Abstract:
Online gaming communities such as Final Fantasy XIV are becoming more social and creating positive interactions through using social media platforms as third places to communicate and share experiences. Using social media platforms such as Twitter, Reddit, and Discord allows players of Final Fantasy XIV to create meaningful interactions outside of the game, while also allowing players to circumvent the communicative limitations of the game itself. By using social media in tandem with Final Fantasy XIV, it allows players to experience moments no longer available, organise events and social gatherings inside and outside the game and reach a wider audience, and create meaningful, not shallow, interactions with each other.
Introduction
Online gaming communities such as Final Fantasy XIV are becoming more social and creating positive interactions using social media platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, and Discord. These platforms act as third places for players to communicate and share experiences, as well as enforcing the concept of networked individualism. This paper argues that it is not only the game itself that provides a third space, but social media as well, allowing for more persistent and pervasive awareness and, therefore, more varied, and meaningful (if fleeting) interactions with players and others around them, creating a network of individuals bound by a specific reason. By using social media in tandem with Final Fantasy XIV, it allows players to experience moments no longer available, organise events and social gatherings inside and outside the game and reach a wider audience, and create sometimes meaningful, not shallow, interactions with each other, especially as the game’s social limitations become clearer during its continuous growth and upward usage.
Third Places
Virtual spaces such as Discord, Twitter, and YouTube are sites that thrive on the interaction of their users. These spaces are set aside from work and from home and can be referred to as “third places” – a place where people can “play” and enrich their social lives outside of their everyday places (Oldenburg & Brissett, 1982, p. 269). However, as social media and the way we consume content has evolved, concerns and discussions have been raised about whether online interactions are meaningful or shallow (Hampton & Wellman, 2020). This discussion bleeds into the online gaming sphere as well, where games that are predominantly played online, such as MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games), have communities that are often, by necessity, social and have expanded to being more active on various social media sites.
Communities and how we interact with them are changing as technology changes, especially with the continued rise and reliance on social media. With social media and other platforms advancing and changing rapidly, it is no surprise that the way we interact with other people changes with them. For example, while the VOIP program Discord was originally conceived for gamers, it has evolved and expanded its use and user base to include other interest areas, particularly teaching (Johnson & Salter, 2022), both for overseas learning and for learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in particular. However, there are also many other smaller communities within Discord unrelated to gaming, such as art, general social servers, servers for influencers, and much more. Like other social platforms such as Twitter and Reddit, it has evolved and expanded with the changing times. Online games which are inherently social, like FFXIV, follow the same principle.
FFXIV is an MMORPG with an interesting history in the social media space. Firstly, FFXIV failed commercially and critically in its initial release (1.0) and eventually had to be rebuilt by a new director (Karmali, 2015). Remnants of the time when the servers went down, that can no longer be experienced, are archived on social media in the form of screenshots and video captures, as the shutdown of those servers coincided with events in the story of the game. The experience people had of the servers shutting off was memorialised via FFXIV’s community presence on social media, and it is therefore through the combination of FFXIV, and the use of social media that people can come together and share these experiences.
Communities and Networked Individualism
Communities, as perceived through a traditional lens, are often looked at with wistful nostalgia, with the idea that communities in the past that were entirely offline were mythical places full of mutual support, even though it was commonly not the case, and was, in fact, not as different as today (Hampton & Wellman, 2020). Rather, communities are instead evolving to suit the times and the new technology available. Networked individualism has become a popular way of describing modern and often mobile means of social interaction (i.e., social media, mobile phones). It allows people of diverse backgrounds, at different ages and periods in their life, to interact and form bonds, sometimes resulting in communities that are less densely knit and tightly bound but more flexible (Hampton & Wellman, 2018). That perception leads to the idea that online interactions are less meaningful than offline, traditional communities.
Networked individualism is a concept that is prominent online and is particularly relevant to FFXIV’s online presence. Networked individualism provides people with personalised communities and all that entails, such as a personalised sense of belonging with each community (Wellman, 2001). The shift to more mobile means of communication also allows the physical boundaries that once divided people to be broken down and ignored entirely in favour of person-to-person contact (Wellman, 2001). In the context of FFXIV, the game servers act as barriers at a glance. However, prospective players have the option of choosing any of the servers to play on, regardless of the region the game is bought. These barriers are further broken down with the use of social media and sharing of experiences; there are no servers to choose from, and these are (mostly) worldwide networks of people. As such, the physical borders of interaction are null and void, and there is a strong sense of networked individualism and belonging in the community.
These social media spaces are a revolving door of users and players – some come, some go, but all are connected individuals by virtue of sharing a vested interest in FFXIV. This group of networked individuals cultivate both strong and weak ties online through persistence and the affordance of flexibility granted by evolving technologies (Papacharissi, 2010). However, there is also the consideration of the persistent and pervasive awareness of each other and people within these communities of networked individuals (Hampton & Wellman, 2018).
Case Study: Final Fantasy XIV
For FFXIV 1.0, even a decade later, people within that community are aware of the incident and often ask for videos or even if they are able to experience the original game or event again, creating an awareness and connection through the experiences (or non-experiences) of that event. It links into research by Litt et al. (2020), who noted that meaningful interactions have an effect not only on the people involved but an effect that transcends the event itself. For example, the event of FFXIV’s 1.0 servers shutting down was (and continues to be) a meaningful event and experience for the FFXIV community. This is primarily due to players recounting and sharing their experiences on social media such as Twitter, Reddit, and YouTube, memorialising the event through videos.
As an online game, however, FFXIV has its own communication methods, including finding people and groups to play with or communicate with on a social level, acting as a third place. Ducheneaut et al. (2007) conclude that online game worlds could supplement or even replace physical third places (Oldenburg & Brisett, 1982). This conclusion has been relatively accurate, particularly in the wake of COVID-19, as many people were forced to isolate. However, as communities and social media continue to evolve, the limitations of these game worlds become more pronounced – as evidenced by the increase in usage of social media to supplement communities and communication in the game, as communication and social interaction tend to drive the popularity of all games (Bankov, 2019).
In FFXIV, it is common for events in-game to be advertised and promoted outside the game itself. Promotion of these events can occur through either the parent company (Square-Enix) using official social media accounts to advertise in-game events (for example, FINAL FANTASY XIV (2023) sharing the announcement of the in-game event “Hatching-tide” on Twitter) or by individuals within the community on various social media networks. One of the most prominent uses of external communication applications for organising events in FFXIV is Discord communities, particularly for organising “hunt trains”. These events are run daily, organised and promoted outside the game, with internal promotion through text chat in FFXIV being secondary, and run at specific times daily, coordinated by individuals. However, other social events are coordinated by individuals on Twitter, such as art parties, bars, role-playing events, and much more.
Social media also plays a crucial role in sharing what happens in these events or shining a light on spontaneous events. That sharing then promotes discussion or fan work such as illustrations or writing or the need for more social events – all these interactions and more are performed in the online space and outside of the game itself. Ducheneaut et al. (2007) argue that despite the flexibility offered by game spaces, it has its limitations both with regard to the features in the game and the fact that, at its core, it is a game and not primarily a social space. This reasoning, as shown with the examples above, applies to FFXIV as well. Despite its genre of an MMORPG, at its core, it is a game where the focus shifts from primarily being social. Games and social media form two parts of a networked whole, in which people can communicate and share experiences in game and not bound by the limitations of that game. Together, they fit into the definition originally presented by Oldenburg & Brissett (1982) by providing enabling, not simply escapist, experiences for their users.
It is not just events in FFXIV that are shared through various social media channels, nor is it just used to preserve those events. Social media also affords the players places to share everyday experiences and issues outside of the game itself. This variant in usage creates a persistence in the community of networked individuals, allowing for the potential of enduring communications and connections (Hampton, 2016). FFXIV has its own chats, but these are often limited to existing communities or for specific interests such as raiding or hunting. FFXIV’s social media presence, both official and its community, instead facilitates the finding, following, and interaction with other players from across the world, not limited by geographic location, server, or data centre. By utilising social media, players are also subject to a pervasive awareness of others stemming from person-to-network contact that is persistent (as above) and brief (Hampton, 2016). Therefore, players are more aware of their surroundings and of any issues that arise in the community, whether in the form of social issues or game-breaking issues via social media.
Conclusion
Overall, the way we communicate using various technologies is ever evolving. Social media networks continue to change how we view communities from a traditionalist and deterministic lens to a more nuanced and networked perspective (Hampton & Wellman, 2018). In the case of Final Fantasy XIV, the game provides a limited third space that is widened and strengthened through the use of outside networks, particularly social media – Twitter, Discord, and YouTube, to name a few. Social media is utilised not only by the networked individuals in the community – to organise events, share experiences, and provide a living archive – but is also enhanced by the official channel using social media to reach out to and interact with the players. As the network of individuals in FFXIV widens, so does the network of those same individuals using social media, creating varied and positive interactions in the community.
References
Bankov, B. (2019). The impact of social media on video game communities and the gaming industry. Varna: University of Economics in Varna.
Ducheneaut, N., Moore, R. J., & Nickell, E. (2007). Virtual “third places”: A case study of sociability in massively multiplayer games. Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), 16, 129-166.
FINAL FANTASY XIV. [@FF_XIV_EN]. (2023, March 21). The Hatching-tide seasonal event returns to #FFXIV [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/FF_XIV_EN/status/1637816361547337728?s=20
Hampton, K. N. (2016). Persistent and pervasive community: New communication technologies and the future of community. American Behavioral Scientist, 60(1), 101-124. https://doi.org/10.1177/000276421560171
Hampton, K. N., & Wellman, B. (2018). Lost and saved… again: The moral panic about the loss of community takes hold of social media. Contemporary Sociology, 47(6), 643-651. https://doi.org/10.1177/0094306118805415
Hampton, K. N., & Wellman, B. (2020). All the lonely people?: the continuing lament about the loss of community. In Routledge handbook of digital media and communication (pp. 281-296). Routledge.
Karmali, L. (2015, June 5). Meet the Man Who Redeemed Final Fantasy. IGN. https://www.ign.com/articles/2015/06/05/meet-the-man-who-redeemed-final-fantasy
Litt, E., Zhao, S., Kraut, R., & Burke, M. (2020). What are meaningful social interactions in today’s media landscape? A cross-cultural survey. Social Media+ Society, 6(3), https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305120942888
Oldenburg, R., & Brissett, D. (1982). The third place. Qualitative sociology, 5(4).
Papacharissi, Z. (Ed.). (2010). A networked self: Identity, community, and culture on social network sites. Routledge.
Wellman, B. (2001). Physical place and cyberplace: The rise of personalized networking. International journal of urban and regional research, 25(2), 227-252. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2427.00309
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