Social Gaming
Just when I thought I had seen it all, I come to learn about a whole new world which takes place exclusively within digital communities: The world of social gamers. I certainly knew about the existence of network games, but I must say that what I was completely unaware of was the extreme passion (and sometimes fanaticism) that this practice awakens among so many people, mostly young people. To me, playing online games was pretty much trying to reach a certain level of the so-called Candy Crush so as to rank better than that lady from Tokyo, or perhaps joining a counter terrorist team and chase baddies until I got bored. To social gamers, however, playing online can be a serious matter. Indeed, gamers do not just ‘play’. When they join a game, for example ‘EVE online’ (2014), they are adhering to a code of practice made of certain rules and norms specifically crested for this end, just like golf clubs have their own (and strict) code of conduct (see also Zwart & Humphreys 2014).
Essential facts about the computer and video game industry (2016) <https://goo.gl/images/Uie4TD>
INSIDE THE WORLD OF GAMMERS Let’s start by getting familiar with some of the most recurring terms used in the social gamers world. Massively Multiple Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG) refers to those games which combine role-playing video games and massively multiplayer online games. Essentially, this modality involves a very large amount of players encouraged to interact with one another (Stavropoulos 2017). Examples of popular MMORGP include Warcraft, EVE, Osiris: New Dawn, Black Desert, and Wildstar (Games Radar 2017). It is worth noting that while many play MMORPG with their computers, a great deal of people prefer to engage on social gaming through consoles such as Playstation or Xbox. Choosing a computer or a console will depend on many factors, but generally speaking for games which are rather complex (Resident Evil, as opposed to Candy Crush), gamers recommend using a dedicated console for a better experience.
RULES AND NORMS As it has been suggested, gamers have their own code of practice. And while some of these rules and norms are common to most social games (i.e., the penalisation for offensive or inappropriate chat, or hacking or using 3rd party software), some of them vary significantly from game to game. Reference 2 explains that a code of conduct is much more than a set of rules to be observed. In their own words, it is “an integral part of the game’s social discourse” (p. 354).
Some even believe that engaging on social gaming can make us better people. Does this sound exaggerated? Well, American game designer Jane McGonigal is convinced that this is the case. Watch her TEDx talk and see if this challenges your viewpoint about gaming (just like it did to me!).
References
De Zwart, Melissa and Humphreys, Sal. The lawless frontier of deep space: Code as law in EVE online [online]. Cultural Studies Review, Vol. 20, No. 1, Mar 2014: 77-99. Availability: <https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=225934593111540;res=IELHSS>.
EVE Online, 2014, viewed 15 January 2018, <www.eveonline.com>.
Games Radar 2017, ‘The best MMORPGs to play right now on PC and console’, viewed 15 January 2018, <http://www.gamesradar.com/best-mmorpg/>.
McGonigal, J 2010, ‘Gaming can make a better world’, TED, viewed 15 January 2018, <https://youtu.be/dE1DuBesGYM>.
Mulligan, J & Patrovsky, B 2003, Developing Online Games: An Insider's Guide, New Riders Games, USA.
Stavropoulos VA, Daria J, Kuss, B,. Griffiths MD, Wilson, P and Motti-Stefanid, F 2017, MMORPG: Gaming and hostility predict Internet Addiction symptoms in adolescents: An empirical multilevel longitudinal study’, Addictive Behaviours, vol. 64, pp. 294-300.