Showing papers in "Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds in 2015"

Playing video games together with others : Differences in gaming with family, friends and strangers

Abstract: This empirical study investigates social digital gaming habits through a national survey of Swedes aged 12–100. The enquiry concerns patterns of gaming and compares playing with different co-players in order to map out this growing practice among the general population. Logistic regression models are used to analyse the data. Results show support for the importance of separating different social gaming contexts according to the relational status of co-players: whom people play games with – family, friends or strangers – affects how players engage with games. Social gamers were younger, had higher achieved education, were more dedicated and spent more time on gaming. Furthermore, contrary to expectations, male gamers are more social than female gamers. Results show how digital gaming adapts to life rather than the other way around. Finally, digital gaming is shown to be situated in a complex weave of interactions and structures that go over and beyond the gaming itself.

the keys to success: supplemental measures of player expertise in massively multiplayer online games

Abstract: In this article we describe an investigation of player expertise deployed as part of a mixed-methods longitudinal, multi-site study that examined whether and how players’ offline characteristics are recognizable in their online interactions in Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs). After detailing our methodology and analytical toolkit, we narrow our focus to a case study that examines three players with previous experience in First-Person Shooter (FPS) games playing Rift (Trion Worlds 2011) (a fantasy-themed MMOG) for the very first time. This case study illuminates how interpretation of data can be inadvertently influenced by the researcher’s choice of technologies and methods employed in their study design. In particular, we demonstrate that initial research assessments of a player’s level of skill may be inaccurate and how the use of multiple data sources acts as a means for triangulating observations and analyses providing a richer – yet more complicated – view of player expertise.