This week, I read "Sharing Tips with Strangers: Exploring Gift Culture in Computer Gaming", a study done by Chuen-Tsai Sun (Ph.D.), Holin Lin (Ph.D.), and Chheng Hong Ho (M.A.).
This study looked at the altruistic behavior of gamers when it comes to sharing tips about games and in the case of MMORPGs, sharing equipment in-game or helping another player establish themselves in the game. The main point of study was on tips provided on message boards and from one person to another. The authors made the point that one players expertise can often get them respect and status among other players, and sharing that expertise about a game can spread their influence.
The authors noted that in online games like MMORPGs, players acts of kindness and also expertise/tip giving could be seen by others immediately, so they could therefore be recognized for their acts immediately whereas console gamers often played alone, so they were more likely to share tips online or make walk-throughs as a means of recognition. I thought this was interesting because I think that this may be true. I see help and tips for console games many places online, but there are very few (if any) tips and walk-throughs for MMORPGs- at least, I haven't ever seen any.
The authors concluded by saying that it is arguable that one is never playing a game totally alone because there are scoreboards and tips and walk-throughs which are also a big part of gaming communities.
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ReplyDeleteI thought that this was an interesting topic to write about. I am not a gamer but there is a culture of gaming were certain courtesies definitely do exist. I have heard gamers talk about people they play against and it is interesting to hear how they act in person compared to their gamer-self. Some people are too shy to open a door for someone in public but when they start gaming they share all of their gaming expertise. Likewise, some people seem kind in person but become cold-hearted competitors when they play games.
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