{"id":255,"date":"2019-05-06T04:10:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-05T20:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/?p=255"},"modified":"2019-05-06T04:07:47","modified_gmt":"2019-05-05T20:07:47","slug":"press-f-to-pay-respects-to-those-who-still-thinks-video-games-means-isolation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Curtin\/2019\/05\/06\/press-f-to-pay-respects-to-those-who-still-thinks-video-games-means-isolation\/","title":{"rendered":"Press F To Pay Respects To Those Who Still Thinks Video Games Means Isolation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
A1_NETS2002_TAN_18341072<\/a>Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Abstract<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As video games industries move at a rapid pace in terms of what games can offer, there has been an increased emphasis to take seriously the study of communities formed through online gaming. This conference paper aims to provide a pragmatic approach that communities formed within online gaming, can be advantageous, beneficial and genuine, countering against traditional studies that were sceptical to the rise of the digital age. This paper explores 3 very different kinds of gaming communities to reveal the validity of virtual gaming communities within different contexts. Utilising a variety of academic sources, which supports and counter-argues, this paper discovers that games are no longer as casual and simple as they seem, they are growing in complexity and will continue to draw serious discussions on its impact of people\u2019s lives and communities.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

KEYWORDS: Online Gaming, Virtual Worlds, Traditional Games, Digital Games, Digitisation, Internet, Third place, MMORPG, Guilds, FIFA, GTA, Facebook, Farmville, Web 2.0, ARG. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Spacewar<\/em> (1962). This image was originally posted to Flickr<\/a><\/strong> by Joi at https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/35034362831@N01\/494431001<\/a>. It was reviewed on 13 May 2007 by FlickreviewR<\/a><\/strong> and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Old-fashioned games night consisting of Uno<\/em>, Monopoly <\/em>or Scrabble<\/em> usually involved two or more players; some may refer to this as playing with a community of friends or family. Whereas the birth of digitisation that stems from old school arcade games such as SpaceWar<\/em> in 1962 (Arpad, 2017), much more technologically advanced games today have often fall forefront of criticism that communities are reduced to individualism or isolation from physical, face-to-face community. A major player to the digitisation of games is the introduction of the Internet during the 1990s (Andrews, 2013), where it\u2019s increased relevancy and functioning within video games provide a manicheistic belief, where one side of the argument suggests that with virtual spaces, we live in pseudo-communities (Katz, Rice, Acord, Dasgupta, & David, 2004, p.323). This conference paper aims to discuss that video games have not destroyed communities; rather they have provided an alternate planet. Online gaming does not diminish personalities or communities but rather, provide life skills, extend physical communities and utilise collective intelligence to solve issues quicker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MMORPG Provides Life Skills<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThird Place\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The introduction of digitisation saw the migration from traditional board games to video games and the emergence of virtual worlds, also known as the \u2018third place\u2019. \u2018Third places\u201d in video games provide \u201ca home away from home\u201d and provided \u201cfeelings of being at ease\u201d (Steinkuehler & Williams, 2006, p.890, Table 1, row 8). With physicality, individuals move from the presence of others whilst in the \u201cgames room\u201d, to individual seating and playing in front of a digital screen. Media scholars in the 2000\u2019s often evoked scepticism towards this shift from physical to virtual communities, regarding it as a distortion to societal engagement, often known as the \u201cbowling alone\u201d theory (Steinkuehler & Williams, 2006, p.885). However, the introduction of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing games (MMORPG) have given new meaning to gaming communities, offering as a alternate planet known as a \u201cthird place\u201d, where individuals have the free will to enter and exit, unlike the real world bounded by various physical obligations (Steinkuehler & Williams, 2006, p.890-891). In these alternate spaces, players utilise it as a form of \u201cinformal sociability\u201d, similar to the functions of local pubs or cafes (Steinkuehler & Williams, 2006, p.886). The \u201cthird place\u201d is incredibly important to study in relation to our youths, as explored in the next paragraph. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Timid Youths to Future Leaders<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A definition of a community can be understood in four elements, \u201ca place to live, a spatial unit, a way of life and a social system\u201d (Sanders 1996, cited in Katz et al. 2004, p.317). According to a paper by Meredith, Hussain, & Griffiths (2009), teenagers in their late years often make up the major population of MMORPG players. As youths enter into these virtual worlds, their reputation or societal statuses do not matter (Steinkuehler & Williams, 2006), more importantly, they have the freedom to express themselves, in which they may not have the confidence to in real life (Frostling-Henningsson, 2009, p.558). Frostling-Henningsson (2009) supported this statement with a case study of a 15-year-old boy who is well-respected and lead groups of players in MMORPG. However, in real life, he has a poor relationship with his parents and low self-esteem due to weight-related issues. This example proves that friendships with strangers in online gaming communities can be a positive experience as the \u2018third place\u2019 offers a space unbounded by the unfavourable circumstances of real life, which in result hinders confidence growth. The success of the 15-year-old boy challenges the scepticism of the \u201cbowling alone\u201d theory, which suggested that with online spaces, there would be an increase in isolation. Instead, the boy developed self-confidence by nurturing other players, this is as Wellman & Gulia (1999, p.9) supports, \u201chelping others can increase self-esteem, respect from others and status attainment\u201d.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rituals and Consequences<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much like real-world society and governments, virtual worlds also have policies and rules that keep players in check (Kovisto, 2003, p.1). In MMORPG, a guild is a community of players that help each other through utilising different abilities (Kovisto, 2003), as uniting for a common cause was of central importance (Frostling-Henningsson, 2009, p.559). Within guilds, players can also own houses that can serve both as a \u201cpersonality\u201d aspect and as a meeting place with other gamers (Kovisto, 2003, p.6). Guild houses in particular, are unique to this study as they provide a safe haven for members to store items that can be shared by others. Within this house, players can train together, hold meetings and also craft (Kovisto, 2003, p.6). Hierarchical ranking systems in guilds also provide structure for senior members to provide wisdom in terms of game knowledge, helping newer members and providing them with a sense of belonging (Kovisto, 2003, p.7). This reinforces communal values and encourages participatory culture, which as Jenkins (2010) supports; \u201cmembers believe their contributions matter, feeling some degree of social connection with one another\u201d. Guild houses in virtual worlds challenge traditional scholars such as Tonnies, as cited in Katz et al. (2004, p.322), who argued that with the arrival of technology, \u201cnatural basis of human life is swept away forever, alienating us from each other\u201d. Simplicity and games can be said as a thing of the past as character complexity nowadays means games can offer high levels of character customisation. Besides appearance, external effects to a character have been increasingly realistic. In Ultima Online<\/em>(UO), drinking (alcohol) holds realistic results on the character, as Kovisto (2003) describes with constant bloating and vomiting out of mana (magical energy). In open-world free-roaming games such as Grand Theft Auto<\/em>(Vice City in particular), exercising has massive effects on players such as training more on exercise bikes to increase stamina, swimming for an increase in lung capacity or weights to have a bigger build. These are the rules and consequences of real life transferred and paralleled into virtual gaming world values. An absence of any of these activities can result in lower gaming experience because much like the real world, the consequences of not exercising can be as simple as not being able to run from point A to B, quicker than one would like.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Common Interest and Social Games can Extend Physical Communities <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

FIFA and GTA <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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