Let’s Play
The extent of my gaming involves solitaire card game on my laptop. I cannot honestly say that I can understand the online gamer, but I do understand the community aspect of getting together with people to play games. Maybe a tad old fashioned but I get together with my friends and family for game nights on a regular basis in the real world. The benefits of these events are the social re-enforcement and building of relationships that happen during the night. True we do already have a standing relationship, but this gives us a chance to connect and strengthen the bonds. I assume that online environment games such as EVE Online serve pretty much the same purpose but on a larger scale.
Amanda’s comments in the discussion gave me a more in-depth understanding of online gaming communities with her explanation about the support and validation from the individuals involved and how they have carried these relationships into the real world. In marketing these are considered our reference groups and they are people we either aspire to be like or have an influence over our behaviour. With things like gaming our peers would have a greater influence on us than any other reference groups such as our families.
Further reflecting the real world, online games facilitate bonding and conflict between players in the actual game environment. The gaming environments have several levels of governances and as described in ‘The lawless frontiers of deep space (2014) paper they consist of the rules implemented by the designers of the platform when constructing it and include the contract that the players have to agree to if they wish to participate. Secondly the actual rules of the game and lastly the conduct of the players within the gaming environment, all these will influence the players perspective of the game.
According to the 2016 Video Game Statistics & Trends Who’s Playing What & Why (Lofgren, 2016) 48% of women and 50% of men play online games, and 49% of all Americans play games. Interestingly in the same report 58% of adults (32% game players and 26% gamers) who play games think that there is too much violence in the games, pointing out one of the negative aspects of the gaming environment and presenting a concern about children’s involvement.
However, despite common beliefs, most gamers are fully grown adults, the average Australian gamer is 32 years old, and a significant portion of them have been playing for over a decade. The number of men and women involved in the gaming environment is approximately a fifty-fifty split. Whether you are for it or against it, with 95% of the Australian households having a gaming device the future for gaming is only going to get better as the next generation grow up with gaming in their life. (Dominguez, 2012)
References:
de Zwart, M & Humphreys, S 2014,' The Lawless Frontier of Deep Space: Code as Law in EVE Online', Cultural Studies Review, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 77-99.
Lofgren K 2016, 2016 Video Game Statistics & Trends Who’s Playing What & Why, <https://www.bigfishgames.com/blog/2016-video-game-statistics-and-trends/>, Viewed: 25 Jan 2018
Dominguez J 2012, New statistics reveal the face of Australian gaming, The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper, <http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/games/blog/screenplay/new-statistics-reveal-the-face-of-australian-gaming-20120801-23g49.html>, Viewed: 25 Jan 2018
Images:
Benji 2016, One thing everyone needs while online gaming, Image, <http://uac.ac/one-thing-online-gaming/>, Viewed: 26 Jan 2018
Tech Crates 2012, Modern Online Gaming as Social Interaction, Tech Crates website, Image, <http://www.techcrates.com/modern-online-gaming-as-social-interaction/>, Viewed: 29 Jan 2018












