The online gaming experience can be perceived in two distinct ways, one as a form of social isolation, and the other as a form of social interaction.
According to Jenkins (2005), much computer game play is social, specifically, almost 60 percent of frequent gamers play with friends, 33 percent play with siblings and 25 percent play with spouses or parents. Considering these statistics, it is apparent that a substantial portion of gamers seek out an online gaming experience as a form in social interaction with those they are familiar with. In many instances, gamers who play against their friends, family and peers do so as a means of maintaining an interactive, albeit virtual, relationship in addition to or as a replacement for telephone calls, e-mails and online chatting. A growing number of games are designed for multiple players — for either cooperative play in the same space or online play with distributed players (Jenkins 2005).
Wright, Boria and Breidenbach (2005) provide that, the playing of FPS multiplayer games can reproduce and challenge the rules of social interaction in real life, while also generating “interesting and creative innovations in verbal dialogue and non-verbal expressions�? (Wright, Boria and Breidenbach, 2005). This suggests that online gaming not only mirrors normal social interaction, but also enhances and challenges it through a shared and interactive medium. In playing a FPS computer game such as Counter-Strike, Wright, Boria and Breidenbach (2005) suggest that within the game there exists a complex social world and a subculture which brings together many problems and possibilities of power relationships hat prevail in the real world.
Wright in Jenkins (2005) makes the observation that meta-gaming (conversation about game content) provides a context for thinking about rules and rule-breaking. It could be said that there are two games taking place at the same time. The first being, the explicit conflict and combat of gameplay on the screen; and the second being the implicit cooperation and comradeship between the players. Write in Jenkins explains that “two players may be fighting to death on screen and growing closer as friends off screen.�? In this way, social expectations are played out and reaffirmed within a virtual world.
Social interaction not only occurs within an online game, but also through other online mediums such as in forums whereby tactics and events are discussed and virtual identities are further developed.
Simultaneously, while players spend often large amounts of their spare time playing computer games, their real life families, friends and peers are neglected. Although to the player it may seem that they are engaging in fulfilling social interactions, from a broader perspective, it seems apparent that social, and other, aspects of their lives are sacrificed for a relatively small gaming community (Media Analysis Laboratory, 1998).
Wright, T. Boria, E & Breidenbach, P. 2002. Creative Player Actions in FPS Online Video Games: Playing Counter-Strike. Retrieved October 20, 2005, from http://www.gamestudies.org/0202/wright/
Jenkins, H. 2005. Reality Bytes: Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked. Retrieved September 7, 2005, from http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/impact/myths.html.
Media Analysis Laboratory. 1998. Video Game Culture: Leisure and Play Preferences of B.C. Teens. Media Awareness Network. Retrieved October 20, 2005, from http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/research_documents/studies/video_games/video_game_culture.cfm
http://newmediawiki.ci.qut.edu.au/index.php/Computer_Games_-_Children_and_Reality http://newmediawiki.ci.qut.edu.au/index.php/Virtual_Identities_-_Social_Impacts
Matthew Hsu 11:58, 28 Oct 2005 (EST)
