Abstract

Video games have the potential of bringing people together and create all sorts of communities online. There are several characteristics found in video games both online and offline that gives reasons for players to play, discuss and share information in communities made especially for the games they all play together. A common achievement is one of these characteristics of video games that motivate players to play and communicate together in groups instead of being all by themselves. Video games contain also social characteristic that enables players to interact with each other especially in online games and the notion of role-playing also encourage players to create their own stories together inside the game environment. The narration and the game design are also factors that are, if well made, very engaging and motivating for players to build communities.

Introduction

Video games are at their base a form of media used for entertainment but it also can bring people together by allowing them to interact, communicate and share a common objective. Both online and offline video games can create communities. A specific video game can be built a community consisted of people playing that specific game and since these people are playing the same game they will have a shared purpose, interest and objectives that will be communicated between each other (O’ Connor et al, 2015). Some video games such as MMOs (Mass Multiplayer Online) are designed to provide a “Player-to-player” interaction experience and creates huge communities online, sometimes the community created from the game can be the biggest reason why players keep on playing the game (O’ Connor et al, 2015). Online video games are great at building communities because they provide a virtual environment where people of all age, gender, different backgrounds, and profession can connect and interact with each other ( Maria, 2009).

Moreover, another reason why it is so common to see communities born from video games is because of their interactive nature that invites “participative culture” among players (Sky Larell Anderson, 2018 ). We will see in details what makes video games so effective at building communities and how their interactive nature allows players to communicate and share interests that encourage them to stay in a gaming community.

 

Common achievement

A common goal or objective inside a video game can be a big factor why players decide to communicate with each other and collaborate instead of playing alone, hence creating a sense of community (O’ Connor et al ,. 2015). Such a common goal can be in the form of finding a well-hidden treasure inside the game or to beat an enemy boss which is very difficult to eliminate. These goals will encourage players to communicate information such as tips, strategies or even theories and combine them together until they successfully achieve their common goal. This form of communication between players is what will contribute to the shaping of a community consisted of people working together to achieve a common objective ( Maria, 2009

). These common goals can differ depending on the type and genre of the video game. People playing single player RPG games such as God of War will not have the same goals and objectives of people playing multiplayer games such as World of Warcraft since these games have different play styles and narrations (Sky Larell Anderson, 2018). Video games are very good at creating virtual worlds with virtual scenarios and stories consisted of various problems for players to solve, in order to solve these problems the players will work together as a team (Maria, 2009). It is sometimes very hard for a lone player to finish the game completely by himself as he may not be skilled enough to solve difficult levels or take care of a powerful enemy boss. In order to complete the game the lone player will seek help and mutual cooperation inside the community (Maria, 2009).  In the case of a single player game, the player can go inside the community related to the game and ask for tips and advice or even watch how other skilled players solved it. In the case of an online game, the player can go inside the community and ask other players, who are more skilled and have more experience, to join and assist him ( Maria, 2009).  The Cooperation that occurs when different players get together to achieve a common goal can also be a form of motivation as this teamwork can be perceived as a social experience that provides a sense of “togetherness” (Maria, 2009). The communication that will take place during the collaboration is an important factor for players as they perceive it as more fun and rewarding compared to if they had to play online in solitude (Maria, 2009). In short, if different people have a common objective which they cannot necessarily achieve it alone they will naturally get together, communicate and share ideas thus creating a community. This is why video games are effective at building communities as they create objectives that will encourage people to get together to achieve them.

Social aspect

Video games easily build communities by encouraging other players to socialize with each other in various ways. In an MMORPG, safe areas such as “Guilds” or public areas are good places for players to interact with each other and socialize when they are not doing quests or other kinds of missions ; On the other hand, when they do quests and missions, players can form teams and groups in which they can play and communicate with each other (O’ Connor et al,. 2015). Nowadays games are becoming major spare time activity and virtually connects people all around the world; It is easier and more frequent now to meet other players and to communicate with them (Sabine, Leonard, & keno, 2012). It can be argued that video games, especially the ones that contain multiplayer features or which are completely multiplayer based such as Second Life offers a lot of possibilities for players to socialize with each other and therefore build communities. Social capital is a key concept used in the analysis of personal interactions and relationship; Physical proximity, social proximity, and familiarity are factors that help to increase social capital hence increasing socialization (Sabine, Leonard, & keno, 2012). These factors can be observed and evaluated to see how good of a platform video game can be for players to socialize and interact with each other. Physical proximity refers to how available and accessible others are for interaction, it has been described as a “ law of affiliation” as it indicates how partners get to be in touch with each other although it does not guarantee attraction (Sabine, Leonard, & keno, 2012). Video games do not provide great physical proximity in general unless the players decide to meet up outside in the real world which can be the case if they live near each other; It will on the other hand not be the case for players who know each other but live in different countries. Social proximity refers to the closeness of social networks and a group of person is considered to be socially proximate if they are both or all accessible (Sabine, Leonard, & keno, 2012). In this case, it is more about virtual presence than physical presence, although the person is not physically present this person can still communicate and interact. In video games, social proximity can be very positive if players meet up and get together regularly. In this case, players don’t need to be physically present to socialize which is what online games are all about, playing and interacting with people all around the world. Familiarity refers to the social psychological notion that people have a liking for the familiar meaning that the more people are socializing with each other, the closer they get and feel (Sabine, Leonard, & keno, 2012 ). When combining social proximity and familiarity together and applying it to online games we can get a high level of social capital despite low physical proximity (Sabine, Leonard, & keno, 2012). This is because players can meet frequently inside the online game and interact with each other (Social proximity) and as they keep on meeting and interacting they start to grow more familiar with each other (Familiarity).

Role playing

Role-playing is an aspect of video games that focuses on the “participative culture” and is another big factor that contributes in the building of an active community (O’ Connor et al ,. 2015). Role-playing is a way of playing a video game by using the settings provided by the gaming environment for “player-to-player interaction” ; It can encourage players to interact and collaborate with each other to create their own stories inside the game (O’ Connor et al ,. 2015). Role-playing can be done inside the game story or outside but by using the elements of the games, entire communities can be formed just for role-playing as players will meet each other and interact to create scenarios and come up with new dialogues and made up objectives. In MMORPGs, when roleplaying inside the game story, the player can choose to create a character and decide a specialty or role such as paladin, archer, healer, etc… A lone player will not be able to advance far in the game and reach a higher level by himself and needs to form a team with other players that have different roles (O’ Connor et al ,. 2015). A team consisted of players with each a different role has more chance of advancing further in the game and reach higher levels thus encouraging teamwork and communication. This is how roleplaying inside the game stories of online games can contribute to the build of communities that will interact and work with each other. T his form of division of labor will give players the incentive to meet other players in order to build a good team also known in gaming terms as “party”.When players decide to roleplay outside of the game story, they can use to role play as an existing character or can create their own original character with an individual identity inside video games, it can be similar to their real identity or it can be a completely made up one that will consist of unique traits and “idiosyncrasies” unique to them (Maria, 2009 ). Online video games allow players to create an identity that they will use to interact with other players; The difference between the way the player talks and acts in real life and in online games can be very different but this is what role-playing is all about, it is an act (Maria, 2009). For example, a male player can choose to create a female character and act like one while interacting with other players in online games such as GTA Online or World of Warcraft. When role-playing, players can form groups in which they feel as being part of and use this identity to distinguish them from other players (Maria, 2009). Therefore players can build communities inside video games to create an identity that they can use to separate themselves from other players who are part of other communities.

Narration & Game design

If well made, a game narration and game design can encourage players to build communities around those types of games. In this case, it is more about single player based games, rather than online games, as the story and the narration can be appealing enough to engage a group of players who will get together to learn and share information about it (Sky Larell Anderson, 2018). It is also the case if the game is designed in a way that makes it engaging for the players, usually, the ones which are difficult to play, as players will build a community to help each other such as Dark Souls (Sky Larell Anderson, 2018).

Conclusion

Video games are more than just forms of media for entertainment as they can help people to socialize, discuss and share their experiences with others. Games are becoming more social and hence increasing the numbers of communities online. Each game will have its own community containing people who have played the same game and usually share the same interest and desire to play that game. Reasons such as achieving a common goal, role-playing or the story of the game itself can all contribute together or sometimes individually in the creation of a community online.

Reference List:

O’ Connor, Erin L. ; Longman, Huon ; White, Katherine M. ; Obst, Patricia L. (2015) Sense of Community, Social Identity and Social Support Among Players of Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs): A Qualitative Analysis. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology .25(6), 459-473

https://doi-org.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/10.1002/casp.2224

Trepte, Sabine ; Reinecke, Leonard ; Juechems, Keno. (2012) The social side of gaming: How playing online computer games creates online and offline social support. Computers in Human Behavior. 28(3), 832-839

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2011.12.003

Frostling-Henningsson, Maria. (2009) First-Person Shooter Games as a Way of Connecting to People: “Brothers in Blood”. CyberPsychology & Behavior 12(5),557-562

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Sky Larell Anderson (2018) Extraludic narratives: Online communities and video games. Transformative Works and Cultures, 28

DOI 10.3983/twc.2018.1255