Alex Roberts
Curtin University<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Abstract <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Gaming\ncommunities are an integral part of the gaming landscape both online and\noffline. Thus, being a part of a gaming community directly influences and enhances\nthe experience of a member through relationships and social capital. This\nconference paper will use literature based primarily on massively-multiplayer\nonline games (MMOG\u2019s) to explore the benefits of community-based gaming from\nboth a player and developer perspective whilst examining their symbiotic\nrelationship.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Keywords: Community, Social Capital, Massively-Multiplayer\nOnline Game (MMOG), Video Games. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Playing video games is\nan inherently social experience. Whether experienced in a single or multiplayer\ncontext, it matters not. Video gaming is continuously evolving, and social interaction\nis an important motive for players (Ruggles, Wadley, & Gibbs, 2005). Thus,\nthe virtual community has become the zenith for gaming interaction. Virtual\ncommunities are characterized by the shared goals and interests of people who\nuse electronic communication as a primary form of interaction. Additionally, as\npeople of similar interests engage with one another for long enough periods of\ntime with significant feeling, personal relationships are formed within\ncyberspace (Ridings & Gefen, 2006). In the context of gaming, Ruggles et\nal. (2005) explain that video game developers have taken advantage of the\ninternet to connect players both in and out of game. Whether it be to discuss\nideas, share resources or play together, the community is based on these foundations,\nwhich when strong enough can bleed into the offline world through events such\nas Blizzcon. A convention run by Blizzard Entertainment which focuses on bringing\ntogether the games they have created with the communities they have cultivated.\nThis paper aims to explore how gaming communities and networks enhance the experiences\nof members and often form the backbone of games themselves once established and\nwill primarily draw on literature referencing massively multiplayer online\ngames \/ massively multiplayer online roleplaying games (MMOGs\/MMORPGs). The following\nparagraph will outline how developers work to foster communities in their games\nwhile the subsequent paragraphs will focus on how player experiences are\nenhanced through social capital and learning. Additionally, this paper will\nexplore how the developer is an integral part of the community and how the symbiotic\nplayer-developer relationship provides benefits. Lastly this paper will explore\nhow communities, once established, form the backbone of video games through\nexamination of mediums such as Twitch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Virtual Beginnings <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n While community is important,\nthe genesis lies with the development staff. It was found through interviews\nwith producers, developers and designers from five successful game vendors that\nhad successfully shipped single-player, multi-player and massively-multiplayer\ngames, that an online community is considered important to the success of games\nby all participants (Ruggles et al. 2005). Furthermore, various techniques are employed\nby developers both in-game and out-of-game to facilitate the formation of\ncommunities. In-game techniques are comprised of supporting formation of player\norganizations (guilds, clans etc.), encouragement of player competition\n(competition requires players to interact with one another), design of effective\nplayer matching systems (often through a user interface (UI) that allows customization\nof preferences in content, activities, social groups), effective\nplayer-to-player communication tools as well as the design of social spaces in\ngame that can facilitate things such as trade and community events (Ruggles et\nal. 2005). Out-of-game techniques are then comprised of the provision of official\nwebsites and forums, support and encouragement of fan sites, effective interaction\nbetween development staff and players, involving players in decisions and\nencouraging high profile players to become advocates for the game and community\n(Ruggles et al. 2005). These techniques allow players to create communities\nthrough the given tools and design choices of the development staff which as\nthey grow, allow players to have a better experience while playing the game.\nThis will be covered in the proceeding paragraphs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Motivations in Play<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Millions of people\nplay games, and among these players, each have their own motivations. In a\nstudy of World of Warcraft (WoW), a popular MMORPG developed by Blizzard\nEntertainment, 1059 participants answered questions regarding the reasons in which\nthey play the game. Answers included player versus environment (PvE) content, exploration,\nquest achievements, player versus player (PvP) content, dungeons and raids\n(Billieux et al., 2013). MMORPG\u2019s are described to be intensely competitive, and\nplayers often may not be able to survive alone. Hence the need for players to\ncooperate and rely on each other in order to achieve a common goal. This\nforming of groups, and intergroup collaboration is what gives rise to robust\ncommunities in which players create and transact these online relationships\nboth in-game through avatars and out of game through voice chat, instant\nmessaging, forums and email (Bessiere, Seay, & Kiesler, 2007). It is this\nformation of community that enhances the experience of the player. With in-game\ncontent often being designed and balanced around multiple players, having a\ncommunity to tap into affords community members the means to overcome these\nobstacles and achieve goals they otherwise would be unable to reach on their\nown. This is exemplified through the in-game social networks known as guilds.\nThese are communities of players who band together with the goals of making\nfriends, accessing guild resources and accessing help and knowledge from more\nexperienced players. Additionally, the positive connotations related to guilds\noften denote that players participate in this form of engagement voluntarily resulting\nin individual goals becoming shared goals (Hsiao & Chiou, 2012). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Social Capital<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, social\ncapital plays an integral role in the experience of players both in-game and\nout-of-game. In a study of 161 people by Martoncik and Loksa (2016), it was found\nthat players experience lower degrees of loneliness and social anxiety when\nplaying with community members in which they have relationships with. This was\nassociated with guild membership and frequent communication with teammates over\nvoice chat. In addition to this, online game community engagement out-of-game can\nbe motivated by meeting new people, information gathering and learning, social\ninteraction, social support, sense of community, external support and alleviation\nof social anxiety through the content sharing platform Twitch.tv (Hilvert-Bruce\net al., 2018). <\/p>\n\n\n\n An additional study of\n22 participants explains that they all feel a sense of community and belonging\nin relation to WoW. This community aspect was noted to be one of the best\nthings about the game and may have provided them with belonging that they\nlacked in their offline lives (O\u2019Connor et al., 2015). Furthermore, this study examined\nthat of the participants, many of them saw WoW and MMO\u2019s as a medium in which\nthey could assume identities that fit with the communities in which they were\nmembers. These included; the WoW player, the MMO player, the gamer and the\nguild member. Additionally, these players also reported trusting guildmates, giving\nand receiving in-game help and advice as well as giving and receiving offline\nadvice (O\u2019Connor et al., 2015). While membership to groups in the community assists\nin enhancing players capacity to tackle in-game tasks, the formation of\nrelationships and acquisition of social capital examined in these studies illustrates\nhow the experience of community members is enhanced through providing a support\nnetwork of new relationships in addition to the positive influence on their\nmental health, resulting in more enjoyable playtime and environment. Furthermore,\nwhile in-game connection is important, out-of-game connections are equally as\nimportant in building and assisting members of the community. Collaboration via\nTwitch.tv allows community members to enhance their skillset and knowledge base\nvia consumption of content produced by other community members. In addition to\nthis, regarding other game types, it is often not necessary to be connected to\nthe internet to play a single-player game, this does not mean community\nmembership is a null factor in this scenario. While player-to-player interaction\nis limited in game, online tutorials, tips and hints are all beneficial in helping\nthe player fully realize their experience (Ruggles et al., 2005). This illustrates\nhow despite not having in-game interactions with other plays in other genres of\ngames, it is possible to enhance your experience and be an active member of the\ncommunity by examining and taking part in the conversation around said game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Developer Perspective<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Until now, this paper\nhas largely focused on how community membership and engagement enhance the\nexperiences of the player. This paragraph will examine this topic through the\nlens of the developer. Earlier in this paper, it was noted that members from\nvarious video game vendors considered the online community to be a contributing\nfactor to a game\u2019s success. In addition to this, online communities based\naround the use of a product can be important for developing new marketing\nstrategies resulting in reinforcing the customers relationship to the product\n(Ruggles et al., 2005). That is, a thriving community allows for the developer\nto employ additional monetization strategies. Furthermore, the more engaged a\nplayer is with the community, as seen in the previous paragraph where it was\nindicated that the community was the best part of the game for some people, the\nmore likely a community member is to stick with the product. As well as this,\nit is important to note that the developer and the players form a symbiotic\nrelationship. With the developers taking on feedback from the community in\norder to try and improve the game, which will work to further grow the\ncommunity as the game evolves. A perfect example of this is Blizzard\nEntertainment\u2019s WoW question and answer livestreams which aim to address player\nfeedback and ensure players that they have been heard. That they are a part of\nthe process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Community<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Once a community exists,\nit often becomes the backbone of the game. As without a community the game\nwould likely not exist. The WoW documentary Looking\nfor Group <\/em>(2014) illustrates this as much of it features community members. Many of which explain that they continuously\ncome back to the game for the community as it makes them feel welcome, it\nsupports them, and it is part of their identity. Simultaneously, developers\ncomment on the players being integral to the game. Bungie also illustrates this\nidea through their \u201cThis Week at Bungie\u201d (TWAB) blog which communicates weekly\nchanges to the community whilst also featuring user generated content each week.\nThus, facilitating collaboration in an online setting out-of-game. While this\nparagraph is light on literature, it offers real world examples as to what kind\nof role the community plays in a gaming context. The WoW Twitch channel for example\nhas approximately 538,000 followers while the community member Preach has approximately\n136,000. Demonstrating that even as an individual he has a large amount of pull.\nAdditionally, the WoW YouTube channel has 1.2 million subscribers while Preach\nand Bellulargaming, another WoW community member, have a combined 847,000\nsubscribers. While the developers maintain the game, content creators and\ncommunity members contribute largely to the knowledge and skill base of the\ncommunity due to everyday broadcasting and publishing of user generated content\nthat aims to provide value to community members, whilst providing feedback to\nBlizzard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether a game is\nsingle-player or multiplayer, there will always be a community element. That\ncommunity element may range from guides and tips for a single-player game to\nnew relationships made in-game or through forums. There are numerous ways that\ncommunities interact in the gaming context and it requires effort from both the\ndevelopers and the players in order to foster a community that can truly\nenhance the experiences of everyone involved. In the case of WoW which has been\nbriefly examined in this paper, it is the community that increases the capacity\nof the player to achieve greater goals but more importantly, it is the\ncommunity that increases the social capital of community members allowing them\nto enhance their experience through a betterment of their health, identity and\nother social issues whilst creating an environment in which others are\nencouraged to join. Although it is necessary for a game to exist in which the\ncommunity can orbit, the game could not continue to thrive without the community\nto nourish it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n References: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Bessiere, K., Seay,\nA. F., & Kiesler, S. A. (2007). The ideal elf: identity exploration in\nWorld of Warcraft. Cyberpsychology & Behaviour:\nthe impact of the internet, multimedia and virtual reality on behaviour and\nsociety, 10(4), <\/em>530-535. Retrieved from http:\/\/web.a.ebscohost.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au\/ehost\/pdfviewer\/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=ff1c5b9a-0251-4db9-8b0d-0023abc5cf07%40sessionmgr4009<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Billieux, J., Van der\nLinden, M., Achab, S., Khazaal, Y., Paraskevopoulos, L., Zullino, D., &\nThorens, G. (2013). Why do you play World of Warcraft? An in-depth exploration\nof self-reported motivations to play online and in-game behaviours in the\nvirtual world of Azeroth. Computers in\nHuman Behaviour, 29, <\/em>103-109. Doi: 10.1016\/j.chb.2012.07.021<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hilvert-Bruce, Z., Neill, J., Sjoblom, M., & Hamari, J.\n(2018). Social motivations of live streaming viewer engagement on Twitch. Computers in Human Behaviour, 84, <\/em>58-67.\nDoi: 10.1016\/j.chb.2018.02.013<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hsiao, C., &\nChiou, J. (2012). The effects of a player\u2019s network centrality on resource\naccessibility, game enjoyment, and continuance intention: A study on online\ngaming communities. Electronic Commerce\nResearch and Applications, 11, <\/em>75-84. Doi: 10.1016\/j.elerap.2011.10.001<\/p>\n\n\n\n Martoncik,\nM., & Loksa, J. (2016). Do World of Warcraft\n(MMORPG) players experience less loneliness and social anxiety in online world\n(virtual environment) than in real world (offline)? Computers in Human Behaviour, 56, <\/em>127-143. Doi: 10.1016\/j.chb.2015.11.035<\/p>\n\n\n\n O\u2019Connor, E., Longman, H., White, K., & Obst, P.\n(2015). Sense of Community, Social Identity and Social Support Among Players of\nMassively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs): a Qualitative Analysis. Journal of Community & Applied Social\nPsychology, 25, <\/em>459-473. Doi: 10.1002\/casp.2224<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ridings, C., & Gefen, D. (2004). Virtual Community\nAttraction: Why People Hang Out Online. Journal\nof Computer Mediated Communication, 10<\/em>(1). Available: http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/j.1083-6101.2004.tb00229.x\/full<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ruggles, C., Wadley, G., & Gibbs, M. (2005). Online Community\nBuilding Techniques Used by Video Game Developers. Entertainment Computing, <\/em>114-125. Retrieved from https:\/\/link-springer-com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au\/content\/pdf\/10.1007%2F11558651.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n World of Warcraft. (2014 November 8). World of Warcraft: Looking for Group Documentary<\/em> [Video file] Retrieved from https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=xyPzTywUBsQ<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License Alex RobertsCurtin University Abstract Gaming communities are an integral part of the gaming landscape both online and offline. Thus, being a part of a gaming community directly influences and enhances the experience of a member through relationships and social capital. This conference paper will use literature based primarily on massively-multiplayer online games (MMOG\u2019s) to explore… Continue reading Gaming communities and networks enhance the experiences of members and often form the backbone of the games themselves.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[28,195,194,193,182],"class_list":["post-419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gaming","tag-community","tag-massively-multiplayer-online-game","tag-mmo","tag-social-capital","tag-video-games"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Open\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Open\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Open\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Open\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Open\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=419"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Open\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":427,"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Open\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419\/revisions\/427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Open\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Open\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Open\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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