The Dynamics and Frontiers of Video Game Social Research in Communication Studies-A Scientometrics Analysis Based on CiteSpace and VOSviewer

In this media-rich era, digital entertainment in the form of video games has a major impact on our social interaction and productivity in a borderless social mode. As a result, in order to comprehend the research progress of video game, CiteSpace and VOSviewer were used for scientometrics and knowledge mapping in this study. It displays the state of development, fundamental structure, and frontier areas of video game social communication. The mapping is based on 448 publications collected through Web of Science core database searches. The findings indicate that (1) video game social research has gained increasing attention over the last 23 years, with a curvilinear growth in annual publications, but a core authorship group has yet to materialize, and the United States institutions dominate the number of publications on this topic. (2) Gaming behaviors, gender studies, media effects, and gaming experiences have emerged as the four main hotspots of research in this field under the keyword co-occurrence and clustering analyses. (3) Research in this area has traditionally concentrated on violent, addictive, and other problematic gaming behaviors. The findings of this study forecast future trends in the study of video game social communication and provide the groundwork for more in-depth research

The Development of Intercultural Competence Through Social Interactions in Warframe.

M.A. Thesis. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa 2018

Social gaming: A systematic review

Digital games often constitute a shared activity where people can spend time together, communicate and socialize. Several commercial titles place social interaction at the center of their design. Prior works have investigated the social outcomes of gaming, and factors that impact the experience. Yet, we lack a comprehensive understanding of how social gaming has been approached and explored before. In this work, we present a systematic review covering 263 publications, gathered in February 2021, that study gaming experiences involving more than one person, with a focus on the social element that emerges among partakers (players and/or spectators). We contribute with a systematized understanding of (1) how the topic is being defined and approached, (2) what facets (mainly in terms of outcomes and determinants of the experience) are being acknowledged and (3) the methodologies leveraged to examine these. Our analysis, based on mixed deductive and inductive coding, reveals relevant gaps and tendencies, including (1) the emphasis in novel technologies and unconventional games, (2) the apparent negligence of player diversity, and (3) lower ecological validity associated with totally mediated evaluations and a lack of established constructs to assess social outcomes

Between a Troll and a Hard Place: The Demand Framework's Answer to One of Gaming's Biggest Problems

The demand framework is commonly used by game scholars to develop new and innovative ways to improve the gaming experience. However, the present article aims to expand this framework and apply it to problematic gaming, also known as trolling. Although still a relatively new field, research into trolling has exploded within the past ten years. However, the vast majority of these studies are descriptive in nature. The present article marries theory and trolling research by closely examining interdisciplinary empirical evidence from a single platform - video games - and applying the various forms of demands to propose a testable, dual-route model of trolling behaviour. Within the video game context, I argue the presence of two primary causal mechanisms that can lead to trolling: 1) Demand imbalance between players and the game; and 2) demand imbalance between players. The article discusses how these two types of imbalance can lead to trolling, which kinds of demands can be imbalanced, and how future researchers can use the demand framework to expand our understanding of trolling

Is #NotMyBattlefield Rooted in Gamer Identity? An Examination of Demographic Factors, Genre Preference, and Technology Use of Gamers

This study examined characteristics of players that self-identified as gamers. Participants (N = 476) were asked to complete an online survey and provide information about their video game play. Analyses of the survey responses found support for gamers being younger, men, and playing more. We also found that some of the genres of play and technology used diverged from previous research. The two most surprising findings were that gamers preferred to play on consoles more than on computers, and massive-multiplayer online games were not the most played genre. This paper contributed to research in three ways: previous assumptions surrounding gamer identity and demographics were tested, the genre of games and method of play were examined to refine the definition of a gamer, and the implications of gamer identity were discussed

Social Accessibility in Multiplayer Games: Theory and Praxis

In recent years, we have seen growing efforts towards facilitating the accessibility of games to people with disabilities. When it comes to multiplayer games, however, such efforts require not only facilitating the technical accessibility of the game (e.g., accessibility features) but also social inclusion in the game, what we refer to as social accessibility. Accessibility of multiplayer games is, hence, complex and multifaceted. While some advances have been made in terms of technical accessibility, much work is needed to facilitate social accessibility. This study had two goals 1) to propose a definition for social accessibility in multiplayer games, and 2) to present practical examples of how social accessibility can be facilitated in multiplayer games since these aspects were not showcased in the reviewed literature. The study suggests that social accessibility in multiplayer games is a combination of inclusive game design, in-game features, and social guidelines that aim to foster inclusive social structures, and multimodality in communications amongst players, while gaming or socially interacting with aspects of game culture. The study presents various in-game-features that could be used to facilitate social accessibility, such as pausing the game, co-piloting, and individualizable settings.Peer reviewe

The Social, Anti-Social Network: A Qualitative Study on Pro Social Benefits of Online Multiplayer Gaming

Using the social capital and uses and gratifications perspectives, this study employs a qualitative, interview-based approach to studying the pro-social benefits of online multiplayer gaming.Through in-depth interviews, this study contributes to the literature of pro-social benefits of online multiplayer gaming by corroborating past research with evidence that online multiplayer gaming fosters the generation of social capital, both bridging and bonding, and cultural capital. Further, online gaming offers players a sense of community, provides them the tools to form and work together in coordinated teams, and allows them to feel a sense of mastery, excitement, and accomplishment with each in-game victory

Socio-digital interests, networks and excessive ICT engagement in Finnish adolescents

The rise of modern socio-digital technologies has fundamentally changed the ways in which people communicate, cultivate interests and simply live their everyday lives in the new media ecology. This study sheds some light on Southern Finnish adolescents (N=17) socio-digital interests, networks and excessive ICT engagement based on mixed, self-report methods of theme interview, self-report questionnaire and social network questionnaire. During the interviews, the participants were also requested to reflect on their interest related egocentric networks or key-events in their interests development by means of drawing. The results indicated, that there were clear differences in the primary interests’ development and the networks related to it, and also in the experiences of the excessiveness of ICT use between the three profiles of socio-digital participation or interests: the basic, non-digital interest group, the creative digital media interest group and the digital gaming oriented interest group derived from a previously conducted self-report questionnaire. Also the youth in general appeared to experience their ICT use as excessive to some degree, but present criticism towards the concept of “ICT addiction” as well.Modernien sosiodigitaalisen teknologioiden nousu on perusteellisesti muuttanut ihmisten kommunikaation, harrastamisen ja yksinkertaisesti jokapäiväisen elämisen tapoja nykyisessä uusmediaekologiassa. Tämä tutkimus valaisee hieman eteläsuomalaisten nuorten (N=71) sosiodigitaalisia kiinnostuksia, verkostoja ja liiallista TVT-sitoutuneisuutta perustuen teemahaastattelu-, kysely- ja verkostokyselyaineistoihin. Haastattelujen aikana osallistujia pyydettiin myös pohtimaan kiinnostuksiinsa liittyviä egosentrisiä sosiaalisia verkostoja tai sen kehitykseen liittyviä avaintapahtumia piirustuksen avulla. Tulokset viittaavat siihen, että primäärikiinnostuksen kehityksessä, siihen liittyvissä verkostoissa ja liiallisessa ICT-sitoutuneisuudessa on selviä eroja kolmen, aiemman kyselytutkimuksen perusteella muodostetun sosiodigitaalisen kiinnostuksen tai osallistumisen ryhmän välillä: ei-digitaalisen kiinnostuksen ryhmän, luovan, digitaalisen median kiinnostuksen ryhmän ja digitaaliseen pelaamiseen suuntautuneen ryhmän. Nuoret myös arvioivat yleisesti ICT:n käyttönsä jossain määrin liialliseksi, mutta esittivät myös kritiikkiä ”ICT-addiktion” käsitettä kohtaan.Siirretty Doriast

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