Keywords: Virtual, Community, Multiplayer, Network, Games
Abstract:
Online gaming is not generally associated with strengthening relationships and developing communities. However, patterns are emerging in research into the field of Online Multiplayer Games (OMG’s), suggesting they provide a fertile ground for cultivating relationships and bridging pockets of society separated by age, race, and socioeconomic factors. Games as a focal point attract people providing them with a common interest to bond, which in turn becomes a medium for communication and relationship building. More than a by-product, some people are driven to participate in multiplayer games to fulfill social needs. Enabling this drive, is the internet’s low-cost barriers to participation. Virtual communities for example, transcend geographical location and little emotional investment is required for interacting via an avatar. OMG’s are providing a valuable space for people to engage, and with more consideration for virtual communities by the game developers, the benefits can be more inclusive to the broader society.
Introduction
The popularity of online multiplayer games has spread immensely. For example, PUBG Mobile an online multiplayer war-themed game for mobile devices, recently passed the 600 Million download milestone Naik (2019), in under three years. Online gaming is a stationary, immersive activity, taking up time that may be spent actively participating in the community in activities such as sport, socializing or community projects. This has led to online games being branded as pervasive, anti-social, immature and a general waste of time. The multibillion-dollar industry is shaped largely by wealthy game producers, marketed predominantly at young men, who are viewed by society as spending long hours alone playing video games. What is not well known, are the social affordances online multiplayer games provide the communities of participants. Communities are a main source of motivation for online gamers and contribute significantly to the success of online multiplayer games.
By broadening the target audience of whom online games are marketed at, and by implementing provisions for a more community orientated environment; game developers can build platforms with stronger communities leading to a more loyal customer base, while contributing positively to the social needs of society. The focus of this essay will be how online games strengthen community ties. It will outline the forces that draw people to participate in online games, how this develops into online communities and the social benefits for its constituents as a result. It will also discuss the influences that shape online communities, and how they can be developed to be more effective and inclusive. This essay will argue that despite the perception online multiplayer games foster social isolation amongst youth, they are a powerful platform with the potential to enhance relationships between diverse participants, because of their ability to bridge communities, broaden existing relationships and the internet’s low costs of participation.
Before proceeding, it is important to define online games and virtual communities. Chin-Lung and His-Peng (2007) describe online communities as groups of people whose primary method for communication is electronic media, for example internet, where geographical location and cultural heritage are no barrier. People are attracted to online communities for several reasons, including satisfying needs, following interests, and forming relationships. Online games draw participants to not only interact with other people, but also gaming software (Steinkuehler, Williams, 2006). As the name suggests the games are played online, often inviting players to create fictional avatars and explore virtual fantasies with or against other players. Online games vary significantly in form and function. For example, casual in-app social media games such as poker can be picked up and played asynchronously and have no interaction with other players. On the other hand, the servers of massive multiplayer online game’s (MMO’s) like World of Warcraft can have hundreds of people at any one-time role playing and participating in a themed virtual realm. Online multiplayer games and their communities are typically played out through mediums such as computers and gaming consoles, over the internet.
The Online Gaming Community
Online games are a fertile ground for meeting people and growing relationships. Game participants are not drawn to game platforms by chance, or because they must be (Like a job); but rather because it is a genre, story or mode that appeals to them. This enables players to find other like-minded people, regardless of location, background, or age. The strong meeting point, or foundation that relationships are built on can even lead to some gamers to consider their online gaming friends closer than their offline friends, citing they have more in common Williams et al. (2010). In addition, research by Domaldi, Festl & Quandt (2014)found that spending time gaming socially had a significant impact on the probability of meeting friends online. Further, players whose primary source of motivation to participate in online multiplayer games was for the chance to interact with other people had an even higher chance of meeting new friends. Trepte, Reinecke, Juechems, 2012 have a theory that familiarity plays a part in forming relationships online. That is, the more time participants spend socializing with each other, the closer they begin to feel. This is found to be true for offline, as well as online environments. It is worth noting at this point, that the success for building relationships through online games depends on the type of game and how the developers have provisioned for the formation of social interactions and communities.
Communities play a pivotal role in online games. Research by Frostling-Henningsson (2009) link the primary motivation for online gamers is the opportunity to socialize, or work in cooperation to achieve objectives. The participants preferred gaming online over gaming alone, for the social benefits. Another motivator was connecting to new people in ways unlikely to happen in society, where prejudices associated with age or race may typically form a barrier. Building on the community’s role in games, Williams et al. (2010) study on the MMO World of Warcraft (WOW) which went to great lengths to understand the dynamics of player guilds learnt that the more structured guilds (In-game faction/communities) tend to have a more social experience then the more loosely formed groups, which in turn directly affects the quality of time in the game in a positive way. Thus, a clear pattern is forming, where people are motivated to play games as a community, because the social affordances provide a positive experience. WOW guilds are some of the more organized online gaming communities to date though, so is only representative of a segment of online gaming communities in general.
Bridging Communities
The internet enables online multiplayer games to bridge communities, which facilitates bonding. The connectedness of the internet makes it possible for connections to develop between people that would otherwise be unlikely to interact with one another. For example, since the internet is not bound geographically, players can find themselves participating with people from all over the globe. And since the medium that players typically interact through is an avatar, gamers do not get to see one another or acknowledge socioeconomic class. One does not know, or care particularly the age or background of another gamer, so long as they are good at playing! Williams et al. (2010) confirmed this, discovering that guilds make it possible for people to interact with a broad range of people they are unlikely to connect with in real life; transcending socioeconomic, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds. As the players communicate in groups or “guilds”, bonds start to form, and this has the potential to facilitate relationships growing from online to the offline world Domaldi et al (2014). These types of cross-networks are not common in the real world, as even sporting and social clubs are usually local to their demographic. Online games, and then internet, surpass these boundaries and make a broad range of connections possible.
The internet’s low-cost barrier to connect people opens the doors to segments of the community that are often unable to participate. At times isolated or, excluded because of the inability to participate in more physical or adventurous endeavors, online gaming is a practical and socially engaging activity for many people who suffer from a disability. Seniors too, with limited mobility have the opportunity to participate in online gaming communities. Some research was done in this area by (Nimrod, 2011) who confirmed the accessibility of online communities, and games, provided the opportunity to enhance the wellbeing of seniors that are unable to move around as freely. The research found that accessibility opened the door to online interactions and fun games that increased mental fitness, improved self-esteem and provided humor to help the participants cope with aging. We discussed earlier that players don’t have real life interaction with players they are meeting in online games, so interacting through an avatar makes it a more comfortable environment for people who suffer from social anxiety or struggle in social situations, again made possible by the low cost of investment in effort and emotions. Domaldi et al (2014)discuss this in their investigation of relationships among gamers, noting it is a good opportunity for these groups to meet new friends and turn them into offline friends. While the platforms exist, not all games are designed with the whole community in mind.
Developing More Than Just A Game
Online gaming communities are shaped by the game makers, and by the people using them. Williams et al. (2010)research into the guilds in WOW is worth revisiting here. They found “Game mechanics and social architectures have an immense impact on the resulting social formations and interactions within these spaces”, and that if games were developed with building communities as an objective, the social returns could be significant. That said, online communities are essentially a bi-product of online games, with some community provisions baked-in, enabling online communities to form and shape throughout the lifecycle of the game. A lot of the success of these communities then falls on the shoulders of players to shape their own communities, and WOW guilds have proved a talented source for this. An example of this is the WOW.gamepedia, a website and community managed, by the community. While noting earlier the potential for seniors to participate in online games, game marketers focus more on young audiences, all but ignoring seniors which is a cause for low adoption (Nimrod, 2011). More could be done by the game publishers to encourage a broader, more inclusive community. While game publishers are in the business to make money by developing games and not communities, an opportunity exists to stretch their brands further and build more diverse communities if they are more inclusive of the broader society by design.
The communities can exist across multiple platforms and can originate online or in the real world. Relationships in online gaming communities often originate offline, with groups of friends banding together to participate in a collaborative activity. This is proven to strengthen bonds, extending relationships to new dimensions and public spaces, a topic that is touched on shortly. It was mentioned earlier that relationships formed online can extend to the offline world, and Trepte et al (2012)provide further insight showing gaming clans can be close to the point where offline contacts can provide support for other clan members. The point is, online game relationships span into the offline world, and across other platforms, and this can help to build stronger relationships. Domaldi et al (2014) have defined this scenario as “Media multiplexity theory”. The theory suggests that individuals use a mix of different platforms, including online and offline; to foster close relationships, and that weaker ties typically use one medium. How strong these ties become is not clear, it may be hard to argue a relationship built using a mix of platforms is closer then a relationship form in the real world, where interactions are face to face and there are no second mediums.
The fulfilling of social needs, and a new place to develop these needs are affordances of online multiplayer games. Analyzing social needs derived from online community orientated games, such as Facebooks Farmville; (Di Loreto, Gouaich, 2010) use Murray’s human sociological needs as a source for participant motivation. Affection needs, and information needs are motivating factors for people to participate in online gaming communities. Examples of these sources are in-game messaging, exchanging objects and being in the presence of friends using the app in real-time. This illustrates that online games provide a platform to help satisfy social needs, or what is also described as a third space. Third spaces provide a space for “social interaction and relationships beyond the workplace and home” (Steinkuehler, Williams, 2006). The third space online games create for communities to socialize and relationships to develop is not dissimilar in nature to parks and café’s, it’s a space beyond home and the workplace. These theories tie in with what we discussed earlier, the effectiveness of the third space and how far a game goes to satisfy the social needs of its online community of users is influenced largely by the developer.
Conclusion
Online multiplayer games provide a new space for people to meet, strengthen ties and build communities on a foundation of shared interests. The community, that is ancillary to online games draws people to participate, and in turn provides social benefits to its users. There is an opportunity for game developers to incorporate more community orientated objectives into games, that in turn will lead to stronger better functioning communities that will encourage more people to play. As this essay has demonstrated, people are drawn to collaborate with other people in online games, and the familiarity of returning gamers helps relationships to grow. These affordances bridge communities by go beyond socioeconomic, geographic, and cultural barriers. The low entry costs to participate in online games such as the now ubiquitous internet and low emotional investment, make it a suitable platform for seniors and people who suffer from disability or social anxieties. That said, game developers will influence immensely how inclusive these platforms are, and how well they facilitate the development of online social games into thriving online communities. To understand the relationship between online gaming communities and the social benefits they provide better, further research could focus on how the category of multiplayer game can be linked to social outcome, and if the anti-social behavior in some games results in negative consequences out-weighing the positive.
Reference List
Chin-Lung Hsu, Hsi-Peng Lu, Consumer behavior in online game communities: A motivational factor perspective, Computers in Human Behavior, Volume 23, Issue 3, 2007, Pages 1642-1659, ISSN 0747-5632, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2005.09.001.
Domahidi, E., Festl, R., Quandt, T. (2014). To dwell among gamers: Investigating the relationship between social online game use and gaming-related friendships. Computers in Human Behavior, 35, 107-115. https://doi:10.1016/j.chp.2014.02.023
Ines Di Loreto, Abdelkader Gouaich. Social Casual Games Success is not so Casual. RR-10017, 2010, pp.001-011. lirmm-00486934
Maria Frostling-Henningsson.CyberPsychology & Behavior.Oct 2009.557-562.http://doi.org.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/10.1089/cpb.2008.0345
IGN. (2019). PUBG Mobile Gets 600 Million Downloads. Retrieved from https://in.ign.com/playerunknowns-battlegrounds-mobile/142341/news/pubg-mobile-gets-600-million-downloads
Steinkuehler, C.A. and Williams, D. (2006), Where Everybody Knows Your (Screen) Name: Online Games as “Third Places”. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 11: 885-909. https://doi:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2006.00300.x
Sabine Trepte, Leonard Reinecke, Keno Juechems, The social side of gaming: How playing online computer games creates online and offline social support, Computers in Human Behavior, Volume 28, Issue 3, 2012, Pages 832-839, ISSN 0747-5632, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2011.12.003.
Williams, D., Ducheneaut, N., Xiong, L., Zhang, Y., Yee, N., & Nickell, E. (2006). From Tree House to Barracks: The Social Life of Guilds in World of Warcraft. Games and Culture, 1(4), 338–361. https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412006292616
16 replies on “More than a game: Levelling up relationships”
Hi Craig. Great paper, this is the first one I’ve read this conference and I noticed a lot of topic overlap with my paper, but I found your writing style very academic and professional and that made it easy for me to keep reading even though I felt very familiar with much of the content. I suppose similarities are to be expected from the same stream, but I appreciated your writing style.
I did find some things in your paper I disagree with. While writing mine I found that while yes, class does not matter in online interactions, it often slips out and when it does it does matter to people. Class only doesn’t matter while it is invisible, and it doesn’t seem to stay that way for long. I also found communities which form online do often continue in offline settings; people sometimes make friends online and then have offline meet ups.
I also disagree that communities are a bi-product of online games. Sometimes this is true, and games are a business and businesses do put money first. But I don’t feel this means game creators put money first. What about making games for the sake of art? Earlier online games, like MUDs, had no profit and therefore must have placed community as a central reason for their being.
Despite these few little things I disagree with, I feel this is a very strong paper that effectively presents a solid argument. Well done.
Hi James,
First and foremost, thanks for reading my paper and providing feedback, and bonus points for making it your first! Totally agree with the overlapping content in this category, its probably to be expected and will not be unique to our stream.
Regarding classes, that is probably a good point. Even if someone is good at a game, your probably unlikely to invest significant time bonding with them if values do not align or it just does not feel like a good fit. I do not consider it a bad thing, we are all just products of our own environment, I guess.
I think game producers in the industry to make art would be few and far between. When you consider the cost of resources such as development, hosting, maintenance, and updates required for publishing online multiplayer games, it becomes expensive art.
Thanks again for reading, and I will track down your post and put it on my list.
Cheers,
Craig,
Hi Craig!
You wrote a great paper. The picture at the top – did you take that photo? If so, wow, if not, still a good choice. It definitely enhances your points that with gaming, your race, gender, identity, doesn’t matter to another player – all that matters is that you have fun and/or are good at the game. This is seen through the hands – we don’t know what the player looks like, or smiles like, or what gender they are. It doesn’t matter. It’s great how we can do that with gaming communities!
I like how you outlined how games are commonly seen as a waste of time, and then talked about the lesser-known benefits of games. It was great how you mentioned that video games are sometimes incredibly organised and requires brain power in regards to planning raids and running guilds.
I really liked how you said, “More could be done by the game publishers to encourage a broader, more inclusive community.” What do you think they could do to encourage this?
It was good how well researched the paper was. A great read! Thanks for that.
Anne-Marie
Hi AnnMarie,
Thanks for taking the time to read my paper, and for starting a conversation. You have discovered more meaning in the images that I included then was my intention, but it makes perfect sense so well done. I am doing this unit as part of my IT degree, not Art’s, hence my ability to find deeper messages hidden in art is shallow! I got the photos from: https://www.pexels.com/ they are royalty-free stock photos most of which are free to use however you like, provided it’s not for commercial gain.
Game publishers could broaden their audience by focusing on a market other than young boys. Just now we are starting to see more games with females as the lead character, but they are predominantly highly sexualised, and what about the elderly?
Thanks again for reading, I will be sure to hunt down your paper.
Craig,
Hello again Craig!
Thanks for hunting down my paper and commenting.
I definitely agree with that, I think games (and other media) who show even a hint of being more progressive than others have the chance to go extremely viral from that. People are thirsty for new content that’s different from the others! Times are changing, so obviously games should be too.
Would you say that there are more benefits of gaming communities compared to the negatives?
No problem AnneMarie!
I think the positives of gaming definitely outnumber the negatives, provided it’s used in a mindful way that is objective based instead of a way to just always seek pleasure.
PS: I feel like I have seen your name on every page I have commented on, is there a paper you have not read?
Yes, I agree. I like that you acknowledge that there are negatives! I find gaming is so enjoyable, besides the tendency to eat up a lot of your time.
My relatives and I have been playing Jackbox games over Zoom – if you don’t know, Jackbox are games where you can use your phone as a controller and your computer/tv as the screen. It works so well and makes for fun family games nights while we’re apart!
Just thought if you ever wanted to explore more into levelling up relationships during a pandemic, Jackbox could be something of note. It does have limitations of getting the older relatives to understand the software however…
Do you think that games are more important than ever during times like these, where physical connection is not possible?
PS It is my goal to comment on every single paper so yes, it’s not just in your head hahaha
There are a few papers that aren’t categorised and pop up out of nowhere as well as late submissions so I’m trying to keep commenting as much before this ends Friday!
Hi Craig,
That was an interesting read shedding light on a world that I don’t know much about! It’s very timely though, because I just finished a reading for another unit that counters quite a lot of what you are arguing here. Reed (2014) talks about how the internet picks up existing prejudices in the offline world and places them in an online environment. While gaming, in theory, allows you to be ‘neutral’ through the use of an avatar, things such as ethnicity and gender do still end up coming through, and gaming platforms can be places where vilification and discrimination happens. I’m wondering if you came across that in your research and how you think these kinds of issues can be addressed in the gaming world?
Reed (2014) also states that the ‘default subject position’ on the internet (and in gaming and other digital cultures) is based on “straight, white, middle-class, Euro-American male cultural assumptions, values and ideas [which] were/are unintentionally built into hardware, software and digital cultures.” (p. 84). You touch on this when you say “… an opportunity exists [for game publishers] to stretch their brands further and build more diverse communities if they are more inclusive of the broader society by design.” (para. 8) Is that default subject position starting to change and, if so, in what way? I’m also wondering what the representation of females is in the communities that you reference?
Lots of questions, sorry! But it’s a very interesting topic 😊
Thanks!
Anna
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Reed, T.V. (2014). Digitized lives : Culture, power, and social change in the internet era. Taylor & Francis Group. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/curtin/detail.action?docID=1707408#
Hi Anna,
Thanks for taking the time to read my paper, and for the well-written response. James, who commented on my paper earlier drew similar views regarding class discrimination eventually surfacing in online gaming communities. The papers I read did not include any concrete evidence in support of this, which means I probably didn’t expand my research broad enough. I don’t remember what the representation of females in online gaming communities was, but how they were accepted in the communities varied significantly on the type of game and/or virtual community. In games like first-person shooters predominantly marketed towards young men, with low female participation, the girls were targets of sexual and gender abuse. But in other games such as role-playing in world of warcraft, they were treated equally if not more popular for the diversity they bring.
Thanks,
Craig😊
Hi Craig,
I found your paper interesting and very captivating to read. I have in the past played many an online multiplayer game in the form of first person shooters and massively multiplayer games. While I agree that FPS multiplayer games require little emotional investment, I have found that even though not required, the more time and care that is taken into an MMO such as WOW, the greater the social aspect and desire to continue playing, particularly when it comes to being a part of a guild or a faction. That is to be expected and it certainly does mirror relationships IRL, in that the more you are present and give to the relationship, the more you get out of it and its value.
It always impresses me to see the depth of time and resources that players give to these communities and how inclusive everyone is within. Even the respect for players on the opposing team. As you said, playing as a community affords more positive social experiences and it transcends any racial or economic differences as these are not visible, nor are they important. I believe these interactions play a huge part in overcoming prejudices and instead focuses on what is important, the commonalities between each other in these interests and passions.
Overall, I found this piece very relatable and a pleasure to read, thank you Craig.
Mike
Hi Michael,
Thanks for analysing my paper, and for providing feedback. I think one of the main reasons I was drawn to this topic was because it is one I don’t know much about, and was keen to learn more. I have never really played MMO’s or participated in an online guild, so I can’t really relate to my research finding personally. That’s what makes your comments interesting, that you have had similar experiences to what I discuss in my research paper.
Thanks again,
Craig
Hi Craig,
Many thanks for commenting on my paper and directing me to yours here. It’s a well-written and well-argued paper. We seem to have consumed a good deal of the same literature surrounding online gaming, and we’ve reached broadly similar conclusions. One thing that interests me is the difference in MMO games played across houses versus MMO games played at an internet café. I’m not a gamer, but watching young people play games together at an internet cafe, one gets the sense of a real community and subculture with its own language and sense of belonging. They seemed thickly bonded, to use academic terminology, as they are locked together into their screens and their fantasy worlds. There’s a lot of banter and cooperation that goes on, shouting at one another across the room and laughing together when something odd or exciting happens in the game. Then there’s the paraphernalia involved. Cans of coke and junk food wrappers, discussion about computers and movies. There is real community, it seems to me, in these ‘third spaces’. If gamers are isolated to their houses though, and communicate to one another via headsets or what have you, relationships can develop, and they’ll be genuine, but I think they’ll lose something ineffable that comes with face-to-face gaming in third or public spaces.
Hi Craig
Many thanks for commenting on my paper and directing me to yours here. It’s a well-written and well-argued paper. We seem to have consumed a good deal of the same literature surrounding online gaming, and we’ve reached broadly similar conclusions. One thing that interests me is the difference in MMO games played across houses versus MMO games played at an internet café. I’m not a gamer, but watching young people play games together at an internet cafe, one gets the sense of a real community and subculture with its own language and sense of belonging. They seemed thickly bonded, to use academic terminology, as they are locked together into their screens and their fantasy worlds. There’s a lot of banter and cooperation that goes on, shouting at one another across the room and laughing together when something odd or exciting happens in the game. Then there’s the paraphernalia involved. Cans of coke and junk food wrappers, discussion about computers and movies. There is real community, it seems to me, in these ‘third spaces’. If gamers are isolated to their houses though, and communicate to one another via headsets or what have you, relationships can develop, and they’ll be genuine, but I think they’ll lose something ineffable that comes with face-to-face gaming in third or public spaces.
Hi Duncan,
Thanks for taking the time to check it out, and for the feedback. I think I get what you are saying with regards to the sub-culture that emanates from internet cafes, as a physical third space. But to counter that, I reckon it’s also a culture that’s migrating online. Twitch is a good example of this, watching teams of gamers collaborate and express themselves kind of reminds me of what goes down at internet cafes?
Cheers,
Craig
Hi Craig,
i like your paper. and i can agree more on the point of “Online multiple games a powerful platform with the potential to enhance relationships between diverse participants, because of their ability to bridge communities, broaden existing relationships and the internet’s low costs of participation”.
each of us is the atom in human communities, we hardly survive without interaction with others, i believe everyone is interacting with one another every single second, however a lot of people are considered by the others as ” isolated deviant” or even worse ” a autism”, then how this conflict occur? i guess it is because they are selectively ignoring the existence of other platforms of communication/communities, people who don’t at all play any games are difficult to acknowledge how it is like, living in the same world but in the different space. To make them understand more about OMGs is as hard as expecting Beckham to play basketball instead of soccer, it is possible but difficult.
Again, i love your arguments in your paper, Thank your for your fantastic contribution.
Warmest
Bailin Huier
Hey Craig,
The fact that you began your paper by using PUBG Mobile as an example got me immediately hooked, I absolutely love PUBG and reading that in the first few sentences certainly made me keep reading. 😀
In all seriousness, I definitely think you present a unique take on the gaming communities found within the MMO genre. Your mention of “Media Multiplexity Theory” was incredibly interesting to me. I totally agree that the strongest bonds are formed through a mix of online and offline interactions as this blending of platforms is integral to forming close relationships.
I personally participated at the “pro” level in a game called Fortnite about a year ago. I first formed bonds with many players through various online communities even regularly playing together in the team-based game mode in Fortnite. I can certainly tell you that our friendships were much stronger after spending a weekend in Melbourne with these players for an offline tournament. I would say that these bonds I formed are artificial and not relevant as they are certainly meaningful and important.
I also agree with your point that game developers greatly influence how exclusive or inclusive their game will be. Do you think the free-to-play model (one that is becoming more prevalent in modern games) is one that fosters stronger and more engaging communities? Would you agree that the use of team-based, strategic gameplay in a game such as Fortnite or Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, is comparable to the experience that players have in a more cooperative experience such as World of Warcraft?
I certainly enjoyed reading your paper as it definitely made me reflect on my own experiences with forming online relationships.
Sincerely,
Zac