Putting the "Fun Factor" Into Gaming: The Influence of Social Contexts on Experiences of Playing Videogames

The increasingly social nature of gaming suggests the importance of understanding its associated experiences and potential outcomes. This study examined the influence of social processes in gameplay and different gaming contexts on the experience of individual and group flow when engaged in the activity. It also examined the affective experiences associated with different types of social gaming. The research consisted of a series of focus groups with regular gamers. The results of the thematic analysis revealed the importance of social belonging, opportunities for social networking and the promotion of social integration for game enjoyment. However, social experiences could also facilitate feelings of frustration in gameplay as a result of poor social dynamics and competitiveness. The analysis furthermore suggested that group flow occurs in social gaming contexts, particularly in cooperative gameplay. A number of antecedents of this shared experience were identified (e.g., collective competence, collaboration, task-relevant skills). Taken together, the findings suggest social gaming contexts enhance the emotional experiences of gaming. The study demonstrates the importance of examining social gaming processes and experiences to further understand their potential influence on associated affective outcomes. Areas of further empirical research are discussed in reference to the study’s findings

Avatars Going Mainstream: Typology of Tropes in Avatar-Based Storytelling Practices

Due to the growing popularity of video games, gaming itself has become a shared experience among media audiences worldwide. The phenomenon of avatar-based games has led to the emergence of new storytelling practices. The paper proposes a typology of tropes in these avatar-based narratives focusing on non-game case studies. Suggested tropes are also confronted with the latest research on avatars in the area of game studies and current knowledge of the issues concerning the player-avatar relationship. Some of the most popular misconceptions regarding the gameplay experience and its representation in non-game media are exposed as a result of this analysis. The research confirms that popular culture perceives gaming experience as closely related to the player identity, as the latter inspires new genres of non-game narratives

Film, Dreams, and MMORPGs: Cultural Leakage and Digital Gaming Literacy in Inception

The confluence of art, technology, and texts is unavoidable and yet remains under-addressed in scholarship. Technological artifacts, while prevalent in digital gaming, are seldom examined in terms of their contribution to other artistic artifacts. Specifically, MMORPGs (massively multiplayer online role-playing games) as texts are rarely considered in terms of their relevance to digital and artistic literacy. Residing within are rich cultural discourses that address the entertainment of escapism and their affiliated connection to addiction, loss of identity, and violence resulting from prolonged immersion. Not surprisingly these tensions are reflected in other texts such as film. In the current examination, a rhetorical analysis uses a close reading of Inception to examine cultural leakages of digital gaming issues entering into and shaping film discourse. Implications and societal impact of issues such as dream worlds, fantasy attractions, and counter strategies are discussed both as recommendation and social commentary

MMORPG avatars: Representations of escapism in Chinese society based on semiotics of culture

The development of Internet technology and globalization have boosted the game industry, and among which Massive Multiplayer Online Role-playing Games (MMORPGs) provide a space where players could create their own avatar at will, and generate their physical and psychological involvement to participate in the virtual experience of the game context. Through cases with semiotics analysis and cultural phenomenon, the correlation between in-game avatar and escapism in Chinese context would be examined on how do in-game avatars connect with escapism in China. This highly resilient virtual social space provides a malleable field far from reality, for the transition from culture to nature, from reality to illusion, and from self to digital self. By analyzing the correlation and rooted reasons between in-game avatar in MMORPGs and escapism in Chinese social context, this project will contribute to the re-understanding of the symbolic meaning of in-game avatars and realistic meaning in Chinese society

UNDERSTANDING SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER ONLINE ROLE-PLAYING GAMES: CRIME OPPORTUNITY AND AFFORDANCE PERSPECTIVES

With the popularity of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), in-game sexual harassment has drawn tremendous attention from game players, game developers, and governments. Because of its devastating impact on victims, researchers from various disciplines have advocated the importance of understanding sexual harassment in MMORPGs. While information systems (IS) researchers have begun to investigate user behaviors in MMORPGs, research on deviant behaviors in MMORPGs remains scarce in the IS literature. With the inherent focus on sociotechnical factors in the IS discipline, we believe it is crucial to consider both the social and technical elements of sexual harassment in MMORPGs. Thus, our research aims to integrate crime opportunity theory and affordance theory to explain how MMORPG affordances give rise to the evaluation of favorable MMORPG environmental conditions for in-game sexual harassment and the inclination to sexually harass others in the games. This research-in-progress paper proposes a research model and presents our research design for examining sexual harassment in MMORPGs

Fact, Fiction and Virtual Worlds

This paper considers the medium of videogames from a goodmanian standpoint. After some preliminary clarifications and definitions, I examine the ontological status of videogames. Against several existing accounts, I hold that what grounds their identity qua work types is code. The rest of the paper is dedicated to the epistemology of videogaming. Drawing on Nelson Goodman and Catherine Elgin's works, I suggest that the best model to defend videogame cognitivism appeals to the notion of understanding

User-driven role-playing in Final Fantasy XIV: immersion, creative labor, and psychosocial well-being

2019 Fall.Includes bibliographical references.Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) give each user the starring role, drawing them into the game's story and world through their character avatar. Some, however, take role-playing (colloquially, "roleplaying" or "RP") further by constructing deep and complex narratives for their characters and pitting them against others in new and often spontaneous stories that emerge from collaborative efforts. This research looks at the RP community in the MMO Final Fantasy XIV in order to understand how and why RPers choose this form of play in a game already rich with activities. Specifically, I aim to shed light on the relationship between RP and psychosocial well-being. Drawing on perspectives from game studies, media fandom studies, and positive psychology, this research examines RP through a tripartite model of avenues towards well-being: play, flow, and sociality. A mixed-methods approach is used to gather ethnographic data through participant observation and interviews while also sampling broad patterns through a field survey. A cognitive anthropological "cultural models" consensus and consonance methodology allows for the culture of RP to be assessed in its capacity to reinforce and encourage positive experiences for its participants. Findings suggest that RP is a fulfilling activity because of its ability to enhance immersion and flow in the game world and the meaningful social connections that are forged through creative collaboration. However, RPers who are lonely or who become overinvested in the activity are more likely to have negative experiences if they cannot learn to play in an adaptive manner

Service quality evaluations in massively multiplayer online role-playing games

This thesis at hand delves into the service quality of video games. Service quality is the foundation of service marketing and service design. Therefore, marketers have for the better part of half a century worked to advance theoretical understanding in the field. The work of numerous researchers has contributed to the current understanding of both service quality measurement and how consumers evaluate service quality. Nevertheless, technological advancements have made service quality management ever more difficult with services more prone to service gaps. This is particularly the case in complex service forms that take place through virtual media. Video games are a good example of this. Whereas not all video games can be categorized as a service, those that take place online through player interactions fulfil the four principle IHIP traits that define services: Intangibility, Heterogeneity, Inseparability, and Perishability. Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Games (MMORPG) are a good example of this. MMORPGs are small virtual worlds – with populations, economies, even professions. Therefore, they in many ways simulate the very core constructs of reality. Nevertheless, despite the ever-increasing nature of complex services and growing size of the video game industry, current understanding of the makeup of such services is limited. Subsequently this thesis is of intrinsic value both theoretically and managerially. Based on this need the purpose of this thesis is to further understanding of how consumers evaluate their MMORPG service quality experience by answering three research questions: 1) How do MMORPGs differ from traditional offline and online service? 2) Do expectations play a role in MMORPG service quality evaluations? 3) What are the service quality dimensions that govern the perceived service quality of MMORPGs? This thesis uses a netnographic research method to explore and resolve these questions. The thesis brings forth several results of theoretical and managerial interest. Foremost, MMORPG service quality is predominantly evaluated based on expectations. Furthermore, those evaluations are governed by a total of 10 primary dimensions and 22 corresponding subdimensions. However, five of the primary dimensions are dominant: Game design, Game sociability, Tangibles, Reliability, and Trust. Nevertheless, it is identified that depending on service performance nearly every dimension can be a source of consumer satisfaction or dissatisfaction; the determining factor service innovation or underperformance. This thesis delves further into these findings, their nuances, and other important theoretical and managerial implications, some of which were unforeseen

The Role of Massively Multiplayer Role-Playing Games in Facilitating Vocabulary Acquisition for English Language Learners: A Mixed-Methods Study

Slow vocabulary development and poor comprehension among English Language learners (ELLs) (August, Carlo, & Snow, 2005) have resulted in an academic achievement gap between ELLs and native English-speaking learners in the United States (Klingner, Artiles, & Barletta, 2006; Wilde, 2010). This mixed-methods sequential explanatory research aims to help narrow the academic gap by providing increased engagement and interaction opportunities to ELLs. In this study, I replicated and extended Bourgonjon et al. (2010)’s study identifying the predictive factors of students’ acceptance for using video games in the classrooms. A sequential qualitative study with 11 selected participants was conducted to explain how the factors, tested in the first quantitative phase of study, facilitate ELLs’ vocabulary growth. I triangulated the results of the two phases and the discussion of the findings to answer my research questions. Based on the data collected from 371 participants via a web-based survey, I tested the reliability and validity of the adapted survey scale items using inter-item correlations, factor analysis, and internal consistency reliability tests. Then, I formulated and validated path models to test the hypotheses related to relationships among variables. Results from the analysis concluded that the factor of perceived learning opportunity is an important predictors for players’ preference for using MMORPGs in the L2 English classroom. The follow-up qualitative study aims to explain why certain factors identified in the first phase were significant predictors that impact players’ preference to use MMORPGs to obtain L2 English vocabulary. Evidence shows that game texts and social interactions are major learning opportunities provided by MMORPGs. I expect that this study, along with further research in this area, will help teachers integrate MMORPGs or related game mechanics into their regular instruction to provide increased engagement and interaction opportunities to English language learners