relationships. Some participants believe that people will always differ from their in-game portrayal whereas the majority believe that they are pretty much the same but always have some minor differences.
The main theme that these answers follow is that there are always good and bad experiences in the game but the good ones outweigh the bad. Generally, participants have said that they experienced polite, helpful and fun players and childish, rude and insulting people but they tend to avoid these characters and the vast majority of the participants have never contacted a GM, nor feel the need to. Those that said they have contacted the GM have done so for racist and abusive comments, harassment, swearing or other players “ninja-ing” (stealing) group activity rewards. Most participants feel that any issue that would come up could be sorted by themselves without the need to contact a GM.
5.5 Grouping Relationships
This questionnaire received a total of 51 responses. The majority of participants believe that it is necessary to form groups to advance through the game, however it is possible to advance in the game through storylines and levelling by playing by yourself, but if the player want to play the end game content; the most difficult aspects of the game, it is essential to group with other players and it is much easier to progress while in a group and is more fun to play with other people. Participants also said that WoW is an MMORPG and so you should group up with other players otherwise why play a multiplayer game.When asked if they thought they had gained any skills from playing the game, the majority of participants believe that they had gained skills in leadership, strategy, group management and also expanded their social skills in learning how to interact with people. Some players also mention that their language skills have improved by becoming more fluent in English.
Responses show that the participants take the good with the bad in terms of PuGs, in that they will have some very good group experiences, but also an equal number of groups in which they had a terrible experience however it mostly depends upon the group they join. Players have experienced good experiences with polite and helpful players that are fun and very enjoyable, however, they have also had very bad experiences with players that are childish and rude and ruin the activities for others.
5.6. Interview Analysis
The interviews were designed to be along the same theme as the questionnaires but have some more direct and personal questions about the Guild the participants were in. These questions were to look for personal reasons and feelings and what they liked most about the game.It is very apparent that reason the interview participants play World of Warcraft is for the social interaction with their friends as nine of the eleven participants stated that the thing they like most about playing the game is the social aspect. One interviewee said that while one of the things they like most is ‘Raiding’ they feel that they don’t fully like the game as it is more of an addiction. About 50% of participants have been playing the game for a period of approximately five years, and the rest for a period of eighteen months to three years. It is plain to see that the participants enjoy being members of this guild and have a good social dynamic. This is shown in the responses but also in the fact that they hold Guild Reunions every year.
When asked to describe the Guild on one word, the answers were varied with no participants saying the same theme; the answers were, Family, Amazing, Good/Enjoyable Mayhem, Alcoholic, Casual, Fun, Awesome and Friendly. The majority of these answers are all positive and show that the participants believe the Guild to be a good and friendly group to belong to. One respondent said ‘alcoholic’, and this could be interpreted in many ways, however by knowing this person personally, it is believed that it is meant that the Guild is addictive, it’s a place that the player always want to return to for friends and social experiences, however, this is an assumption or an educated guess based upon the participants personality.
One participant brought up serious issues concerning addiction and anti-social behaviour, saying that he felt the game was addictive and felt he didn’t enjoy the game anymore as it was a means to fulfil a craving and that he withdraws from friends and society when he plays. It is also said that he tries to manage his time playing by taking long breaks from the game but in the end always returns. However, one positive attribute is that the player has increased his social group by playing the game. When asked why should the interviewer play the game, the main responses were that it is a fun enjoyable experience and it is an extremely social activity; it is a place to play with friends and to create a lot of new friendships.
It is clear from the responses that these participants feel socially enriched from their experiences playing the game and have found a community of like-minded individuals that they thoroughly enjoy spending time with. The game gives the player the opportunity to socialise with friends when physical distance would prevent it otherwise. This Guild is a prime example of bringing other players from across the UK and Europe together and expands their social relationships and awareness in a way that wouldn’t normally be possible due to location and different social groups. It could be said the game is a tool for developing social unity over vast distances.
As stated before the interviews were made to look for personal reasons and feelings and what players liked most about the game, the data returned cannot really be placed into tables due to the varied type of responses and partially due to the way the interviews were conducted, however it has given a big insight into group emotional dynamics which is something that is lacking from most studies into this area of research.
6. Discussion and Conclusion
It is starting to become clear that there are both positives and negatives when looking into the area of socialisation within online games. In answers to why do people play these games, it appears that the main reason people play MMORPGs is the social aspect of the game. Friends who play the game encourage other friends to join in, and the game becomes a social environment for people to maintain long-distance friendships and cultivate new ones. In terms of behaviour and personality, gamers fall into many categories and may play the game for relaxation, an escape from the real world for a while, for entertainment, the challenge or just as a safe place to hang out with friends. This brings the reality that gaming has become a hugely social activity as shown from both the research and the questionnaires and interviews.As to how does this type of socialising affect other types of socialising; the impression that is given is it improves all types of social activity. Players interact with a much larger diverse social group online and can learn how to manage people with leadership skills, delegation, improved language skills; become educated in different cultures, races, religions and generally increase their social maturity. All these skills can be brought into the real world whether in schools, the workplace or just in everyday life. Games can also help to give confidence to otherwise shy and quiet people.
The answer to is this type of socialising a good thing, or can it be hazardous appears to be divided. There are both positives and negatives and although there are many positives, the severity of the negatives can outweigh the good. Issues of addiction, depression, obsession, aggression, hostility and withdrawal from society can be found in a lot of literature in this area but it is believed that while the game can increase these conditions it is not the game that causes them it is the pre-existing conditions with the player.
In terms of effects on society, the evidence points that in the majority the effects are positive. As gamers are introduced to different social groups, ages, sexes, cultures and races they develop and enhance their social maturity. Gaming can help gamers with long-term healthcare issues to be able to socialise with other people when they may not be able to otherwise. Gaming can be used to help manage aggression as a release, improve leadership and management skills and also be a great source of fun and entertainment.
Overall it appears that socialising within online games has the same major issues as any other social activity, they all have positive and negative factors but it is believed that this form of social interaction benefits and improves the majority of participants and leads to a positive effect upon the rest of society.
7. Future Work
To further the investigation into this area all current available MMORPGs should be looked into to see if similar results can be found from the players of those games. Also filming and recording gamers as they participate in typical gaming experiences to view first hand these social interactions and performing group interviews to see the social dynamics in action. Another possible action would be to rework the questionnaires with a greater range of topics and more in-depth questions that could return more informative findings.Acknowledgements
The researcher would like to thank Matthew Farnham and Alexander Williams for helping to create the interview questions and for performing and filming the interviews.References
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Figure 5: Individual Response to selecting game types and motivations
If you made it this far bravo! Questions and comments are welcome and as always...
Catch you later!
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