Research Paper : The Nature of Socialization in MMORPG and Its Impact on The Users

                                                                    

THE NATURE OF SOCIALIZATION IN MMORPG

AND IT’S IMPACT ON THE USERS

A Research Paper Presented to

The English Resource Center

School of Multimedia Arts

Asia Pacific College

Magallanes, Makati

In Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirement for the Course

RESWRIT – Research Writing

Bianca Parido

April 2014

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

People of these days find gaming as an essential form of entertainment in our life. Given the idea of game development in the early nineties, it lead into different genres and sub-genres of games. Each and every genre has its own qualities and reasons to make gamers hooked into it. And one of it is Massively Multi-Player Online Roleplaying Game or what we call MMORPG.

MMORPG is one of the most widespread and popular gaming genre of the century. Unlike other genres, MMORPG is classified as one of the so-called “play to all” games. With its unique gameplay and built, people are lured to play it for hours and hours. In addition to that, it is massive and huge amount of people are playing simultaneously thus leading to a broad range of communication. 

Niels Van Hellemont tackled about MMORPG and the reason why it is massive. “In today’s world, MMOs have become a large part of people’s life. MMOs bring people from different cultures, religions, countries and ethnicity together in one big world where they can play, learn and enjoy themselves” (http://grumbleltd.wordpress.com/2011/03/08/mmorpgs-why-are-they-so-massive/).

Whether players are different from each other, MMORPG brings them in one big society they all can enjoy and relate. This idea of gaming makes this socialization as exciting as real life interaction. 

MMORP games are played by different types of people from different walks of life. From the gender and status of the users, gamer ranges aren’t precise and specific. It is a game that all people enjoy and find interesting. The one primal reason: it is a role-playing game. Playing MMORPG is like reading a book and be on the first-person POV of this book. You play the part of your character and be whoever that character is. 

Nicholas Yee discussed the atmosphere of the MMORPG in his article, "Unmasking the Avatar: The Demographics of MMO Player Motivations, In-Game Preferences, and Attrition." He says, “... MMORPGs are a very unique environment, in that you would almost never, in real life, find high-school students, housewives, retirees and early adult professionals together in any sort of collaborative decision-making task. And yet in MMORPGs, most ad-hoc combat or adventure groups are probably an interesting assortment of people from very different real-life roles and positions” (http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/130552/unmasking_the_avatar_the_.php?print=1).

What this means is that the MMORPG contains a broad spectrum of people. It has no specific demographic becayse MMORPG players have different backgrounds. The people who play this game range from students to housewives.

Finally this concludes to the heart of this paper… making MMORPG a medium of socialization in the cyberworld. In-game chatting and social interaction is a lot interesting and appealing to the users. This is because it includes an additional pinch of mystery to the users you are interacting it. 

The blog Tereasa mentioned why socialization is vital in MMORPG's.  “Although MMORPGs may not exist able to boast the vastness or graphical enumerate of their single-player RPG counterparts, they raise up for it with the increased possibility of interactions and the unpredictable gameplay this creates is more rewarding, hence more popular” (http://blotergo.blogspot.com/2012/10/why-are-mmorpgs-so-popular.html).

This means that interactive gaming is always a plus point to the gamers. As stated, this type of gaming leads to broad ranges of different relationships, whether so called friendship, rivalry or even lead to romantic-interest.

How does a specific gaming genre, MMORPG, became so called popular in terms of communication? It is hard to say and conclude to the researcher without making collective information from different users in the cyberworld. However the researcher observes in his/ her experience that socialization between people/players in MMORPG can lead to deeper connections and ties. Whether it is real or not, socialization in a role-playing game is highly spice things up to a normal friendly talk. According to Cole, Griffiths MD, “MMORPGs were found to be highly socially interactive environments providing the opportunity to create strong friendships and emotional relationships. The study demonstrated that the social interactions in online gaming form a considerable element in the enjoyment of playing"(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17711367).

The problem that the researcher foresees is that not all social interaction involved in MMORPGs are not true but rather a fragmented one. The researcher also observed the pros and cons of this type of socialization. Nevertheless the pros, cons of this research imply that the players in MMORPG get attached to their avatars and get tendencies to conceal who they really are. According to Marko Siitonen from University of Jyväskylä, “Forming images of the other members can be quick in a technologically mediated environment. Still, reputation based on long-term social interaction does have real significance in online multiplayer communities. “

The purpose of this paper is to determine the nature of social interactions in MMORPGs and its impact to the players. How does this type of genre a magnet to gamers and what makes this game deceiving in forms of social interaction. The researcher would like to have an observation on how this gaming genre affects the gamers individually.

B. Statement of the Problem

            This paper aims to answer this question:

            1. What is the nature of social interactions in MMORPGs and its impact to the users?

C. Significance of the Study

Psychology Courses. This research paper aims to help psychology students understand the way of communication within the game world. Psychology students will find this paper a lot beneficial because this paper focuses on the social communications of an individual inside and outside the cyberworld. The researcher wants to tell these courses the significance of this paper to their studies, and lead them into a deeper analyzation of social interactions happening in MMORPGs.

Multimedia  Arts and Gaming Industry. Multimedia arts students, especially to those who are taking up game development major will get an ample benefit about the study. This would help the gaming industry an overview of how their work affects their target market thus making them somehow aware of the MMORPG’s capabilities.

Casual Gamers and Internet Users. The researcher strongly seeks to impart this paper’s content to the users, especially to those who find gaming as their second life. This paper would guide them in their social interactions in the game, making them decision wise and prepared to whatever the game might bring to them.

Future Researchers. Due to the limited resources of this study, this research will be a great contribution to the future researchers. As time pass by, with the internet and computer literacy increasing, directing to a larger artificial social interactions and broader communication. Future research about artificial communication needs basis on its evolution, thus making this paper a basis to their research.

D. Scope and Delimitation

           

The scope of this paper is mainly on the social interactions at this type of gaming genre and how it affects the users. Since the boom of the first MMORPG in the late nineties, this also led to a different type of communication and social interaction.

This study focuses on the nature of socialization in MMORPGs and its impact to the users, nothing more and nothing less. This paper will discuss few factual examples provided the sources gathered in the world wide web. The emphasis would be the difference of gaming socialization to real-life socialization and what are the socialization trigger keys within this type of game. Due to time constraints, the researcher will no longer discuss the sociological state of the MMORPG world but rather he will discuss the sources from individual examples. Moreover, this research will only be on this subject and will no longer discuss the other subjects like game development, origin, and reviews. This is due to the lack of resources and those particular topics are farther to my subject.

E. Materials and Methods

           

The information used in this paper is mainly articles and blog entries gathered in the world wide web. The researcher will also use self-related experiences of gamers from the internet and use them as examples in the paper. Aside from that, few psychology-related archives will also be added as analysis on the gathered information.

The researcher will present the facts in form of listing down the evidences and making an educated guess on what is the nature of this evidence. After each evidence, the researcher will also present a result of that evidence. Provided all information, a conclusion will also be made by the researcher by the end of the presentation of evidences.

F. Definition of Terms

1. Avatar - The usual term used in the customizable representation of you in the game.

2. Character - Another term used to the representation of yourself in the game, but the only difference is that this is pre-made.

3. Chat - One of the mediums of communication in the internet.

4. Cyberworld - The internet world.

5. EXP -  An acronym for the word Experience/Experience Points. Experience or experience points is the unit of measurement in a game which tells the advancement of your character’s level/rank.

6. IGN - An acronym for In Game Name.

7. Gamers - “A person who plays games, especially computer or video games.” (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gamers)

8. GM - An acronym for Game Masters/Moderators. Game masters/moderators are the administrators of the game.

9. Guild - A group of gamers in an organized association created in the game. A guild aims to help out each other in any means in the game. Usually led by the Guild Master.

10. Guild Master - The founder and / or president of a guild.

11. Guildmate - A co-gamer in the guild.

12. MMORPG - An acronym for Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game. The genre created by combining two different gaming genres, namely role-playing video games and massively multiplayer online games.

13. Party - An informal group of gamers who have joined together in the game they are playing. Whether for a specific reason and cause, usual reason is to help each other out in gaining EXPs.

14. Stats -  A computation of your character’s statistics. This displays the strengths and weaknesses of your character by showing the different factors (ex Attack, Defense, Vitality, and Dexterity) of the computation.

Chapter 2

DISCUSSION

 I. MMORPG Defined

                MMORPG is a union of 2 genres of gaming, namely Massively Multi-Player Online and Role-playing games. This is described to be one of the most successful and most popular gaming genres of the century. MMORPGs can be web-browser type, or downloaded with or without subscription rates. The common identification of this type of games includes a huge number of users interacting simultaneously. Most MMORPG’s promote a level type of progression which requires players to get EXP (Experience Points) in order to advance. This leads to different socialization keys provided within the game like adding a friend, signing up for guilds, joining parties, and to some cases, marrying. These types of interaction within the game make a MMORPG appealing and addicting to the users.

                Another unique feature this genre is popular of is the character customization. Players are obligated to give a unique IGN on their avatar and this will be the identification medium a user has. The avatar’s looks can be customized to the user’s desire. Whilst other games promote a uniform avatar in MMORPGs, the equipment or the clothing, accessories and weapons used by the avatar can be changed. Aside from the physicality of the avatar, MMORPG’s also promotes the adjustments of your avatar’s stats. This will define the strength and capabilities of the avatar and there are different ways to manipulate it.

In article entitled Relationship Formation, the ratios and survey results gathered about the different factors in game interactions was discussed. It also talks about few of the differences between real life social interaction and the construction of making friends and romantic interests within MMORPGs.

                According to Nicholas Yee, “While it may seem strange that strong relationships can develop in these worlds where everyone is pretending to be someone else, the architecture of these environments actually facilitates these relationships.” (http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/gateway_relationships.html)

                This means that all interactions within a game have possibilities to develop and get deeper. The difference it has on reality though and the idea that it is opposite to it, quite captures the users on its fantasy-based environment. It also says that users are portraying the role of their avatar and what they see in a game is not all real. Nevertheless, it was greatly appreciated though it is artificial and fragmented.

                The world of MMORPG depends upon the setting of the game. Most of these types of games are in a magical, ancient or even sometimes futuristic setting. Nevertheless the setting, the form of interaction between the players and the game varies from how the game system is weaved. Like in reality, the players can buy and sell goods in the game. They can also transport from places to places and travel at ease. But the most thrilling and exciting part of this world is the killing or hunting system it inhibits. Most MMORPG’s story revolved on killing and hunting out in their world. Players are ought to slay between the in game monsters, or even to their co-players. Player to player slaying is called PVP and this is the challenging part of a game.

                In a research done in the site gamestudies.org, virtual reality is firmly discussed to its extent. From how it differs from reality and the different factors to compare from the reality. The paper is critically detailed about the topic and includes ideas from different researches.

Dr. Vili Lehdonvirta, the author of the research, stated his ideas about MMO world. “… MMOs are painted as separate worlds, located outside “the real world”, in many ways mirroring it like a synthetic double, but carrying on independently of it like a distant planet. Marketers and mainstream media are fond of this way of viewing MMOs, as it evokes powerful images of parallel worlds from science fiction turned into reality.” (http://gamestudies.org/1001/articles/lehdonvirta).

                This states that the idea of virtual worlds of games is connected to the idea of the real world. To make things simpler, the idea of this world is based upon the idea of what reality is but only made better and a lot appealing to the users. The beautiful picture it inclines to the users is strikingly alluring. That’s the reason why users see that “virtual reality is the reality.”

With the given ideas about MMORPG, these thus give the clues on how does socialization is triggered and nurtured within the game. 

II. How does it work?

               

General information about this gaming genre is gathered and thus the question still remains… How a social interaction in MMORPG does is triggered? By following the usual and common flow of entering the MMORPG world, we can see how a user is inclined to their co-players. Take note that this is an example driven by the researcher and interaction varies from the users only.

                The usual starting point in joining in a MMORPG, users are ought to sign-up and create their avatar first. The user must make a unique IGN to their avatar, the identity of the user in the cyberworld. It is rare to see users who use their real names in their avatars and mostly they use appealing and “cool” ones. The focal point of creating your IGN is to capture the other users just be seeing the name of the avatar. Since it is a virtual world, meeting up in games is not like meeting up in reality. Users don’t see the facial features of the persons they are meeting up online and thus what they see is the IGN and the graphical form of their avatars.

                Once users are captivated upon seeing an appealing avatar in the game, this leads to asking how to and where to get those fancy items or maybe because of boredom it caused an idle chit-chat with a random stranger in the game. Reasons vary but what this means is that in a simple send of message is the start of getting attachments to other people. Once gone deeper and deeper to the point of making a back and forth communication, the socialization keys are the results of these actions.

III. The Socialization Keys

1.  Adding A Friend

Friendship within gamers is something an MMORPG gives. Whether users know them online or in reality, everybody knows the feeling it gets when they are gaining friends within a game. This makes MMORPG a lot more convenient to players who are having trust issues. It is easier to say because users are hiding within the mask of their avatars. It is also easier to be kept because nobody knows who they really are within a game.

2. Party

Party is a form of teaming up of players while wandering the game world together. It is practically teaming up to achieve a specific goal. By this teaming up, trust for each party a member is the ideal ingredient in doing so. Party members are dependent to one another and the success rate of their goal depends upon how they support one another. Like in the case in MMORPG, if an avatar is good at defence and heal, they are classified as the support. To make it simpler, make advantage of what their skills are and so as make advantage of what the party member’s advantages too and vice versa. This could increase the social interactions they have and thus leading to closer ties to their comrades.

3. Guilds

As result of deeper ties, long-term commitment and loyalty to comrades… this leads to joining or creating a guild. Guilds are the formal way of doing it so. This is led by a Guild Master. The guild master/s sets rules for the members to obey and make the priorities of a guild. Usually guilds are in type of recruitments when it comes to adding up members. As a result, meeting up people and more interactions. Guilds are the gateways to strong bonds of brotherhood in game. A guild tests the trust the members have for their comrades. Examples of trust testing scenarios are guild wars. Given the idea of having comrades in battle, they are ought to protect one another in the case of life and death situations. By doing this so, they are bound to one another whether it is a game, the loyalty they have for one another is tested.

4. Rivalries

Fights and misunderstandings also happen within a game. Things that trigger these are mostly PVP and offensive acts of the users. It may sound odd but negative vibes of interaction within a game also has an effect on the users, like in the cases of cyber bullying. A user who is dependent within a game and fined gaming as an essential part of their life degrades their self-esteems whenever they encounter bullying in the cyberworld. On the case of the plaintiffs, bullying is their way of escapism to reality. The concept of superiority even in an artificial world makes the users more dependent on it and this leads to an abnormal case of dependence upon the game

5. Marrying

In some MMORPGs, player to player marriage is possible and widely accepted as another form of romance. This form of relationship sometimes is supported within a game. Like in some MMORPGs, there is a system that allows a vow or even makes wedding ceremonies similar to how reality weddings and marriage are. Regardless the system, players sometimes make commitments to other players informally. This is called online dating, which sometimes does not only occur in MMORPGs but also in other forms of social media.

IV. The Impact to the Players

                Now that we know MMORPG users get to be inclined socially to other users in the cyberworld, what profit does it make? Clearly this paper is certain that there is an interaction present in this game and that interaction leads to the different keys, but how do these interactions impact its users?

 In a blog entry on the site www.weflyspitfires.com, Gordon talked about the knitted friendships and happy memories of being an MMORPG player. It also talks about the trust gained and given to co-players of an MMORPG user. Guilds were also talked in the article and how it greatly affected interactions within a game.

According to Gordon, “Although some disagree, for me one of the strongest sides of a MMORPG is the socialising aspect and the people we meet and friends we make. It’s quite amazing really, when you think about it, playing with folk from all over the world and all being united towards a common goal and sharing a common experience.” (http://blog.weflyspitfires.com/2009/06/26/making-online-friends-through-mmorpgs/).

What this means that some users see MMORPG socialization is a big factor to consider. Also that in MMORPGs users can meet someone who is compatible to them in any case, even though they are in miles and miles away.

Guilds are one of the socialization keys stated, and a column entitled "Guilds:How to Make Friends and Influence People" on the site www.mmorpg.com shows the significance of guilds and how to make it successful. The column mainly talks about how to manage guilds and the pros and cons of creating so.

Lisa Jonte, writer of the said column, discussed few concepts on how to become a good guild master. “Whatever your ultimate goal for your guild, (tightly coordinated, regularly scheduled raids, or large numbers for ‘round the clock, on-call back-up) as guild master, you need to be there to see it through. As with growing viable crops or raising considerate kids, success takes time and effort. So, if you aren’t willing to make that commitment, your guild is doomed before it starts.” (http://www.mmorpg.com/showFeature.cfm/loadFeature/8042/Guilds-How-to-Make-Friends-and-Influence-People.html).

This implies that in MMORPG guilds, decision making, planning, strategy and leadership skills are tested. Guilds make use of those concepts. Interactions to other guild members make use of these ideas and nurture the gifts of being leaders. Also that makes the user quite beneficial on their real lives. The researcher foresees that these skills acquired within the game are applicable also to the user’s life.

Another example of impacts of MMORPG socialization is finding romantic interest. In an article entitled "What the gift of a Savory Delight can lead to… The story of a Hunter and her Priest" on the site www.mmocouples.wordpress.com , a story of finding romance and compatibility between two strangers within an MMORPG. It also talks about the facts about dating whether online or in real.

According to Gabigirl’s story, “We ended up talking just about the game and silly things. He made me laugh. I also cannot pinpoint the exact moment our relationship took a turn towards the more personal side. I do know I had been intrigued by him since the very first time we ever talked. And then, when I started having romantic-ish feelings for this guy I had never met before…” (http://mmocouples.wordpress.com/2009/12/13/what-the-gift-of-a-savory-delight-can-lead-to-the-story-of-a-hunter-and-her-priest/).

Eventhough MMORPGs are virtual, romance do blossom in these types of social interactions. Captivity upon the way the user talks within the game is the primal thing when it comes to online flirting. What this means is that though the users don’t see the persons who are they talking to, some people still find comfort to these people they talk to online. The reason could be the warmth of their talk or the way they’ve made it through their talks. This only means that feelings are present in socializing in MMORPGs.

These are only 3 of the many social experiences of players in MMORPG. Though all are in the positive vibes of the box, the researcher still believes that there is another side of the picture. But regardless of it, the purpose and problem stated within the paper is answered through the help of the listed examples.

Chapter 3

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS

AND RECOMMENDATIONS

SUMMARY

                This research tried to ascertain the nature of socialization in MMORPG and its impact on the users.

                The research design used in this study is the descriptive design method wherein the researcher answered the common questions about the topic by collecting data and information through the World Wide Web. Therefore, here are the findings:

1. There are 5 different socialization keys that trigger interactions between users of MMORPGs: adding a friend, party, guild, rivalry and marriage. All of these make up the social interactions of the players in the game.

2. Though that MMORPG is a virtual reality, it is seen by most people as the “reality” because of its appealing demographics and because it is the ideal world to the majority.

3.  An avatar is the identity of the user in the cyberworld. It is alterable according to the user’s desire and it portrays the role of the user in the game.

CONCLUSIONS

         Based on the findings of this study, the following conclusions are drawn:

    1. Social interactions without actuality could lead to altering ideas and lies. Not all social interactions in MMORPG are fragmented, some are and some is. It is a mixture of truth and lies and the reason is because it is role-playing.
     
     2.  MMORPG is a great influence to the sociology and psychology of the human mind. The impact of different forms of socialization within MMORPGs is great and could cause direct changes to the user’s life.

RECOMMENDATIONS

    After making the conclusions of the study, the researcher therefore suggests recommendations:

1. In interacting within MMORPG or even in any forms at the World Wide Web, consider the alterations and fragmented ideas about it and accept it. Though internet is used as a form of escapism to the users, the bright side of it is that real life interactions are much more appreciated.

2. Future researcher should make a demographic study about this topic and make use of larger scale examples as a stronger proof in this study.

References:

A.     Electronic Media

“Fair Game: Guilds, How to Make Friends and Influence People.” Retrieved April 9, 2014   from http://www.mmorpg.com/showFeature.cfm/loadFeature/8042/Guilds-How-to-Make-Friends-and-Influence-People.html.

“Making Online Friends Through MMORPGs.” Retrieved April 10,2014 from http://blog.weflyspitfires.com/2009/06/26/making-online-friends-through-mmorpgs/.

“MMORPG's - why are they so massive?” Retrieved April 5, 2014 from http://grumbleltd.wordpress.com/2011/03/08/mmorpgs-why-are-they-so-massive/.

“Relationship Formation.” Retrieved April 1, 2014 from http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/gateway_relationships.html.

“Social interactions in massively multiplayer online role-playing gamers.” Retrieved March 30, 2014 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17711367.

“Unmasking the Avatar: The Demographics of MMO Player Motivations, In-Game Preferences, and Attrition.” Retrieved April 6, 2014 from http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/130552/unmasking_the_avatar_the_.php?print=1.

“Virtual Worlds Don't Exist: Questioning the Dichotomous Approach in MMO Studies.” Retrieved April 10, 2014 from http://gamestudies.org/1001/articles/lehdonvirta.

“What the gift of a Savory Delight can lead to… The story of a Hunter and her Priest.” Retrieved April 10, 2014 from http://mmocouples.wordpress.com/2009/12/13/what-the-gift-of-a-savory-delight-can-lead-to-the-story-of-a-hunter-and-her-priest/.

“Why Are MMORPGs So Popular?” Retrieved March 29, 2014 from http://blotergo.blogspot.com/2012/10/why-are-mmorpgs-so-popular.html.