Zoning Issues and Area of Interest Management in Massively Multiplayer Online Games

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmed, Dewan Tanvir; Shirmohammadi, Shervin

Game is a way of entertainment, a means for excitement, fun and socialization. Online games have achieved popularity due to increasing broadband adoption among consumers. Relatively cheap bandwidth Internet connections allow large number of players to play together. Since the introduction of Network Virtual Environment (NVE) in 1980s for military simulation, many interesting applications have been evolved over the past few decades. Massively multiplayer online (role-playing) game, MMOG or MMORPG, is a new genre of online games that has emerged with the introduction of Ultima since 1997. It is a kind of online computer game with the participation of hundreds of thousands of players in a virtual world.

Meaningful real-life relationships in massively multiplayer online roleplaying games

OpenAIRE

Mansikkamäki, E. (Eetu)

2014-01-01

Abstract Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Games are extremely popular with millions and millions of players spending large portions of their free time in these virtual environments. Still the social value and the meaningfulness of the relationships formed within them are questioned by most non-gamers and even some gamers. In the past even academia was mainly concentrating on the negative aspects of gaming but lately...

Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games as Arenas for Second Language Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Mark

2010-01-01

This article investigates contemporary research on the use of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) in language education. The development and key features of these games are explored. This is followed by an examination of the theories proposed as a basis for game-based learning, and the claims made regarding the value of…

Designing After-School Learning Using the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game

Science.gov (United States)

King, Elizabeth M.

2015-01-01

Digital games have become popular for engaging students in a range of learning goals, both in the classroom and the after-school space. In this article, I discuss a specific genre of video game, the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMO), which has been identified as a dynamic environment for encountering 21st-century workplace…

Security and privacy in massively-multiplayer online games and social and corporate virtual worlds

OpenAIRE

Hogben, G.; Barosso, D.; Bartle, R.; Chazeran, C.; de Zwart, M.; Doumen, J.M.; Gorniak, S.; Kaźmierczak, M.; Kaskenmaa, M.; Benavente López, D.; Martin, A.; Naumann, I.; Reynolds, R.; Richardson, J; Rossow, C.

2008-01-01

2007 was the year of online gaming fraud - with malicious programs that specifically target online games and virtual worlds increasing by 145% and the emergence of over 30,000 new programs aimed at stealing online game passwords. Such malware is invariably aimed at the theft of virtual property accumulated in a user’s account and its sale for real money. With 217 million regular users of MMO/VWs (Massively Multiplayer Online Games and Virtual Worlds) and real-money sales of virtual objects es...

Predicting protein structures with a multiplayer online game.

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, Seth; Khatib, Firas; Treuille, Adrien; Barbero, Janos; Lee, Jeehyung; Beenen, Michael; Leaver-Fay, Andrew; Baker, David; Popović, Zoran; Players, Foldit

2010-08-05

People exert large amounts of problem-solving effort playing computer games. Simple image- and text-recognition tasks have been successfully 'crowd-sourced' through games, but it is not clear if more complex scientific problems can be solved with human-directed computing. Protein structure prediction is one such problem: locating the biologically relevant native conformation of a protein is a formidable computational challenge given the very large size of the search space. Here we describe Foldit, a multiplayer online game that engages non-scientists in solving hard prediction problems. Foldit players interact with protein structures using direct manipulation tools and user-friendly versions of algorithms from the Rosetta structure prediction methodology, while they compete and collaborate to optimize the computed energy. We show that top-ranked Foldit players excel at solving challenging structure refinement problems in which substantial backbone rearrangements are necessary to achieve the burial of hydrophobic residues. Players working collaboratively develop a rich assortment of new strategies and algorithms; unlike computational approaches, they explore not only the conformational space but also the space of possible search strategies. The integration of human visual problem-solving and strategy development capabilities with traditional computational algorithms through interactive multiplayer games is a powerful new approach to solving computationally-limited scientific problems.

Perancangan Massively Multiplayer Online Knights Fantasy Online

OpenAIRE

Haris, Darius Andana; Mawardi, Viny Christanti; Pratama, Davin

2017-01-01

Knights Fantasy Online adalah game online multiplayer dengan genre role-playing. Game ini dibuat menggunakan ActionScript 3.0 dengan Adobe Flash sebagai sisi klien dan Java sebagai servernya. Desain dari game ini dibuat dengan Adobe illustrator. Dalam game ini, pemain memulai petualangannya di dunia bernama Edenia, sebagai ksatria dari kerajaan yang bernama Aurum. Pemain bertugas mengkontrol jumlah populasi monster. Pemain dapat mengambil quest, mengumpulkan equipment dan meningkatkan ability...

A Study of the Relevance of Gender Identity and Characterization of Female Gamers in Massively Multiplayer Online Games

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mei-Hsueh Yang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The population of female gamers of Massive Multiplayer Online Games has increased significantly. Massive Multiplayer Online Games provide a virtual stage for players to freely shape their virtual roles and rebuild their self-identification based on preferences. Thus, characterization has become one of the most important parts when discussing female gamers of Massive Multiplayer Online Games. To understand the relevance of gender identity and characterization of female gamers in Massive Multiplayer Online Games, this paper divides gender identity into two parts: sexual orientation and gender role; and separates characterization into three parts: gender, class, and appearance. The results show the following. In gender identity, most female gamers are attracted to men. In gender role, female gamers must gradually shed gender stereotypes. This paper also finds that female gamers turn gender stereotypes upside down concerning toys, jobs, housework, and leadership. In characterization, female gamers tend to create female roles, tend to choose wizard and archer as an occupation; and create roles that have light skin and exude confidence. For gender identity and characterization, females’ psychological sex, sexual orientation, and gender role all have significant influences on a character’s gender and class.

Massively Multiplayer Online Video Gaming as Participation in a Discourse

Science.gov (United States)

Steinkuehler, Constance A.

2006-01-01

This article has two primary goals: (a) to illustrate how a closer analysis of language can lead to fruitful insights into the activities that it helps constitute, and (b) to demonstrate the complexity of the practices that make up Massively Multiplayer Online Gaming (MMOGaming) through just such an analysis. The first goal is in response to the…

Player communities in multiplayer online games : A systematic review of emperical research

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Warmelink, H.J.G.; Siitonen, M.

2011-01-01

Numerous researchers have written about the social dynamics of player communities in multiplayer online games. Following a systematic review of refereed empirical research publications from 2000-2010, this article synthesizes the key methods and concepts researchers have used to study and

Entrapment and near Miss: A Comparative Analysis of Psycho-Structural Elements in Gambling Games and Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games

Science.gov (United States)

Karlsen, Faltin

2011-01-01

While massively multiplayer online role-playing games like World of Warcraft are often accused of leading to excessive and harmful playing, the only gaming activity that is internationally recognized as a pathological disorder is excessive gambling. The present article seeks to establish empirical data on potential harmful online gaming through a…

An exploratory study of the association between online gaming addiction and enjoyment motivations for playing massively multiplayer online role-playing games

OpenAIRE

Hussain, Z; Williams, GA; Griffiths, MD

2015-01-01

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) are a popular form of entertainment used by millions of gamers worldwide. Potential problems relating to MMORPG play have emerged, particularly in relation to being addicted to playing in such virtual environments. In the present study, factors relating to online gaming addiction and motivations for playing in MMORPGs were examined to establish whether they were associated with addiction. A sample comprised 1,167 gamers who were survey...

Problematic usage among highly-engaged players of massively multiplayer online role playing games.

Science.gov (United States)

Peters, Christopher S; Malesky, L Alvin

2008-08-01

One popular facet of Internet gaming is the massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG). Some individuals spend so much time playing these games that it creates problems in their lives. This study focused on players of World of Warcraft. Factor analysis revealed one factor related to problematic usage, which was correlated with amount of time played, and personality characteristics of agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and extraversion.

The role of a northern town in a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game:Bruma in The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited

OpenAIRE

Pelkonen, M. (Minna)

2016-01-01

Abstract This Master’s Thesis explores the gameplay and imagery offered to players in a town called Bruma in the PC version of the Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game (MMORPG) The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited by Zenimax Online Studios. The game was originally released in 2014 under the name The Elder Scrolls Online. The thesis main...

Learning Strategies and Learner Attitudes in the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game Cube World

Science.gov (United States)

Goh, Shu Li

2016-01-01

The rapid progress of technology has revolutionized learning and in the field of computer assisted language learning, the use of digital games has expanded significantly. One type of game that has been attracting interest is massively multiplayer online role-playing games (henceforth MMORPGs). Recent research has drawn attention to the potential…

The relationships into the video games massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alvaro Alfonso Acevedo

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This paper is about the relationships dynamics in the virtuality of the gamers into the massively multiplayer online role-playing game “Perfect World” in the not ocifial latinamerican server “Comunidad Zero”. The main objective of this study is to describe the dynamics of the relationships, analyzing them from the context of the game using the virtual ethnography, understanding the emotional interactions between couples, through a case study. During the development of research, were found several categories related to affective interactions of pre-attachment, manifested in virtual environments of the game and that ultimately manage to simulate the engagement dynamics of the physical contexts.

Player guild dynamics and evolution in massively multiplayer online games.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Chien-Hsun; Sun, Chuen-Tsai; Hsieh, Jilung

2008-06-01

In the latest versions of massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs), developers have purposefully made guilds part of game environments. Guilds represent a powerful method for giving players a sense of online community, but there is little quantitative data on guild dynamics. To address this topic, we took advantage of a feature found in one of today's most popular MMOGs (World of Warcraft) to collect in-game data: user interfaces that players can modify and refine. In addition to collecting data on in-game player activities, we used this feature to observe and investigate how players join and leave guilds. Data were analyzed for the purpose of identifying factors that propel game-world guild dynamics and evolution. After collecting data for 641,805 avatars on 62 Taiwanese World of Warcraft game servers between February 10 and April 10, 2006, we created five guild type categories (small, large, elite, newbie, and unstable) that have different meanings in terms of in-game group dynamics. By viewing players as the most important resource affecting guild life cycles, it is possible to analyze game worlds as ecosystems consisting of evolving guilds and to study how guild life cycles reflect game world characteristics.

Examining a Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game as a Digital Game-Based Learning Platform

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Min Lun; Richards, Kari; Saw, Guan Kung

2014-01-01

A concurrent triangulation mixed-method research design was used to investigate 19 casual gamers' or non-gamers' use of a popular massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), Everquest 2, as an alternative pedagogical tool to support communicative use of the English language. This study poses that MMORPGs could serve as a virtually rich…

What are Users' Intentions Towards Real Money Trading in Massively Multiplayer Online Games?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Constantiou, Ioanna; Legarth, Morten Fosselius; Birch Olsen, Kasper

2012-01-01

This study investigates user behaviour in massively multiplayer online games from the perspective of their intentions to engage in real money trading. Players who engage in real money trading purchase resources instead of spending time to acquire them in the game. This behaviour influences not just...... a set of behavioural determinants grounded in empirical research on online games. The study’s findings indicate that a player’s social status and the disinhibiting effects of online play are positive influences on players’ intentions to engage in real money trading, while perceived fairness, anticipated...... regret and uncertainty about the seller’s behaviour are negative influences. Interestingly, neither the perceived enjoyment nor the potential punishments influence intentions...

How practitioners approach gameplay requirements? An exploration into the context of massive multiplayer online role-playing games

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Daneva, Maia; Lutz, Robyn

2014-01-01

Gameplay requirements are central to game development. In the business context of massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMOGs) where game companies' revenues rely on players' monthly subscriptions, gameplay is also recognized as the key to player retention. However, information on what

Analysis of Context Dependence in Social Interaction Networks of a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game

OpenAIRE

Son, Seokshin; Kang, Ah Reum; Kim, Hyun-chul; Kwon, Taekyoung; Park, Juyong; Kim, Huy Kang

2012-01-01

Rapid advances in modern computing and information technology have enabled millions of people to interact online via various social network and gaming services. The widespread adoption of such online services have made possible analysis of large-scale archival data containing detailed human interactions, presenting a very promising opportunity to understand the rich and complex human behavior. In collaboration with a leading global provider of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (...

Learner Interaction in a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG): A Sociocultural Discourse Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Mark

2012-01-01

This exploratory study investigates the linguistic and social interaction of four intermediate EFL learners during game play in a massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG). Twelve illustrative episodes drawn from the participants' text chat, collected in four 70-minute sessions held over a one-month period, are analyzed from a…

The Use of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games in CALL: An Analysis of Research

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Mark

2016-01-01

Contemporary CALL research reflects renewed interest in digital games. One aspect of this phenomenon namely, use of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), has expanded significantly, highlighting the need for a review. This paper analyzes findings from 10 learner-based studies that draw on accounts of SLA informed by cognitive…

The design of multiplayer online video game systems

Science.gov (United States)

Hsu, Chia-chun A.; Ling, Jim; Li, Qing; Kuo, C.-C. J.

2003-11-01

The distributed Multiplayer Online Game (MOG) system is complex since it involves technologies in computer graphics, multimedia, artificial intelligence, computer networking, embedded systems, etc. Due to the large scope of this problem, the design of MOG systems has not yet been widely addressed in the literatures. In this paper, we review and analyze the current MOG system architecture followed by evaluation. Furthermore, we propose a clustered-server architecture to provide a scalable solution together with the region oriented allocation strategy. Two key issues, i.e. interesting management and synchronization, are discussed in depth. Some preliminary ideas to deal with the identified problems are described.

Relationship between passion and motivation for gaming in players of massively multiplayer online role-playing games.

Science.gov (United States)

Fuster, Héctor; Chamarro, Andrés; Carbonell, Xavier; Vallerand, Robert J

2014-05-01

Passion represents one of the factors involved in online video gaming. However, it remains unclear how passion affects the way gamers are involved in massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). The objective of the present study was to analyze the relationships between passions and motivations for online game playing. A total of 410 MMORPG players completed an online questionnaire including motives for gaming and the Passion Scale. Results indicated that passionate gamers were interested in relating with others through the game and exhibited a high degree of interest in discovery of the game, gaining leadership and prestige but little interest in escape from reality. However, some differences were observed with respect to the role of the two types of passion in the different types of motivation. Specifically, harmonious passion (HP) predicted higher levels of exploration, socialization, and achievement, in that order, while obsessive passion (OP) predicted higher levels of dissociation, achievement, and socialization. The present findings suggest that HP and OP predict different ways of engaging in MMORPGs and confirm that passion is a useful construct to help understand different motivational patterns demonstrated by MMORPG players.

A Taxonomy of Vocabulary Learning Strategies Used in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games

Science.gov (United States)

Bytheway, Julie

2015-01-01

Initiated in response to informal reports of vocabulary gains from gamers at universities in New Zealand and the Netherlands, this qualitative study explored how English language learners autonomously learn vocabulary while playing massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). Using research processes inherent in Grounded Theory, data…

A Quantitative Content Analysis of Leveled Vocabulary Embedded within Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs)

Science.gov (United States)

Haas, Leslie

2012-01-01

This content analysis examined levels of vocabulary within massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). A total of six MMORPGs were studied; three were pay-to-play (P2P), and three were free-to-play (F2P). Sixty hours of game play (10 hours per game) provided the researcher with 50,240 embedded vocabulary words. Each MMORPG was…

Learning Outcomes and Processes in Massively Multiplayer Online Games: Exploring the Perceptions of Players

Science.gov (United States)

Voulgari, Iro; Komis, Vassilis; Sampson, Demetrios G.

2014-01-01

Over the past decade research has recognised the learning potential of massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs). MMOGs can be used by the technology-enhanced learning research community to study and identify good educational practices that may inspire engaging, creative and motivating approaches for education and learning. To this end, in this…

Theft of virtual items in online multiplayer computer games: an ontological and moral analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Strikwerda, Litska

2012-01-01

In 2009 Dutch judges convicted several minors for theft of virtual items in the virtual worlds of online multiplayer computer games. From a legal point of view these convictions gave rise to the question whether virtual items should count as “objects” that can be “stolen” under criminal law. This

Moving between virtual and real worlds: second language learning through massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs)

OpenAIRE

Kongmee, Isara; Strachan, Rebecca; Pickard, Alison; Montgomery, Catherine

2011-01-01

Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) bring players together in a large virtual community. This type of online gaming can serve many purposes such as entertainment, social interaction, information exchange and education and is now an integral part of many people's lives particularly the younger generation. This research study investigates the use of openly available MMORPGs to supplement second language teaching for higher education students. MMORPGs provide informal virtu...

Statistical properties of online avatar numbers in a massive multiplayer online role-playing game

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Zhi-Qiang; Ren, Fei; Gu, Gao-Feng; Tan, Qun-Zhao; Zhou, Wei-Xing

2010-02-01

Massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) have been very popular in the past few years. The profit of an MMORPG company is proportional to how many users registered, and the instant number of online avatars is a key factor to assess how popular an MMORPG is. We use the online-offline logs on an MMORPG server to reconstruct the instant number of online avatars per second and investigate its statistical properties. We find that the online avatar number exhibits one-day periodic behavior and clear intraday pattern, the fluctuation distribution of the online avatar numbers has a leptokurtic non-Gaussian shape with power-law tails, and the increments of online avatar numbers after removing the intraday pattern are uncorrelated and the associated absolute values have long-term correlation. In addition, both time series exhibit multifractal nature.

Multiplayer computer games as youth's leisure phenomenon

OpenAIRE

HADERKOVÁ, Barbora

2016-01-01

The thesis is dedicated to multiplayer computer games as youth's leisure phenomenon of this time. The theoretical part is focused on computer games history, multiplayer computer games and their types, gaming platforms, community of multiplayer games players and potential negatives and positives, which follows from playing this type of games. The practical part contains a qualitative survey using interviews with multiplayer computer games players aged from 15 to 26 years from city of České Bud...

Learner interaction in a massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG): A sociocultural discourse analysis

OpenAIRE

Peterson, Mark

2012-01-01

This exploratory study investigates the linguistic and social interaction of four intermediate EFL learners during game play in a massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG). Twelve illustrative episodes drawn from the participants’ text chat, collected in four 70-minute sessions held over a one-month period, are analyzed from a sociocultural perspective. Qualitative analysis reveals the presence of interactional features associated with the development of sociocultural competence...

Massively Multiplayer Online Games as a Sandbox for Leadership: The Relationship between in and out of Game Leadership Behaviors

Science.gov (United States)

Mendoza, Sean Henry Veloria

2014-01-01

Given society's increasingly technology centric play and workplace environment, Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOs) can be an excellent sandbox to develop future leaders of teams, which are the lifeblood of any organization. MMOs like World of WarCraft provide rich immersive experiences that allow leaders and followers the ability to create…

The Effectiveness Evaluation among Different Player-Matching Mechanisms in a Multi-Player Quiz Game

Science.gov (United States)

Tsai, Fu-Hsing

2016-01-01

This study aims to investigate whether different player-matching mechanisms in educational multi-player online games (MOGs) can affect students' learning performance, enjoyment perception and gaming behaviors. Based on the multi-player quiz game, TRIS-Q, developed by Tsai, Tsai and Lin (2015) using a free player-matching (FPM) mechanism, the same…

Interaction with the game and motivation among players of massively multiplayer online role-playing games.

Science.gov (United States)

Fuster, Héctor; Carbonell, Xavier; Chamarro, Andrés; Oberst, Ursula

2013-01-01

Knowledge about users interacting with Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG) is fundamental in order to prevent their potential negative effects on behavior. For this reason, the present study analyzed the relationship between styles of play and motivations. An online questionnaire asking for socio-demographic details, playing style, characteristics of the game played and motivations for playing, was answered by 430 Spanish-speaking MMORPG players (45.1% males). The identified profile for players, far away from the stereotype of an adolescent, consisted in a person who mainly plays on PvP (Player versus Player) servers, choosing the type of game according to his experience. Regarding motivations, they were interested in relating with other players through the game (Socialization), in discovering the game's possibilities and development of its adventures (Exploration), to a lesser extent in leadership and prestige (Achievement) and, lastly, identification with an avatar and escape from reality (Dissociation). Although part of the reason for playing was escapism and/or stress relief, the main motivation had a social nature. We conclude that MMORPG offer an attractive environment for a broad spectrum of people, and we have not been able to confirm the stereotype of a loner avoiding reality, taking refuge in games.

An Exploration of Friendships and Socialization for Adolescents with Autism Engaged in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG)

Science.gov (United States)

Gallup, Jennifer; Duff, Christine; Serianni, Barbara; Gallup, Adam

2016-01-01

A phenomenological study was conducted to investigate the social experiences and perceptions of friendship among three adolescents with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) engaged in online videogame play in the context of a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG). Semi-structured interviews with three participants, diagnosed with…

Player Transformation of Educational Multiplayer Games

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Magnussen, Rikke; Misfeldt, Morten

2004-01-01

transformed the game to accommodate social interaction. With these transformed ways of playing the game, they managed to get to the top of the high score list while avoiding the educational parts of the game. Players transforming educational games to escape learning elements can be a problem when these games...... are used for formal education. In this paper we argue that player transformation of educational games can, however, be the basis of exciting and unconventional learning of valuable things, such as how to transform information technology to better accommodate social interaction.......Children's great interest in multiplayer games has led to attempts to design educational multiplayer games. In this study, we have studied a test of an educational multiplayer game designed for mathematics education for children aged nine to twelve. In our observations, it became clear that pupils...

Motivations to play specifically predict excessive involvement in massively multiplayer online role-playing games: evidence from an online survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Zanetta Dauriat, Francesca; Zermatten, Ariane; Billieux, Joël; Thorens, Gabriel; Bondolfi, Guido; Zullino, Daniele; Khazaal, Yasser

2011-01-01

Several studies have linked massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) with possible problematic usage or internet addiction. The main goal of the present study was to assess links between motivations to play in MMORPGs and addictive involvement in such types of games. A total of 696 gamers responded to an online survey. Five distinct motivations to play were identified in gamers: achievement, socializing, immersion, relaxing and escaping. Multiple regression analysis revealed that addictive MMORPG use patterns are predicted by achievement, escapism and socializing motives. Gender was also a significant predictor of problematic involvement in MMORPGs. Moreover, addictive MMORPG use positively correlated with the weekly time devoted to playing MMORPGs. Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.

The semiotic ecology and linguistic complexity of an online game world

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Thorne, Steven; Fischer, I.; Lu, X.

Multiplayer online games form complex semiotic ecologies that include game-generated texts, player-to-player communication and collaboration, and associated websites that support in-game play. This article describes an exploratory study of the massively multiplayer online game (MMO) World of

From MMORPG to a Classroom Multiplayer Presential Role Playing Game

Science.gov (United States)

Susaeta, Heinz; Jimenez, Felipe; Nussbaum, Miguel; Gajardo, Ignacio; Andreu, Juan Jose; Villalta, Marco

2010-01-01

The popularity of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) has grown enormously, with communities of players reaching into the millions. Their fantasy narratives present multiple challenges created by the virtual environment and/or other players. The games' potential for education stems from the fact that players are immersed in a…

Navigating the feminine in massively multiplayer online games: gender in World of Warcraft.

Science.gov (United States)

Brehm, Audrey L

2013-01-01

The objective of the study is to present and discuss attitudes, perceptions and opinions about sexism and gendered play in the massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMO), World of Warcraft. Through the use of an online survey which includes both multiple choice questions and open-ended questions, the research discusses the major themes and findings expressed by the World of Warcraft forum users (N = 294). The descriptive statistical findings presented are derived from the multiple choice questions. Within the sample, the results reveal that sexism is a contentious topic in the World of Warcraft community. 63.6% (n = 75) of female respondents reported experiencing sexism within the game. 27.5% (n = 44) of male respondents and 45.3% (n = 53) of female respondents believe that sexism is a problem in the game. Overall, 64.4% (n = 183) of the respondents reported sexism as a non-issue in the game. Themes surrounding the topic of sexism experienced within the game are presented based on frequency of homogenous responses. Based on the multiple choice questions and the open-ended questions, the research argues that sexism and gendered play in gaming should be studied more closely, as the results reveal that many MMO players are affected negatively by it.

Navigating the feminine in massively multiplayer online games: Gender in World of Warcraft

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Audrey eBrehm

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The objective of the study is to present and discuss attitudes, perceptions and opinions about sexism and gendered play in the massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMO, World of Warcraft. Through the use of an online survey which includes both multiple choice questions and open-ended questions, the research discusses the major themes and findings expressed by the World of Warcraft forum users (N = 294. The descriptive statistical findings presented are derived from the multiple choice questions. Within the sample, the results reveal that sexism is a contentious topic in the World of Warcraft community. 63.6% (n = 75 of female respondents reported experiencing sexism within the game. 27.5% (n = 44 of male respondents and 45.3% (n = 53 of female respondents believe that sexism is a problem in the game. Overall, 64.4% (n = 183 of the respondents reported sexism as a non-issue in the game. Themes surrounding the topic of sexism experienced within the game are presented based on frequency of homogenous responses. Based on the multiple choice questions and the open-ended questions, the research argues that sexism and gendered play in gaming should be studied more closely, as the results reveal that many MMO players are affected negatively by it.

Navigating the feminine in massively multiplayer online games: gender in World of Warcraft

Science.gov (United States)

Brehm, Audrey L.

2013-01-01

The objective of the study is to present and discuss attitudes, perceptions and opinions about sexism and gendered play in the massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMO), World of Warcraft. Through the use of an online survey which includes both multiple choice questions and open-ended questions, the research discusses the major themes and findings expressed by the World of Warcraft forum users (N = 294). The descriptive statistical findings presented are derived from the multiple choice questions. Within the sample, the results reveal that sexism is a contentious topic in the World of Warcraft community. 63.6% (n = 75) of female respondents reported experiencing sexism within the game. 27.5% (n = 44) of male respondents and 45.3% (n = 53) of female respondents believe that sexism is a problem in the game. Overall, 64.4% (n = 183) of the respondents reported sexism as a non-issue in the game. Themes surrounding the topic of sexism experienced within the game are presented based on frequency of homogenous responses. Based on the multiple choice questions and the open-ended questions, the research argues that sexism and gendered play in gaming should be studied more closely, as the results reveal that many MMO players are affected negatively by it. PMID:24363650

Player Skill Decomposition in Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas

OpenAIRE

Chen, Zhengxing; Sun, Yizhou; El-nasr, Magy Seif; Nguyen, Truong-Huy D.

2017-01-01

Successful analysis of player skills in video games has important impacts on the process of enhancing player experience without undermining their continuous skill development. Moreover, player skill analysis becomes more intriguing in team-based video games because such form of study can help discover useful factors in effective team formation. In this paper, we consider the problem of skill decomposition in MOBA (MultiPlayer Online Battle Arena) games, with the goal to understand what player...

The Semiotic Ecology and Linguistic Complexity of an Online Game World

Science.gov (United States)

Thorne, Steven L.; Fischer, Ingrid; Lu, Xiaofei

2012-01-01

Multiplayer online games form complex semiotic ecologies that include game-generated texts, player-to-player communication and collaboration, and associated websites that support in-game play. This article describes an exploratory study of the massively multiplayer online game (MMO) "World of Warcraft" ("WoW"), with specific…

Using massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs) to support second language learning: Action research in the real and virtual world

OpenAIRE

Kongmee, Isara; Strachan, Rebecca; Montgomery, Catherine; Pickard, Alison

2011-01-01

Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) create large virtual communities. Online gaming shows potential not just for entertaining, but also for education. The aim of this research project is to investigate the use of commercial MMORPGs to support second language teaching. MMORPGs offer a digital safe space in which students can communicate by using their target language with global players. This qualitative research based on ethnography and action research investigates the s...

A Study of Interaction Patterns and Awareness Design Elements in a Massively Multiplayer Online Game

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tiffany Y. Tang

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs have been known to create rich and versatile social worlds for thousands of millions of players to participate. As such, various game elements and advance technologies such as artificial intelligence have been applied to encourage and facilitate social interactions in these online communities, the key to the success of MMOGs. However, there is a lack of studies addressing the usability of these elements in games. In this paper, we look into interaction patterns and awareness design elements that support the awareness in LastWorld and FairyLand. Experimental results obtained through both in-game experiences and player interviews reveal that not all awareness tools (e.g., an in-game map have been fully exploited by players. In addition, those players who are aware of these tools are not satisfied with them. Our findings suggest that awareness-oriented tools/channels should be easy to interpret and rich in conveying “knowledge” so as to reduce players-cognitive overload. These findings of this research recommend considerations of early stage MMOG design.

[The effects of narcissism and self-esteem on immersion in social network games and massively multiplayer online role-playing games].

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Kato; Igarashi, Tasuku

2016-04-01

Recent research has shown growing interest in the process by which narcissism triggers immersion in social network games (SNG). Highly narcissistic individuals are motivated not only by the achievement of goals and monopoly of materials (i:e., self-enhancement), but also by comparison and competition with others (i.e., social comparison) We predicted that the common rules and environments of SNG and massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG), such as systems of exchanging items and ranking players, facilitate immersion of highly narcissistic individuals during the game. Structural equation modeling of data from 378 SNG players and 150 MMORPG players recruited online showed that self-esteem inhibited game immersion, whereas narcissism increased game immersion via motivation for goal attainment. SNG players were more likely to be immersed in the game via motivation for goal attainment than MMORPG players. These findings suggest that, compared with MMORPG, the environments of SNG provide strong incentives not for those high in self-esteem who seek acceptance of others, but for those high in narcissism who are motivated by self-enhancement via competition with others.

Unity multiplayer games

CERN Document Server

Stagner, Alan

2013-01-01

An easy-to-follow, tutorial manner that uses the learning-by-example approach.If you are a developer who wants to start making multiplayer games with the Unity game engine, this book is for you. This book assumes you have some basic experience with programming. No prior knowledge of the Unity IDE is required.

Insights from Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games to Enhance Gamification in Education

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Alireza Tavakkoli

2014-08-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the results of the study of a cohort of college graduate and undergraduate students who participated in playing a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG as a gameplay rich with social interaction as well as intellectual and aesthetic features. Statistically significant differences among our participants' perception, sensation seeking, and satisfaction in relation to gameplay features are investigated. Our primary objective in this investigation was to look for certain aspects of game playing and sensation seeking that attracts a group of students to engage in long term gameplay online. Results support the majority of pre-planned hypotheses and show potential important considerations to take into account when developing gamified content for educational applications. Furthermore, the limitation of the data used in this study is presented and future directions to remove the current limitation and proliferate results through qualitative research into players' in-game social interactions. We suggest that finding similarities and underlying patterns of attraction among a diverse group of students could be beneficial in designing gameplay features to enhance student participation in the learning experience and improve learning performance.

Structure coefficients and strategy selection in multiplayer games.

Science.gov (United States)

McAvoy, Alex; Hauert, Christoph

2016-01-01

Evolutionary processes based on two-player games such as the Prisoner's Dilemma or Snowdrift Game are abundant in evolutionary game theory. These processes, including those based on games with more than two strategies, have been studied extensively under the assumption that selection is weak. However, games involving more than two players have not received the same level of attention. To address this issue, and to relate two-player games to multiplayer games, we introduce a notion of reducibility for multiplayer games that captures what it means to break down a multiplayer game into a sequence of interactions with fewer players. We discuss the role of reducibility in structured populations, and we give examples of games that are irreducible in any population structure. Since the known conditions for strategy selection, otherwise known as [Formula: see text]-rules, have been established only for two-player games with multiple strategies and for multiplayer games with two strategies, we extend these rules to multiplayer games with many strategies to account for irreducible games that cannot be reduced to those simpler types of games. In particular, we show that the number of structure coefficients required for a symmetric game with [Formula: see text]-player interactions and [Formula: see text] strategies grows in [Formula: see text] like [Formula: see text]. Our results also cover a type of ecologically asymmetric game based on payoff values that are derived not only from the strategies of the players, but also from their spatial positions within the population.

Jogos Multiplayer o poder das redes de entretenimento

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Isa de Jesus Coutinho

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Os games em MMO Massive Multiplayer Online, “Multijogadores Massivos Online” surgiram a partir da conectividade com a internet, diferente dos primeiros jogos que eram desenvolvidos apenas para computadores. Este tipo de interação vem adquirindo importante avanço na indústria do entretenimento, bem como motivando estudos em distintas partes do planeta. Diretamente associado a este amplo e instigante tema situa-se a obra espanhola “Jogos Multiplayer; o poder das redes em entretenimento”, recentemente disponibilizada no Brasil, com prólogo de Gonzalo Frasca. Trata-se de um material útil para introdução a respeito do assunto uma vez que os autores constroem sua argumentação a partir de diferentes lugares teóricos propiciando uma leitura didática, abrangente, e crítica.  Multiplayer online games the power of networks Keywords: Multiplayer online games, connectivity, Multiplayer, Games Online

A Case Study of Using Online Communities and Virtual Environment in Massively Multiplayer Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) as a Learning and Teaching Tool for Second Language Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Kongmee, Isara; Strachan, Rebecca; Pickard, Alison; Montgomery, Catherine

2012-01-01

Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) create large virtual communities. Online gaming shows potential not just for entertaining, but also in education. This research investigates the use of commercial MMORPGs to support second language teaching. MMORPGs offer virtual safe spaces in which students can communicate by using their…

Beyond self-selection in video game play: an experimental examination of the consequences of massively multiplayer online role-playing game play.

Science.gov (United States)

Smyth, Joshua M

2007-10-01

There is burgeoning interest in the study of video games. Existing work is limited by the use of correlational designs and is thus unable to make causal inferences or remove self-selection biases from observed results. The recent development of online, socially integrated video games (massively multiplayer online role-playing games [MMORPGs]) has created a new experience for gamers. This randomized, longitudinal study examined the effects of being assigned to play different video game types on game usage, health, well-being, sleep, socializing, and academics. One hundred 18- to 20-year-old participants (73% male; 68% Caucasian) were randomly assigned to play arcade, console, solo computer, or MMORPG games for 1 month. The MMORPG group differed significantly from other groups after 1 month, reporting more hours spent playing, worse health, worse sleep quality, and greater interference in "real-life" socializing and academic work. In contrast, this group also reported greater enjoyment in playing, greater interest in continuing to play, and greater acquisition of new friendships. MMORPGs represent a different gaming experience with different consequences than other types of video games and appear to pose both unique risks and benefits from their use.

Analysis of context dependence in social interaction networks of a massively multiplayer online role-playing game.

Science.gov (United States)

Son, Seokshin; Kang, Ah Reum; Kim, Hyun-chul; Kwon, Taekyoung; Park, Juyong; Kim, Huy Kang

2012-01-01

Rapid advances in modern computing and information technology have enabled millions of people to interact online via various social network and gaming services. The widespread adoption of such online services have made possible analysis of large-scale archival data containing detailed human interactions, presenting a very promising opportunity to understand the rich and complex human behavior. In collaboration with a leading global provider of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs), here we present a network science-based analysis of the interplay between distinct types of user interaction networks in the virtual world. We find that their properties depend critically on the nature of the context-interdependence of the interactions, highlighting the complex and multilayered nature of human interactions, a robust understanding of which we believe may prove instrumental in the designing of more realistic future virtual arenas as well as provide novel insights to the science of collective human behavior.

Can clans protect adolescent players of massively multiplayer online games from violent behaviors?

Science.gov (United States)

Ybarra, Michele L; Boyd, Danah

2015-02-01

To examine whether clan membership mediates observed associations between violent game content and externalizing behaviors among youth who play massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs). Responses from 486 11- to 18-year-olds who: live in the United States, read English, have been online at least once in the past 6 months, and have played MMOGs in the past year were examined. Generalized estimating equations were used to estimate the population-averaged incident rate ratio of aggressive, delinquent, and seriously violent behaviors among MMOG players given one's self-reported exposure to in-game content depicting violence. Twenty-nine percent of all youth respondents played MMOGs in the past year. Rates of aggressive, IRR: 1.59, 95% CI [1.11, 2.26], and delinquent, IRR: 1.44, 95% CI [0.99, 2.08], behaviors were significantly higher for MMOG players who were in clans versus not in clans. For females, clan membership attenuated but did not eliminate the observed relation between exposure to in-game violent content and both aggressive and seriously violent behavior (16% and 10% reductions in IRR, respectively); whereas for males, clan membership was largely uninfluential (i.e., less than 2% change). Clan membership is neither associated with lower rates of externalizing behaviors for youth, nor does it affect the likelihood of reporting externalizing behaviors among male players. There is some suggestion that clan membership may attenuate the concurrent association between in-game violent content and some externalizing behaviors for females.

Analysis of Context Dependence in Social Interaction Networks of a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game

Science.gov (United States)

Son, Seokshin; Kang, Ah Reum; Kim, Hyun-chul; Kwon, Taekyoung; Park, Juyong; Kim, Huy Kang

2012-01-01

Rapid advances in modern computing and information technology have enabled millions of people to interact online via various social network and gaming services. The widespread adoption of such online services have made possible analysis of large-scale archival data containing detailed human interactions, presenting a very promising opportunity to understand the rich and complex human behavior. In collaboration with a leading global provider of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs), here we present a network science-based analysis of the interplay between distinct types of user interaction networks in the virtual world. We find that their properties depend critically on the nature of the context-interdependence of the interactions, highlighting the complex and multilayered nature of human interactions, a robust understanding of which we believe may prove instrumental in the designing of more realistic future virtual arenas as well as provide novel insights to the science of collective human behavior. PMID:22496771

Analysis of context dependence in social interaction networks of a massively multiplayer online role-playing game.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seokshin Son

Full Text Available Rapid advances in modern computing and information technology have enabled millions of people to interact online via various social network and gaming services. The widespread adoption of such online services have made possible analysis of large-scale archival data containing detailed human interactions, presenting a very promising opportunity to understand the rich and complex human behavior. In collaboration with a leading global provider of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs, here we present a network science-based analysis of the interplay between distinct types of user interaction networks in the virtual world. We find that their properties depend critically on the nature of the context-interdependence of the interactions, highlighting the complex and multilayered nature of human interactions, a robust understanding of which we believe may prove instrumental in the designing of more realistic future virtual arenas as well as provide novel insights to the science of collective human behavior.

Multiplayer games as a template for multiplayer narratives: a case study with Dark Souls

OpenAIRE

Spawforth, Callum; Millard, David

2017-01-01

Interactive Digital Storytelling (IDS) is an increasingly popular field, with a number of novel systems emerging in the last few years. However, these systems have typically focused on narratives involving only a single person. In contrast, multiplayer video games are a common and popular form of entertainment. In this paper we ask whether the way in which these works might inspire a new generation of multi-player narratives. In particular we look at the multiplayer video game "Dark Souls" an...

Multiplayer game development with HTML5

CERN Document Server

Silveira, Rodrigo

2015-01-01

If you are a HTML5 game developer who can make basic single-player games and you are now ready to incorporate multiplayer functionality in your games as quickly as possible, then this book is ideal for you.

Decomposition of Multi-player Games

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Dengji; Schiffel, Stephan; Thielscher, Michael

Research in General Game Playing aims at building systems that learn to play unknown games without human intervention. We contribute to this endeavour by generalising the established technique of decomposition from AI Planning to multi-player games. To this end, we present a method for the automatic decomposition of previously unknown games into independent subgames, and we show how a general game player can exploit a successful decomposition for game tree search.

Massively multiplayer online role-playing game-induced seizures: a neglected health problem in Internet addiction.

Science.gov (United States)

Chuang, Yao-Chung

2006-08-01

As the Internet has become rapidly and widely integrated into society, Internet addiction has become a growing psychosocial problem. However, epileptic seizure, another out-of-the-ordinary health problem, is often neglected in this regard. Ten patients who experienced epileptic seizures while playing the newest genre of electronic games -- Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) -- were investigated. Patients were predominantly male young adults, and most of the events were generalized tonic-clonic seizures, myoclonic seizures, and absences. These patients should be categorized into idiopathic generalized epilepsies. Even though photosensitivity was an important factor, behavioral and higher mental activities also seemed to be significant seizure precipitants. Results demonstrated that MMORPG-induced seizures were not analogous to the ordinary video game-induced seizures. Significantly, an epileptic seizure warning did not always appear on the websites of MMORPGs and instructions for the software. While the prevalence of MMORPG-induced seizures remains unknown, it may exceed our expectations and impact our society. Not only for clinical neurologists but also for the primary physicians, educators, sociologists, and global online game publishers, there should be an awareness of this special form of reflex seizures in order to provide an appropriate health warning to MMORPG players.

The Interplay between Real Money Trade and Narrative Structure in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games

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Byungchul Park

2017-01-01

Full Text Available A narrative structure is one of the main components to constitute the genre of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs. Meanwhile Real Money Trade (RMT enables a player to adjust an ex post level of challenge by skipping the narrative structure of a game. However, RMT may concurrently disturb a player who enjoys game following the narrative structure hierarchically. In pursuance of developing the knowledge about the relationship between RMT and the usage of MMORPG, we investigate the role of the strictness of predetermined narrative structure. We present the dual structure of societies to describe a player that arbitrarily decides to reside in a virtual society. Then we adopt the social nominalism to explain how individual motif of playing a game is expanded to the nature of game. Finally, we argue that a game with weakly predetermined narrative structure is more positively associated with RMT volume, since these games arouse a player’s sentiment of fun by relying more on their socially oriented motivation. With empirical evidence from the Korean MMORPGs market, we proved the hypothesis.

Exploring problematic online gaming: A qualitative approach

OpenAIRE

Waters, Joseph M

2016-01-01

Online gaming, specifically Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs), has become a very popular pastime and often is the subject of scrutiny in the literature regarding problematic play. This study aimed to develop a better understanding of problematic online gaming by recruiting and interviewing MMORPG players who potentially played at problematic levels. Ten participants (9 males, 1 female) from a Mid-Western university were screened and interviewed regarding their online g...

Correlations among Social Anxiety, Self-Esteem, Impulsivity, and Game Genre in Patients with Problematic Online Game Playing

OpenAIRE

Park, Jeong Ha; Han, Doug Hyun; Kim, Bung-Nyun; Cheong, Jae Hoon; Lee, Young-Sik

2016-01-01

Objective Recent studies of online game addiction have suggested that social interaction and impulsivity are critical factors for the etiology and progress of online game addiction. We hypothesized that the genre of the online game is associated with impulsivity and sociality in individuals with online game addictions. Methods In total, 212 patients with problematic online game playing were divided into four groups by game genre: 1) massive multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG), 2) re...

Social interactions in massively multiplayer online role-playing gamers.

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, Helena; Griffiths, Mark D

2007-08-01

To date, most research into massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) has examined the demographics of play. This study explored the social interactions that occur both within and outside of MMORPGs. The sample consisted of 912 self-selected MMORPG players from 45 countries. 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. The study showed MMORPGs can be extremely social games, with high percentages of gamers making life-long friends and partners. It was concluded that virtual gaming may allow players to express themselves in ways they may not feel comfortable doing in real life because of their appearance, gender, sexuality, and/or age. MMORPGs also offer a place where teamwork, encouragement, and fun can be experienced.

Impulsivity in Multiplayer Online Battle Arena Gamers: Preliminary Results on Experimental and Self-Report Measures.

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Nuyens, Filip; Deleuze, Jory; Maurage, Pierre; Griffiths, Mark D; Kuss, Daria J; Billieux, Joël

2016-06-01

Background and aims Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) games have become the most popular type of video games played worldwide, superseding the playing of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games and First-Person Shooter games. However, empirical studies focusing on the use and abuse of MOBA games are still very limited, particularly regarding impulsivity, which is an indicator of addictive states but has not yet been explored in MOBA games. In this context, the objective of the present study is to explore the associations between impulsivity and symptoms of addictive use of MOBA games in a sample of highly involved League of Legends (LoL, currently the most popular MOBA game) gamers. Methods Thirty-six LoL gamers were recruited and completed both experimental (Single Key Impulsivity Paradigm) and self-reported impulsivity assessments (s-UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale), in addition to an assessment of problematic video game use (Problematic Online Gaming Questionnaire). Results Results showed links between impulsivity-related constructs and signs of excessive MOBA game involvement. Findings indicated that impaired ability to postpone rewards in an experimental laboratory task was strongly related to problematic patterns of MOBA game involvement. Although less consistent, several associations were also found between self-reported impulsivity traits and signs of excessive MOBA game involvement. Conclusions Despite these results are preliminary and based upon a small (self-selected) sample, the present study highlights potential psychological factors related to the addictive use of MOBA games.

Impulsivity in Multiplayer Online Battle Arena Gamers: Preliminary Results on Experimental and Self-Report Measures

Science.gov (United States)

Nuyens, Filip; Deleuze, Jory; Maurage, Pierre; Griffiths, Mark D.; Kuss, Daria J.; Billieux, Joël

2016-01-01

Background and aims Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) games have become the most popular type of video games played worldwide, superseding the playing of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games and First-Person Shooter games. However, empirical studies focusing on the use and abuse of MOBA games are still very limited, particularly regarding impulsivity, which is an indicator of addictive states but has not yet been explored in MOBA games. In this context, the objective of the present study is to explore the associations between impulsivity and symptoms of addictive use of MOBA games in a sample of highly involved League of Legends (LoL, currently the most popular MOBA game) gamers. Methods Thirty-six LoL gamers were recruited and completed both experimental (Single Key Impulsivity Paradigm) and self-reported impulsivity assessments (s-UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale), in addition to an assessment of problematic video game use (Problematic Online Gaming Questionnaire). Results Results showed links between impulsivity-related constructs and signs of excessive MOBA game involvement. Findings indicated that impaired ability to postpone rewards in an experimental laboratory task was strongly related to problematic patterns of MOBA game involvement. Although less consistent, several associations were also found between self-reported impulsivity traits and signs of excessive MOBA game involvement. Conclusions Despite these results are preliminary and based upon a small (self-selected) sample, the present study highlights potential psychological factors related to the addictive use of MOBA games. PMID:27156376

Networks and their traffic in multiplayer games

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristian Andrés Melo López

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Computer games called multiplayer real-time, or (MCG are at the forefront of the use of the possibilities of the network. Research on this subject have been made for military simulations, virtual reality systems, computer support teamwork, the solutions diverge on the problems posed by MCG. With this in mind, this document provides an overview of the four issues affecting networking at the MCG. First, network resources (bandwidth, latency and computing capacity, together with the technical limits within which the MCG must operate. Second, the distribution concepts include communication architectures (peer-to-peer, client / server, server / network, and data and control architectures (centralized, distributed and reproduced .Thirdly, scalability allows the MCG to adapt to changes in parameterization resources. Finally, security is intended to fend off the traps and vandalism, which are common in online games; to check traffic, particularly these games we decided to take the massively multiplayer game League of Legends, a scene corresponding to a situation of real life in a network of ADSL access network is deployed has been simulated by using NS2 Three variants of TCP, it means SACK TCP, New Reno TCP, and TCP Vegas, have been considered for the cross traffic. The results show that TCP Vegas is able to maintain a constant speed while racing against the game traffic, since it avoids the packet loss and the delays in the tail caused by high peaks, without increasing the size of the sender window. SACK TCP and TCP New Reno, on the other hand, tend to increase continuously the sender window size, which could allow a greater loss of packages and also to cause unwanted delays for the game traffic.

Social Interactions in Online Gaming

Science.gov (United States)

Griffiths, Mark; Hussain, Zaheer; Grüsser, Sabine M.; Thalemann, Ralf; Cole, Helena; Davies, Mark N. O.; Chappell, Darren

2011-01-01

This paper briefly overviews five studies examining massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). The first study surveyed 540 gamers and showed that the social aspects of the game were the most important factor for many gamers. The second study explored the social interactions of 912 MMORPG players and showed they created strong…

A Qualitative Analysis of Online Gaming Addicts in Treatment

Science.gov (United States)

Beranuy, Marta; Carbonell, Xavier; Griffiths, Mark D.

2013-01-01

Online gaming addiction is a relatively under-researched area and there have been few studies examining online gamers in treatment. This paper reports the findings from a qualitative interview study of nine players undergoing treatment for their addictive playing of Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs). A face-to-face…

Examining the influence of actual-ideal self-discrepancies, depression, and escapism, on pathological gaming among massively multiplayer online adolescent gamers.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Dongdong; Liau, Albert; Khoo, Angeline

2011-09-01

This study examined whether actual-ideal self-discrepancy (AISD) is related to pathological gaming through escapism as a means of reducing depression for adolescent massively multiplayer online gamers. A Discrepancy-reduction Motivation model of pathological video gaming was tested. A survey was conducted on 161 adolescent gamers from secondary schools. Two mediation effects were tested using path analysis: (a) depression would mediate the relationship between AISDs and escapism, and (b) escapism would mediate the relationship between depression and pathological gaming. Results support the hypotheses stated above. The indirect effects of both AISD and depression were significant on pathological gaming. AISD and escapism also had direct effects on pathological gaming. The present study suggests that pathological behaviors may be over-regulated coping strategies of approaching the ideal self and avoiding the actual self.

Multiplayer Game for DDoS Attacks Resilience in Ad Hoc Networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mikalas, Antonis; Komninos, Nikos; Prasad, Neeli R.

2011-01-01

This paper proposes a multiplayer game to prevent Distributed Denial of Service attack (DDoS) in ad hoc networks. The multiplayer game is based on game theory and cryptographic puzzles. We divide requests from nodes into separate groups which decreases the ability of malicious nodes to cooperate...... with one another in order to effectively make a DDoS attack. Finally, through our experiments we have shown that the total overhead of the multiplayer game as well as the the total time that each node needs to be served is affordable for devices that have limited resources and for environments like ad hoc...

MOBILE GAME HALMA MULTIPLAYER

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Muhammad Dhimas

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Handphone besides as a communication tool also has a function as a medium of entertainment. Various multimedia services and communications facilities contained therein, one Bluetooth. Games is one application that always exist in the mobile phone, and with a wider variety of games development by utilizing the services in mobile. In this research, the development of the multiplayer games for mobile phones utilizing Bluetooth communication media using the programming language Java Micro Edition (J2ME. Design method using the grapple, NetBeans IDE 6.1 is used as tools to assist programming.

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games: comparing characteristics of addict vs non-addict online recruited gamers in a French adult population

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Monnin Julie

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs are a very popular and enjoyable leisure activity, and there is a lack of international validated instruments to assess excessive gaming. With the growing number of gamers worldwide, adverse effects (isolation, hospitalizations, excessive use, etc. are observed in a minority of gamers, which is a concern for society and for the scientific community. In the present study, we focused on screening gamers at potential risk of MMORPG addiction. Methods In this exploratory study, we focused on characteristics, online habits and problematic overuse in adult MMORPG gamers. In addition to socio-demographical data and gamer behavioral patterns, 3 different instruments for screening addiction were used in French MMORPG gamers recruited online over 10 consecutive months: the substance dependence criteria for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, fourth revised edition (DSM-IV-TR that has been adapted for MMORPG (DAS, the qualitative Goldberg Internet Addiction Disorder scale (GIAD and the quantitative Orman Internet Stress Scale (ISS. For all scales, a score above a specific threshold defined positivity. Results The 448 participating adult gamers were mainly young adult university graduates living alone in urban areas. Participants showed high rates of both Internet addiction (44.2% for GIAD, 32.6% for ISS and DAS positivity (27.5%. Compared to the DAS negative group, DAS positive gamers reported significantly higher rates of tolerance phenomenon (increased amount of time in online gaming to obtain the desired effect and declared significantly more social, financial (OR: 4.85, marital (OR: 4.61, family (OR: 4.69 and/or professional difficulties (OR: 4.42 since they started online gaming. Furthermore, these gamers self-reported significantly higher rates (3 times more of irritability, daytime sleepiness, sleep deprivation due to play, low mood and emotional

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games: comparing characteristics of addict vs non-addict online recruited gamers in a French adult population.

Science.gov (United States)

Achab, Sophia; Nicolier, Magali; Mauny, Frédéric; Monnin, Julie; Trojak, Benoit; Vandel, Pierre; Sechter, Daniel; Gorwood, Philip; Haffen, Emmanuel

2011-08-26

Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) are a very popular and enjoyable leisure activity, and there is a lack of international validated instruments to assess excessive gaming. With the growing number of gamers worldwide, adverse effects (isolation, hospitalizations, excessive use, etc.) are observed in a minority of gamers, which is a concern for society and for the scientific community. In the present study, we focused on screening gamers at potential risk of MMORPG addiction. In this exploratory study, we focused on characteristics, online habits and problematic overuse in adult MMORPG gamers. In addition to socio-demographical data and gamer behavioral patterns, 3 different instruments for screening addiction were used in French MMORPG gamers recruited online over 10 consecutive months: the substance dependence criteria for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, fourth revised edition (DSM-IV-TR) that has been adapted for MMORPG (DAS), the qualitative Goldberg Internet Addiction Disorder scale (GIAD) and the quantitative Orman Internet Stress Scale (ISS). For all scales, a score above a specific threshold defined positivity. The 448 participating adult gamers were mainly young adult university graduates living alone in urban areas. Participants showed high rates of both Internet addiction (44.2% for GIAD, 32.6% for ISS) and DAS positivity (27.5%). Compared to the DAS negative group, DAS positive gamers reported significantly higher rates of tolerance phenomenon (increased amount of time in online gaming to obtain the desired effect) and declared significantly more social, financial (OR: 4.85), marital (OR: 4.61), family (OR: 4.69) and/or professional difficulties (OR: 4.42) since they started online gaming. Furthermore, these gamers self-reported significantly higher rates (3 times more) of irritability, daytime sleepiness, sleep deprivation due to play, low mood and emotional changes since online gaming onset. The DAS

Profiling Academic Research on Massively Multiplayer On-line Role-Play Gaming (MMORPG 2000-2009: Horizons for Educational Research

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Harold Castañeda Peña

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Whilst there exists a large body of publications around Massively Multiplayer On-line Role-Play Gaming (MMORPG, there is little profiling academic research on this type of game. This study aims at unveiling what, when, where and who constitute scholarly work in research about MMORPG. A 777-register dataset was configured with primary documents taken from 16 databases and two web-portals. The dataset was drilled down using specialized text-mining software. Findings revealed four main research interests that comprise the games themselves, gaming experiences, systems architecture and educational MMORPG. It was also found that research on this topic started out in 2002 and some milestones of emerging research were charted out. The most prolific organizations and authors were also identified in which the USA, Canada and Italy occupy outstanding places. It is recommended that research profiling studies be carried out to extend more informed literature reviews and support further research questions.

Profiling Academic Research on Massively Multiplayer On-line Role-Play Gaming (MMORPG 2000-2009: Horizons for Educational Research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Harold Castañeda Peña

2005-12-01

Full Text Available DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17227/01234870.38folios75.94 Whilst there exists a large body of publications around Massively Multiplayer On-line Role-Play Gaming (MMORPG, there is little profiling academic research on this type of game. This study aims at unveiling what, when, where and who constitute scholarly work in research about MMORPG. A 777-register dataset was configured with primary documents taken from 16 databases and two web-portals. The dataset was drilled down using specialized text-mining software. Findings revealed four main research interests that comprise the games themselves, gaming experiences, systems architecture and educational MMORPG. It was also found that research on this topic started out in 2002 and some milestones of emerging research were charted out. The most prolific organizations and authors were also identified in which the USA, Canada and Italy occupy outstanding places. It is recommended that research profiling studies be carried out to extendmore informed literature reviews and support further research questions.

In- and Out-of-Character: The Digital Literacy Practices and Emergent Information Worlds of Active Role-Players in a New Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game

Science.gov (United States)

Hollister, Jonathan M.

2016-01-01

This dissertation explores and describes the in-character and out-of-character information worlds and digital literacy practices of role-players, those that create and enact their characters' or avatars' stories, both within and outside of WildStar, a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) (Carbine Studios, 2015). Utilizing Jaeger…

Adaptivity to Age, Gender, and Gaming Platform Topology in Physical Multi-Player Games

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lund, Henrik Hautop; Friðriksson, Rafn Vídalín; Björnsson, Davíð Þór

2012-01-01

In games where players are competing against each other, it can be of interest to ensure that all players are challenged according to their individual skills. In order to investigate such adaptivity to the individual player in physical multi-player games, we developed a game on modular interactive...... tiles which can be used in both single-player and multi-player mode. We implemented simple adaptivity methods and tested these with different user groups including children and adults of both genders. The results show statistically significant differences in the game interactions between children...... and adults, and between male and female players. Also, results show statistically significant differences in the game interactions between different physical set-ups of the modular interactive tiles, i.e. the interaction depended on the topology of the modular tiles set-up. Changing the physical set...

Consequences of Play: A Systematic Review of the Effects of Online Gaming

Science.gov (United States)

Sublette, Victoria Anne; Mullan, Barbara

2012-01-01

Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) have received considerable attention in news headlines describing gamers who have died while engaging in excessive play. However, more common physical and psychosocial effects attributed to online video gaming are social isolation, increased aggression, and negative academic and occupational consequences.…

Mobile Phone User Interfaces in Multiplayer Games

OpenAIRE

NURMINEN, MINNA

2007-01-01

This study focuses on the user interface elements of mobile phones and their qualities in multiplayer games. Mobile phone is not intended as a gaming device. Therefore its technology has many shortcomings when it comes to playing mobile games on the device. One of those is the non-standardized user interface design. However, it has also some strengths, such as the portability and networked nature. In addition, many mobile phone models today have a camera, a feature only few gaming devices hav...

Impact of Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games upon the Psychosocial Well-Being of Adolescents and Young Adults: Reviewing the Evidence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonathan Scott

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. For many people, the online environment has become a significant arena for everyday living, and researchers are beginning to explore the multifaceted nature of human interaction with the Internet. The burgeoning global popularity and distinct design features of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs have received particular attention, and discourses about the phenomenon suggest both positive and negative impact upon gamer health. Aim. The purpose of this paper was to critically appraise the research literature to determine if playing MMORPGs impacts upon the psychosocial well-being of adolescents and young adults. Method. Initial searches were conducted on nine databases spanning the years 2002 to 2012 using key words, such as online gaming, internet gaming, psychosocial, and well-being, which, in addition to hand searching, identified six studies meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria for this review. Results. All six studies strongly associated MMORPG playing with helpful and harmful impact to the psychosocial well-being of the populations under study; however due to the methodologies employed, only tentative conclusions may be drawn. Conclusion. Since both helpful and harmful effects were reported, further multidisciplinary research is recommended to specifically explore the clinical implications and therapeutic potentialities of this modern, growing phenomenon.

Impact of Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games upon the Psychosocial Well-Being of Adolescents and Young Adults: Reviewing the Evidence.

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, Jonathan; Porter-Armstrong, Alison P

2013-01-01

Introduction. For many people, the online environment has become a significant arena for everyday living, and researchers are beginning to explore the multifaceted nature of human interaction with the Internet. The burgeoning global popularity and distinct design features of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) have received particular attention, and discourses about the phenomenon suggest both positive and negative impact upon gamer health. Aim. The purpose of this paper was to critically appraise the research literature to determine if playing MMORPGs impacts upon the psychosocial well-being of adolescents and young adults. Method. Initial searches were conducted on nine databases spanning the years 2002 to 2012 using key words, such as online gaming, internet gaming, psychosocial, and well-being, which, in addition to hand searching, identified six studies meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria for this review. Results. All six studies strongly associated MMORPG playing with helpful and harmful impact to the psychosocial well-being of the populations under study; however due to the methodologies employed, only tentative conclusions may be drawn. Conclusion. Since both helpful and harmful effects were reported, further multidisciplinary research is recommended to specifically explore the clinical implications and therapeutic potentialities of this modern, growing phenomenon.

Self-concept deficits in massively multiplayer online role-playing games addiction.

Science.gov (United States)

Leménager, Tagrid; Gwodz, Alexander; Richter, Anne; Reinhard, Iris; Kämmerer, Nina; Sell, Madlen; Mann, Karl

2013-01-01

Previous studies on Internet addiction point towards a particular constellation of personality traits and deficits in social competence of players addicted to massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), which are hypothesized to result from impairments in self-concept. The aim of this study was to examine differences in self-concept and degree of avatar identification in World of Warcraft addicted, non-addicted and naive (nonexperienced) participants. Participants (n = 45) completed interviews and self-report questionnaires on social, emotional and physical aspects of self-concept. Attributes of participants' 'actual self', 'ideal self' and their avatar were assessed using the Giessen test. The extent of avatar identification was examined by assessing differences between 'ideal self' and avatar evaluations. In contrast to nonaddicted and naive participants, addicted players showed a more negative body appraisal and lower self-esteem as well as lower permeability, social response, general mood and social potency on the Giessen test subscales. They further showed significantly lower discrepancies between 'ideal self' and avatar ratings on nearly all Giessen test subscales. The results point towards impairments in self-concept and a higher degree in avatar identification in addicted MMORPG players compared to the remaining participants. These results could have important implications for the treatment of addicted MMORPG players. Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.

A Qualitative Analysis of Online Gaming:

OpenAIRE

Hussain, Z; Griffiths, MD

2014-01-01

The popularity of Massively Multi-Player Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) has risen dramatically over the last decade. Some gamers spend many hours a day in these virtual environments interacting with others gamers, completing quests, and forming social groups. The present study set out to explore the experiences and feelings of online gamers. The study comprised 71 interviews with online gamers (52 males and 19 females) from 11 different countries. Many themes emerged from the analyses of...

Online gaming and addiction: a psychosocial investigation using mixed methods

OpenAIRE

Hussain, Z

2010-01-01

Online virtual worlds known as Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) have gained increased popularity over the last decade. MMORPGs provide a sophisticated environment that enables complete immersion within the virtual world to the extent that it may become an alternative reality to its users. Some researchers have suggested that online gaming addiction is growing in prevalence among adolescents and adult gamers. It has been proposed that research is needed to establish th...

Psychological predictors of problematic involvement in massively multiplayer online role-playing games: illustration in a sample of male cybercafé players.

Science.gov (United States)

Billieux, Joël; Chanal, Julien; Khazaal, Yasser; Rochat, Lucien; Gay, Philippe; Zullino, Daniele; Van der Linden, Martial

2011-01-01

Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) are video games in which a large number of players interact with one another in a persistent virtual world. MMORPGs can become problematic and result in negative outcomes in daily living (e.g. loss of control on gaming behaviors, compromised social and individual quality of life). The aim of the present study is to investigate psychological predictors of problematic involvement in MMORPGs. Fifty-four males who played MMORPGs regularly were recruited in cybercafés and screened using the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale (which assesses 4 facets of impulsivity) and the Motivation to Play Online Questionnaire (which assesses personal motives to play online). Negative consequences due to excessive time spent on the Internet were assessed with the Internet Addiction Test. Multiple regression analysis showed that problematic use of MMORPGs is significantly predicted by: (1) high urgency (b = 0.45), and (2) a motivation to play for immersion (b = 0.35). This study showed that, for certain individuals (who are characterized by a proneness to act rashly in emotional contexts and motivated to play to be immersed in a virtual world), involvement in MMORPGs can become problematic and engender tangible negative consequences in daily life. Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.

A cross-genre study of online gaming: player demographics, motivation for play, and social interactions among players

OpenAIRE

Ghuman, D; Griffiths, MD

2012-01-01

One key limitation with the contemporary online gaming research literature is that much of the published research has tended to examine only one genre of games (i.e., Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games). Three relatively little studied online games are First Person Shooter (FPS) Games, Role Play Games (RPG) and Real Time Strategy (RTS) Games. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine player behaviour and characteristics in these three different online gaming genres. More spec...

High-Level Development of Multiserver Online Games

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frank Glinka

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Multiplayer online games with support for high user numbers must provide mechanisms to support an increasing amount of players by using additional resources. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the practically proven multiserver distribution mechanisms, zoning, instancing, and replication, and the tasks for the game developer implied by them. We propose a novel, high-level development approach which integrates the three distribution mechanisms seamlessly in today's online games. As a possible base for this high-level approach, we describe the real-time framework (RTF middleware system which liberates the developer from low-level tasks and allows him to stay at high level of design abstraction. We explain how RTF supports the implementation of single-server online games and how RTF allows to incorporate the three multiserver distribution mechanisms during the development process. Finally, we describe briefly how RTF provides manageability and maintenance functionality for online games in a grid context with dynamic resource allocation scenarios.

Motivating Distance Learners in Online Gaming Worlds

Science.gov (United States)

Marvel, Michele D.

2012-01-01

Massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) have potential as educational tools. Existing literature shows that MMOG-based courses can foster a more immediate sense of community among students than traditional distance learning interfaces. The immersive technology of MMOGs opens the door for students to be able to virtually walk through the college…

Online citizen science games: Opportunities for the biological sciences.

Science.gov (United States)

Curtis, Vickie

2014-12-01

Recent developments in digital technologies and the rise of the Internet have created new opportunities for citizen science. One of these has been the development of online citizen science games where complex research problems have been re-imagined as online multiplayer computer games. Some of the most successful examples of these can be found within the biological sciences, for example, Foldit, Phylo and EteRNA. These games offer scientists the opportunity to crowdsource research problems, and to engage with those outside the research community. Games also enable those without a background in science to make a valid contribution to research, and may also offer opportunities for informal science learning.

Virtual plagues and real-world pandemics: reflecting on the potential for online computer role-playing games to inform real world epidemic research.

Science.gov (United States)

Oultram, Stuart

2013-12-01

In the wake of the Corrupted Blood incident, which afflicted the massively multiplayer online computer role-playing game World of Warcraft in 2005, it has been suggested that both, the incident itself and massively multiplayer online computer role-playing games in general, can be utilised to inform and assist real-world epidemic and public health research. In this paper, I engage critically with these claims.

Online Media Business Models: Lessons from the Video Game Sector

OpenAIRE

Komorowski, Marlen; Delaere, Simon

2016-01-01

Today’s media industry is characterized by disruptive changes and business models have been acknowledged as a driving force for success. Current business model research manages only to grasp static descriptions while in reality media managers are struggling with the dynamics of the industry. This article aims to close this gap by investigating a new paradigm of online media business models. Based on three video game case studies of the massively multiplayer online role-playing game genre, thi...

The Role of Habits in Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game Usage: Predicting Excessive and Problematic Gaming Through Players' Sensitivity to Situational Cues.

Science.gov (United States)

Lukavská, Kateřina; Hrabec, Ondřej; Chrz, Vladimír

2016-04-01

We examined the effect of habitual regulation of massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) playing on the problematic (addictive) usage and excessiveness of gaming (time that user spent playing weekly, per session, and in relation to his other leisure activities). We developed the approach to assess the strength of habitual regulation that was based on sensitivity to situational cues. We defined cues as real-life or in-game conditions (e.g., work to be done, activities with friends or family, need to relax, new game expansion) that usually promote gaming (proplay cues) or prevent it (contraplay cues). Using a sample of 377 MMORPG players, we analyzed relationships between variables through partial least squares path modeling. We found that proplay cues sensitivity significantly positively affected the excessiveness of gaming (playing time) as well as the occurrence of problematic usage symptoms. Conversely, contraplay cues sensitivity functioned as a protective factor from these conditions; significant negative effects were found for playing time and problematic usage. Playing time was confirmed to be a mediating variable, affected by cues sensitivity and at the same time affecting problematic usage symptoms. We obtained moderately strong coefficients of determination for both endogenous variables (R(2) = 0.28 for playing time; R(2) = 0.31 for problematic usage) suggesting that the proposed variables possess good explanatory power. Based on our results, we argue that the strength of habitual regulation within MMORPG usage has both positive and negative effects on excessive and problematic usage, which is a new and important finding within the area of Internet gaming addiction.

Threshold Games and Cooperation on Multiplayer Graphs.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kaare B Mikkelsen

Full Text Available The study investigates the effect on cooperation in multiplayer games, when the population from which all individuals are drawn is structured-i.e. when a given individual is only competing with a small subset of the entire population.To optimize the focus on multiplayer effects, a class of games were chosen for which the payoff depends nonlinearly on the number of cooperators-this ensures that the game cannot be represented as a sum of pair-wise interactions, and increases the likelihood of observing behaviour different from that seen in two-player games. The chosen class of games are named "threshold games", and are defined by a threshold, M > 0, which describes the minimal number of cooperators in a given match required for all the participants to receive a benefit. The model was studied primarily through numerical simulations of large populations of individuals, each with interaction neighbourhoods described by various classes of networks.When comparing the level of cooperation in a structured population to the mean-field model, we find that most types of structure lead to a decrease in cooperation. This is both interesting and novel, simply due to the generality and breadth of relevance of the model-it is likely that any model with similar payoff structure exhibits related behaviour. More importantly, we find that the details of the behaviour depends to a large extent on the size of the immediate neighbourhoods of the individuals, as dictated by the network structure. In effect, the players behave as if they are part of a much smaller, fully mixed, population, which we suggest an expression for.

Predicting the Currency Market in Online Gaming via Lexicon-Based Analysis on Its Online Forum

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Young Bin Kim

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Transactions involving virtual currencies are becoming increasingly common, including those in online games. In response, predicting the market price of a virtual currency is an important task for all involved, but it has not yet attracted much attention from researchers. This paper presents user opinions from online forums in a massive multiplayer online game (MMOG setting widely used around the world. We propose a method for predicting the next-day rise and fall of the currency used in an MMOG environment. Based on analysis of online forum users’ opinions, we predict daily fluctuations in the price of a currency used in an MMOG setting. Focusing specifically on the World of Warcraft game, one of the most widely used MMOGs, we demonstrate the feasibility of predicting the fluctuation in value of virtual currencies used in this game community.

Performing self, performing character: Exploring gender performativity in online role-playing games

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heather Osborne

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Online narrative (fiction-based role-playing games and massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs provide a ludic structure in which role players enact the gender and sexuality of their avatars. To investigate how role players perceive and perform their avatars' gender and sexuality in online games, I invited role players from MMORPGs and narrative RPGs to participate in an online survey. This study examines how the online game environment mediates players' self-expression and their acceptance of minority identities. Qualitative analysis of the data collected suggests that players who demonstrate empathy with and examination of their avatars' genders and sexualities, and who experience a sense of belonging within the game structure, are able to form positive interpersonal relationships that allow them to accept others' expressed identities.

Physiological Responses During Multiplay Exergaming in Young Adult Males are Game-Dependent

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

McGuire Stephen

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Regular moderate-intensity exercise provides health benefits. The aim of this study was to examine whether the selected exercise intensity and physiological responses during exergaming in a single and multiplayer mode in the same physical space were game-dependent. Ten males (mean ±SD, age: 23 ±5 years, body mass: 84.2 ±15.6 kg, body height: 180 ±7 cm, body mass index: 26.0 ±4.0 kg·m−2 played the games Kinect football, boxing and track & field (3 × ~10 min, ~ 2 min rest periods in similar time sequence in two sessions. Physiological responses were measured with the portable Cosmed K4b2 pulmonary gas exchange system. Single play demands were used to match with a competitive opponent in a multiplay mode. A within-subjects crossover design was used with one-way ANOVA and a post-hoc t-test for analysis (p<0.05. Minute ventilation, oxygen uptake and the heart rate were at least 18% higher during a multiplayer mode for Kinect football and boxing but not for track & field. Energy expenditure was 21% higher during multiplay football. Single play track & field had higher metabolic equivalent than single play football (5.7 ±1.6, range: 3.2-8.6 vs 4.1 ±1.0, range: 3.0-6.1, p<0.05. Exergaming in a multiplayer mode can provide higher physiological demands but the effects are game-dependent. It seems that exergaming with low intensity in a multiplayer mode may provide a greater physical challenge for participants than in a single play mode but may not consistently provide sufficient intensity to acquire health benefits when played regularly as part of a programme to promote and maintain health in young adults.

Experiences from Implementing a Mobile Multiplayer Real-Time Game for Wireless Networks with High Latency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alf Inge Wang

2009-01-01

Full Text Available This paper describes results and experiences from designing, implementing, and testing a multiplayer real-time game over mobile networks with high latency. The paper reports on network latency and bandwidth measurements from playing the game live over GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, and WLAN using the TCP and the UDP protocols. These measurements describe the practical constraints of various wireless networks and protocols when used for mobile multiplayer game purposes. Further, the paper reports on experiences from implementing various approaches to minimize issues related to high latency. Specifically, the paper focuses on a discussion about how much of the game should run locally on the client versus on the server to minimize the load on the mobile device and obtain sufficient consistency in the game. The game was designed to reveal all kinds of implementation issues of mobile network multiplayer games. The goal of the game is for a player to push other players around and into traps where they loose their lives. The game relies heavily on collision detection between the players and game objects. The paper presents experiences from experimenting with various approaches that can be used to handle such collisions, and highlights the advantages and disadvantages of the various approaches.

An empirical analysis of online gamers' perceptions of game items: modified theory of consumption values approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Bong-Won; Lee, Kun Chang

2011-01-01

The aims of this article are (1) to propose a modified theory of consumption values (MTCV) for investigation of online gamer perceptions of the value of purchasable game items and (2) to apply the developed MTCV to multiple game genres and player age groups. To address these aims, 327 valid questionnaires were obtained and analyzed. The original theory of consumption values (TCV) was modified to apply to the specific characteristics of online games. The original TCV specifies five types of consumption values: functional value, social value, emotional value, conditional value, and epistemic value. After revising the TCV to apply to the examination of online games, we proposed that the MTCV be composed of character competency value, enjoyment value, visual authority value, and monetary value. The validity of the MTCV was proven by statistically analyzing the responses provided by the 327 valid questionnaires. To examine the second aim, experiments were conducted to examine the MTCV in three online game genres-massive multiplayer online role-playing games, first-person shooters games, and casual games. The second aim was also studied via questionnaires that examined the ages of online gamers. It was determined that massive multiplayer online role-playing games players regard visual authority value and monetary value as more important than do casual gamers. It was also determined that younger gamers tend to be more interested in visual authority, whereas older gamers tend to be more interested in character competency. This research provides a foundation for future studies to extend the MTCV to consider other user factors, such as cultural effects.

Time perspective as a predictor of massive multiplayer online role-playing game playing.

Science.gov (United States)

Lukavska, Katerina

2012-01-01

This article focuses on the relationship between the time perspective (TP) personality trait and massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) playing. We investigate the question of frequency of playing. The TP was measured with Zimbardo's TP Inventory (ZTPI), which includes five factors-past negative, past positive, present hedonistic, present fatalistic, and future. The study used data from 154 MMORPG players. We demonstrated that TP partially explained differences within a group of players with respect to the frequency of playing. Significant positive correlations were found between present factors and the amount of time spent playing MMORPGs, and significant negative correlation was found between the future factor and the time spent playing MMORPGs. Our study also revealed the influence of future-present balance on playing time. Players who scored lower in future-present balance variables (their present score was relatively high compared with their future score) reported higher values in playing time. In contrast to referential studies on TP and drug abuse and gambling, present fatalistic TP was demonstrated to be a stronger predictor of extensive playing than present hedonistic TP, which opened the question of motivation for playing. The advantage of our study compared with other personality-based studies lies in the fact that TP is a stable but malleable personality trait with a direct link to playing behavior. Therefore, TP is a promising conceptual resource for excessive playing therapy.

Developing 21st Century Skills through Gameplay: To What Extent Are Young People Who Play the Online Computer Game Minecraft Acquiring and Developing Media Literacy and the Four Cs Skills?

Science.gov (United States)

Morgan, Mia Lynn

2015-01-01

Two questions drove this case study. 1) To what extent does playing the online computer game Minecraft at home in a multiplayer environment impact a player's media literacy skills of analysis, evaluation, and access? 2) To what extent does playing the online computer game Minecraft at home in a multiplayer environment impact a player's 21st…

Security and privacy in massively-multiplayer online games and social and corporate virtual worlds

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hogben, G.; Barosso, D.; Bartle, R.; Chazeran, C.; de Zwart, M.; Doumen, J.M.; Gorniak, S.; Kaźmierczak, M.; Kaskenmaa, M.; Benavente López, D.; Martin, A.; Naumann, I.; Reynolds, R.; Richardson, J; Rossow, C.; Rywczyoska, A.; Thumann, M.

2008-01-01

2007 was the year of online gaming fraud - with malicious programs that specifically target online games and virtual worlds increasing by 145% and the emergence of over 30,000 new programs aimed at stealing online game passwords. Such malware is invariably aimed at the theft of virtual property

Beneficial long communication in the multiplayer electronic mail game

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Jaegher, K.J.M.

2015-01-01

In the two-player electronic mail game (EMG), as is well-known, the probability of collective action is lower the more confirmations and reconfirmations are made available to players. In the multiplayer EMG, however, we show players may coordinate on equilibria where they require only few of the

VIRTUAL SOCIAL LIFE AND RELATED MARKETING EFFORTS IN THE WORLD OF ONLINE GAMES

OpenAIRE

PANAYIRCI, Cevdet; YILDIRIM, Fazli

2010-01-01

As the Internet and the World Wide Web proliferate, a new form of communication and interaction has been made possible. People live increasingly hybrid lives where the physical and the digital, the real and the virtual interact. Massively multiplayer online role - playing games (MMORPGs), i.e. online role playing games, are a special medial and social phenomenon of our time and experienced a massive growth of players. Studies reveal that mmorpg players compose a heterogenic population and spe...

Decoherence Effects on Multiplayer Cooperative Quantum Games

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, Salman; Ramzan, M.; Khan, M. Khalid.

2011-01-01

We study the behavior of cooperative multiplayer quantum games [Q. Chen, Y. Wang, J.T. Liu, and K.L. Wang, Phys. Lett. A 327 (2004) 98; A.P. Flitney and L.C.L. Hollenberg, Quantum Inf. Comput. 7 (2007) 111] in the presence of decoherence using different quantum channels such as amplitude damping, depolarizing and phase damping. It is seen that the outcomes of the games for the two damping channels with maximum values of decoherence reduce to same value. However, in comparison to phase damping channel, the payoffs of cooperators are strongly damped under the influence amplitude damping channel for the lower values of decoherence parameter. In the case of depolarizing channel, the game is a no-payoff game irrespective of the degree of entanglement in the initial state for the larger values of decoherence parameter. The decoherence gets the cooperators worse off. (general)

Correlations among Social Anxiety, Self-Esteem, Impulsivity, and Game Genre in Patients with Problematic Online Game Playing

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Jeong Ha; Han, Doug Hyun; Kim, Bung-Nyun; Cheong, Jae Hoon

2016-01-01

Objective Recent studies of online game addiction have suggested that social interaction and impulsivity are critical factors for the etiology and progress of online game addiction. We hypothesized that the genre of the online game is associated with impulsivity and sociality in individuals with online game addictions. Methods In total, 212 patients with problematic online game playing were divided into four groups by game genre: 1) massive multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG), 2) real-time strategy (RTS), 3) first-person shooter (FPS), and 4) other. Their symptoms and characteristics were assessed using 8 scales and 2 tests to estimate self-esteem, impulsiveness, comorbidity, social interaction status, and cognitive function. Results The mean social anxiety score was highest in the MMORPG group and lowest in the FPS group. The mean self-esteem score was highest in the RTS group. Social anxiety score was positively correlated with Internet addiction score in the MMORPG group, and the self-esteem score was positively correlated with Internet addiction score in the RTS group. Conclusion The genre of online game was not associated with impulsivity, but social anxiety status varied significantly with game genre, and differences in social anxiety were especially pronounced in patients playing the MMORPG (highest social anxiety) and FPS (lowest social anxiety) game genres. In addition, self-esteem was highest in the RTS game genre. PMID:27247595

Correlations among Social Anxiety, Self-Esteem, Impulsivity, and Game Genre in Patients with Problematic Online Game Playing.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Jeong Ha; Han, Doug Hyun; Kim, Bung-Nyun; Cheong, Jae Hoon; Lee, Young-Sik

2016-05-01

Recent studies of online game addiction have suggested that social interaction and impulsivity are critical factors for the etiology and progress of online game addiction. We hypothesized that the genre of the online game is associated with impulsivity and sociality in individuals with online game addictions. In total, 212 patients with problematic online game playing were divided into four groups by game genre: 1) massive multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG), 2) real-time strategy (RTS), 3) first-person shooter (FPS), and 4) other. Their symptoms and characteristics were assessed using 8 scales and 2 tests to estimate self-esteem, impulsiveness, comorbidity, social interaction status, and cognitive function. The mean social anxiety score was highest in the MMORPG group and lowest in the FPS group. The mean self-esteem score was highest in the RTS group. Social anxiety score was positively correlated with Internet addiction score in the MMORPG group, and the self-esteem score was positively correlated with Internet addiction score in the RTS group. The genre of online game was not associated with impulsivity, but social anxiety status varied significantly with game genre, and differences in social anxiety were especially pronounced in patients playing the MMORPG (highest social anxiety) and FPS (lowest social anxiety) game genres. In addition, self-esteem was highest in the RTS game genre.

Detecting Predatory Behaviour in Online Game Chats

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gudnadottir, Elin Rut; Jensen, Alaina K.; Cheong, Yun-Gyung

This paper describes a machine learning approach to detect sexually predatory behaviour in the massively multiplayer online game for children, MovieStarPlanet. The goal of this work is to take a chat log as an input and outputs its label as either the predatory category or the non......-predatory category. From the raw in-game chat logs provided by MovieStarPlanet, we first prepared three sub datasets via extensive preprocessing. Then, two machine learning algorithms, naive Bayes and Decision Tree, were employed to model the predatory behaviour using different feature sets. Our evaluation has...

Games for Social Change: Review of the Potential for Multi Player Online Gaming to Facilitate the Emergence and Growth of Progressive Movements for Social Change within Youth and Community Work

Science.gov (United States)

Keating, Paul

2016-01-01

Building on the use of the internet and social media as sites for activism, this paper highlights the emergence of political activism and collective protest in the online gaming environment. Referencing social movement theory and the rapidly evolving capacity of multiplayer online games to facilitate the development of strong group identities and…

Dynamic Difficulty Adaptation for Heterogeneously Skilled Player Groups in Multiplayer Collaborative Games

OpenAIRE

Greciano, Miguel Cristian

2016-01-01

This work focuses on the combination of two key concepts: Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment/Adaptation (video games adapting their difficulty according to the in-game performance of players, making themselves easier if the player performs poorly or more difficult if the player performs well) and Collaborative Multiplayer Games (video games where two or more human players work together to achieve a common goal). It considers and analyzes the challenges, potential and possibilities of Dynamic Diffi...

A Multiplayer Learning Game based on Mixed Reality to Enhance Awareness on Archaeology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mathieu Loiseau

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Our research deals with the development of a new type of game-based learning environment: (MMORPG based on mixed reality, applied in the archaeological domain. In this paper, we propose a learning scenario that enhances players’ motivation thanks to individual, collaborative and social activities and that offers a continuous experience between the virtual environment and real places (archaeological sites, museum. After describing the challenge to a rich multidisciplinary approach involving both computer scientists and archaeologists, we present two types of game: multiplayer online role-playing games and mixed reality games. We build on the specificities of these games to make the design choices described in the paper. We also present three modular features we have developed to support independently three activities of the scenario. The proposed approach aims at raising awareness among people on the scientific approach in Archaeology, by providing them information in the virtual environment and encouraging them to go on real sites. We finally discuss the issues raised by this work, such as the tensions between the perceived individual, team and community utilities, as well as the choice of the entering point in the learning scenario (real or virtual for the players’ involvement in the game.

Discrete-Time Nonzero-Sum Games for Multiplayer Using Policy-Iteration-Based Adaptive Dynamic Programming Algorithms.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Huaguang; Jiang, He; Luo, Chaomin; Xiao, Geyang

2017-10-01

In this paper, we investigate the nonzero-sum games for a class of discrete-time (DT) nonlinear systems by using a novel policy iteration (PI) adaptive dynamic programming (ADP) method. The main idea of our proposed PI scheme is to utilize the iterative ADP algorithm to obtain the iterative control policies, which not only ensure the system to achieve stability but also minimize the performance index function for each player. This paper integrates game theory, optimal control theory, and reinforcement learning technique to formulate and handle the DT nonzero-sum games for multiplayer. First, we design three actor-critic algorithms, an offline one and two online ones, for the PI scheme. Subsequently, neural networks are employed to implement these algorithms and the corresponding stability analysis is also provided via the Lyapunov theory. Finally, a numerical simulation example is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed approach.

A Practice-Based Analysis of an Online Strategy Game

Science.gov (United States)

Milolidakis, Giannis; Kimble, Chris; Akoumianakis, Demosthenes

In this paper, we will analyze a massively multiplayer online game in an attempt to identify the elements of practice that enable social interaction and cooperation within the game’s virtual world. Communities of Practice and Activity Theory offer the theoretical lens for identifying and understanding what constitutes practice within the community and how such practice is manifest and transmitted during game play. Our analysis suggests that in contrast to prevalent perceptions of practice as being textually mediated, in virtual settings it is framed as much in social interactions as in processes, artifacts and the tools constituting the ‘linguistic’ domain of the game or the practice the gaming community is about.

Verbal Communication of Story Facilitators in Multi-player Role-Playing Games

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tychsen, Anders; Brolund, Thea; Hitchens, Michael

2008-01-01

Multi-player role-playing games form one of the key examples of interactive, emergent and collaborative storytelling systems available. These games and the collaborative stories that they create, are commonly facilitated by a specialized participant, the game master. In the current study, the ver......Multi-player role-playing games form one of the key examples of interactive, emergent and collaborative storytelling systems available. These games and the collaborative stories that they create, are commonly facilitated by a specialized participant, the game master. In the current study......, the verbal communication of game masters in a series of role-playing game sessions is categorized and analyzed depending on form and content, using protocol analysis, establishing a model for the verbal communication of game masters....

Beneficial Long Communication in the Multi-Player Electronic Mail Game

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Jaegher, K.J.M.

2015-01-01

In the two-player electronic mail game (EMG), as is well-known, the probability of collective action is lower the more confirmations and re-confirmations are made available to players. In the multi-player EMG, however, as we show players may coordinate on equilibria where they require only few of

Focused on the prize: Characteristics of experts in massive multiplayer online games

OpenAIRE

Wang, Jing; Huffaker, David A.; Treem, Jeffrey W.; Fullerton, Lindsay; Ahmad, Muhammad A.; Williams, Dmitri; Poole, Marshall Scott; Contractor, Noshir

2011-01-01

This study is the first large–scale multi–method attempt to empirically examine the characteristics leading to development of expertise in EverQuest II, a popular massively multi–player online role–playing game (MMOs). Benefiting from the unprecedented opportunity of obtaining game log data matched with survey data, the project investigated the relationship between player motivations and in–game behavior, personality characteristics, and demographic attributes wi...

Formative Evaluation of a Massively Multi-Player Persistent (MMP) Environment for Asymmetric Warfare Exercises

Science.gov (United States)

2008-04-01

Initiative acknowledges the dearth of published research on Massively Multiplayer Online Games ((MMOGs), which are based on MMP technology) for...wanting help during the emergency, protesting insufficient aid being delivered in time, escalating to violence , including sniper attacks and attempted... multiplayer environment. The movement control systems were rated "moderately easy" to learn, and ease of movement after learning to use the controls was rated

Inducing and measuring emotion through a multiplayer first-person shooter computer game

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Merkx, P.A.B.; Truong, K.P.; Neerincx, M.A.

2007-01-01

To develop an annotated database of spontaneous, multimodal, emotional expressions, recordings were made of facial and vocal expressions of emotions while participants were playing a multiplayer first-person shooter (fps) computer game. During a replay of the session, participants scored their own

Possible End to an Endless Quest? Cognitive Bias Modification for Excessive Multiplayer Online Gamers.

Science.gov (United States)

Rabinovitz, Sharon; Nagar, Maayan

2015-10-01

Cognitive biases have previously been recognized as key mechanisms that contribute to the development, maintenance, and relapse of addictive behaviors. The same mechanisms have been recently found in problematic computer gaming. The present study aims to investigate whether excessive massively multiplayer online role-playing gamers (EG) demonstrate an approach bias toward game-related cues compared to neutral stimuli; to test whether these automatic action tendencies can be implicitly modified in a single session training; and to test whether this training affects game urges and game-seeking behavior. EG (n=38) were randomly assigned to a condition in which they were implicitly trained to avoid or to approach gaming cues by pushing or pulling a joystick, using a computerized intervention (cognitive bias modification via the Approach Avoidance Task). EG demonstrated an approach bias for gaming cues compared with neutral, movie cues. Single session training significantly decreased automatic action tendencies to approach gaming cues. These effects occurred outside subjective awareness. Furthermore, approach bias retraining reduced subjective urges and intentions to play, as well as decreased game-seeking behavior. Retraining automatic processes may be beneficial in changing addictive impulses in EG. Yet, large-scale trials and long-term follow-up are warranted. The results extend the application of cognitive bias modification from substance use disorders to behavioral addictions, and specifically to Internet gaming disorder. Theoretical implications are discussed.

Altruism in multiplayer snowdrift games with threshold and punishment

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Chunyan; Liu, Zhongxin; Sun, Qinglin; Chen, Zengqiang

2015-09-01

The puzzle of cooperation attracts broader concerns of the scientific community nowadays. Here we adopt an extra mechanism of punishment in the framework of a threshold multiple-player snowdrift game employed as the scenario for the cooperation problem. Two scenarios are considered: defectors will suffer punishment regardless of the game results, and defectors will incur punishment only when the game fails. We show by analysis that given this assumption, punishing free riders can significantly influence the evolution outcomes, and the results are driven by the specific components of the punishing rule. Particularly, punishing defectors always, not only when the game fails, can be more effective for maintaining public cooperation in multi-player systems. Intriguingly larger thresholds of the game provide a more favorable scenario for the coexistence of the cooperators and defectors under a broad value range of parameters. Further, cooperators are best supported by the large punishment on defectors, and then dominate and stabilize in the population, under the premise that defectors always incur punishment regardless of whether the game ends successfully or not.

Non-Negative Tensor Factorization for Human Behavioral Pattern Mining in Online Games

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Sapienza

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Multiplayer online battle arena is a genre of online games that has become extremely popular. Due to their success, these games also drew the attention of our research community, because they provide a wealth of information about human online interactions and behaviors. A crucial problem is the extraction of activity patterns that characterize this type of data, in an interpretable way. Here, we leverage the Non-negative Tensor Factorization to detect hidden correlated behaviors of playing in a well-known game: League of Legends. To this aim, we collect the entire gaming history of a group of about 1000 players, which accounts for roughly 100K matches. By applying our framework we are able to separate players into different groups. We show that each group exhibits similar features and playing strategies, as well as similar temporal trajectories, i.e., behavioral progressions over the course of their gaming history. We surprisingly discover that playing strategies are stable over time and we provide an explanation for this observation.

Openlobby: an open game server for lobby and matchmaking

Science.gov (United States)

Zamzami, E. M.; Tarigan, J. T.; Jaya, I.; Hardi, S. M.

2018-03-01

Online Multiplayer is one of the most essential feature in modern games. However, while developing a multiplayer feature can be done with a simple computer networking programming, creating a balanced multiplayer session requires more player management components such as game lobby and matchmaking system. Our objective is to develop OpenLobby, a server that available to be used by other developers to support their multiplayer application. The proposed system acts as a lobby and matchmaker where queueing players will be matched to other player according to a certain criteria defined by developer. The solution provides an application programing interface that can be used by developer to interact with the server. For testing purpose, we developed a game that uses the server as their multiplayer server.

Network characteristics for server selection in online games

Science.gov (United States)

Claypool, Mark

2008-01-01

Online gameplay is impacted by the network characteristics of players connected to the same server. Unfortunately, the network characteristics of online game servers are not well-understood, particularly for groups that wish to play together on the same server. As a step towards a remedy, this paper presents analysis of an extensive set of measurements of game servers on the Internet. Over the course of many months, actual Internet game servers were queried simultaneously by twenty-five emulated game clients, with both servers and clients spread out on the Internet. The data provides statistics on the uptime and populations of game servers over a month long period an an in-depth look at the suitability for game servers for multi-player server selection, concentrating on characteristics critical to playability--latency and fairness. Analysis finds most game servers have latencies suitable for third-person and omnipresent games, such as real-time strategy, sports and role-playing games, providing numerous server choices for game players. However, far fewer game servers have the low latencies required for first-person games, such as shooters or race games. In all cases, groups that wish to play together have a greatly reduced set of servers from which to choose because of inherent unfairness in server latencies and server selection is particularly limited as the group size increases. These results hold across different game types and even across different generations of games. The data should be useful for game developers and network researchers that seek to improve game server selection, whether for single or multiple players.

A study of the dynamics of multi-player games on small networks using territorial interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Broom, Mark; Lafaye, Charlotte; Pattni, Karan; Rychtář, Jan

2015-12-01

Recently, the study of structured populations using models of evolutionary processes on graphs has begun to incorporate a more general type of interaction between individuals, allowing multi-player games to be played among the population. In this paper, we develop a birth-death dynamics for use in such models and consider the evolution of populations for special cases of very small graphs where we can easily identify all of the population states and carry out exact analyses. To do so, we study two multi-player games, a Hawk-Dove game and a public goods game. Our focus is on finding the fixation probability of an individual from one type, cooperator or defector in the case of the public goods game, within a population of the other type. We compare this value for both games on several graphs under different parameter values and assumptions, and identify some interesting general features of our model. In particular there is a very close relationship between the fixation probability and the mean temperature, with high temperatures helping fitter individuals and punishing unfit ones and so enhancing selection, whereas low temperatures give a levelling effect which suppresses selection.

MMORPG escapism predicts decreased well-being: examination of gaming time, game realism beliefs, and online social support for offline problems.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaczmarek, Lukasz D; Drążkowski, Dariusz

2014-05-01

Massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) escapists are individuals who indulge in the MMORPG environment to avoid real world problems. Though a relationship between escapism and deteriorated well-being has been established, little is known about particular pathways that mediate this relationship. In the current study, we examined this topic by testing an integrative model of MMORPG escapism, which includes game realism beliefs, gaming time, offline social support, and online social support for offline problems. MMORPG players (N=1,056) completed measures of escapist motivation, game realism beliefs, social support, well-being, and reported gaming time. The tested structural equation model had a good fit to the data. We found that individuals with escapist motivation endorsed stronger game realism beliefs and spent more time playing MMORPGs, which, in turn, increased online support but decreased offline social support. Well-being was favorably affected by both online and offline social support, although offline social support had a stronger effect. The higher availability of online social support for offline problems did not compensate for the lower availability of offline support among MMORPG escapists. Understanding the psychological factors related to depletion of social resources in MMORPG players can help optimize MMORPGs as leisure activities.

Leadership in Multiplayer Online Gaming Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Lisk, Timothy C.; Kaplancali, Ugur T.; Riggio, Ronald E.

2012-01-01

With their increased popularity, games open up possibilities for simultaneous learning on multiple levels; players may learn from contextual information embedded in the narrative of the game and through the risks, benefits, costs, outcomes, and rewards of the alternative strategies that result from fast-paced decision making. Such dynamics also…

Linking online gaming and addictive behavior: converging evidence for a general reward deficiency in frequent online garners

OpenAIRE

Hahn, Tim; Karolien, Hilde; Dresler, Thomas; Kowarsch, Linda; Reif, Andreas; Fallgatter, Andreas J.

2015-01-01

Millions of people regularly play so-called massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs). Recently, it has been argued that MMORPG overuse is becoming a significant health problem worldwide. Symptoms such as tolerance, withdrawal, and craving have been described. Based on behavioral, resting state, and task-related neuroimaging data, we test whether frequent players of the MMORPG "World of VVarcraft" (WoW) similar to drug addicts and individuals with an increased risk for addicti...

The “Reality” of Misogyny in Online Gaming Communities : A Qualitative Study on Female Minecraft Players

OpenAIRE

Graso, Jana

2016-01-01

This study explores the implications of misogyny in the virtual and physical worlds. The 2014 GamerGate scandal shed light on the immense violence to which female gamers and gaming entertainment consumers are so frequently exposed to. Minecraft is the most played mass online multiplayer game in the world with over 100 million copies sold. The open gameplay mode of Minecraft and the non-linearity of the objective of the game has grown into a lush ground for violence, as there are seldom physic...

Predicting Victory in a Hybrid Online Competitive Game : The Case of Destiny

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Norouzzadeh Ravari, Yaser; Spronck, Pieter; Sifa, Rafet; Drachen, Anders

2017-01-01

Competitive multi-player game play is a common feature in major commercial titles, and has formed the foundation for esports. In this paper, the question whether it is possible to predict match outcomes in First Person Shooter-type multiplayer competitive games with mixed genres is addressed. The

Analyzing the Effect of TCP and Server Population on Massively Multiplayer Games

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mirko Suznjevic

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Many Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs use TCP flows for communication between the server and the game clients. The utilization of TCP, which was not initially designed for (soft real-time services, has many implications for the competing traffic flows. In this paper we present a series of studies which explore the competition between MMORPG and other traffic flows. For that aim, we first extend a source-based traffic model, based on player’s activities during the day, to also incorporate the impact of the number of players sharing a server (server population on network traffic. Based on real traffic traces, we statistically model the influence of the variation of the server’s player population on the network traffic, depending on the action categories (i.e., types of in-game player behaviour. Using the developed traffic model we prove that while server population only modifies specific action categories, this effect is significant enough to be observed on the overall traffic. We find that TCP Vegas is a good option for competing flows in order not to throttle the MMORPG flows and that TCP SACK is more respectful with game flows than other TCP variants, namely, Tahoe, Reno, and New Reno. Other tests show that MMORPG flows do not significantly reduce their sending window size when competing against UDP flows. Additionally, we study the effect of RTT unfairness between MMORPG flows, showing that it is less important than in the case of network-limited TCP flows.

Online gaming in the context of social anxiety.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Bianca W; Leeson, Peter R C

2015-06-01

In 2014, over 23 million individuals were playing massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). In light of the framework provided by Davis's (2001) cognitive-behavioral model of pathological Internet use, social anxiety, expressions of true self, and perceived in-game and face-to-face social support were examined as predictors of Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale (GPIUS) scores and hours spent playing MMORPGs per week. Data were collected from adult MMORPG players via an online survey (N = 626). Using structural equation modeling, the hypothesized model was tested on 1 half of the sample (N = 313) and then retested on the other half of the sample. The results indicated that the hypothesized model fit the data well in both samples. Specifically, expressing true self in game, higher levels of social anxiety, larger numbers of in-game social supports, and fewer supportive face-to-face relationships were significant predictors of higher GPIUS scores, and the number of in-game supports was significantly associated with time spent playing. The current study provides clinicians and researchers with a deeper understanding of MMORPG use by being the first to apply, test, and replicate a theory-driven model across 2 samples of MMORPG players. In addition, the present findings suggest that a psychometric measure of MMORPG usage is more indicative of players' psychological and social well-being than is time spent playing these games. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Social Interactions and Games

Science.gov (United States)

Uz, Cigdem; Cagiltay, Kursat

2015-01-01

Digital games have become popular due to great technological improvements in recent years. They have been increasingly transformed from co-located experiences into multi-played, socially oriented platforms (Herodotou, 2009). Multi-User Online Games provide the opportunity to create a social environment for friendships and strengthen the…

Avatar's neurobiological traces in the self-concept of massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) addicts.

Science.gov (United States)

Dieter, Julia; Hill, Holger; Sell, Madlen; Reinhard, Iris; Vollstädt-Klein, Sabine; Kiefer, Falk; Mann, Karl; Leménager, Tagrid

2015-02-01

Psychometric studies suggest that observed self-concept deficits in addicted massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) are compensated through the replacement of their ideal (i.e., how an individual would like to be) by their own avatar (i.e., graphical agent in the virtual world). Neurobiological studies indicate that increased identification with their own avatar in regular MMORPG gamers is possibly reflected by enhanced avatar-referential brain activation in the left angular gyrus (AG). However, the neurobiological correlates reflecting the relations of the avatar to addicted gamers' self and ideal are still unexplored. Therefore, we compare these relations between addicted and nonaddicted MMORPG gamers. A sample of n = 15 addicted and n = 17 nonaddicted players underwent functional MRI (fMRI) while completing a Giessen-Test (GT)-derived paradigm assessing self-, ideal-, and avatar-related self-concept domains. Neurobiological analyses included the comparisons avatar versus self, avatar versus ideal, and avatar versus self, ideal. Psychometrically, addicts showed significantly lower scores on the self-concept subscale of 'social resonance,' that is, social popularity. In all avatar-related contrasts, within-group comparisons showed addicted players to exhibit significantly higher brain activations in the left AG. The between-groups comparisons revealed avatar-related left AG hyperactivations in addicts. Our results may suggest that addicted MMORPG players identify significantly more with their avatar than nonaddicted gamers. The concrete avatar might increasingly replace the rather abstract ideal in the transition from normal- controlled to addictive-compulsive MMORPG usage. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

Research on online video games: an analysis of communication processes from the perspective of social and technological innovation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maude BONENFANT

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Our study relates specifically massively multiplayer online games (known by the acronym MMOG. Our hypothesis is that this type of game is a medium of socialization, a mediation mechanism for sharing information on a large scale, because its universe of encounters and its network of exchange. More specifically, the present article raises a particular aspect of MMOGs, the appropriation by the players of the communication media and the development of addons.

Player Experiences and Behaviors in a Multiplayer Game: designing game rules to change interdependent behavior

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niko Vegt

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Serious gaming is used as a means for improving organizational teamwork, yet little is known about the effect of individual game elements constituting serious games. This paper presents a game design experiment aimed at generating knowledge on designing game elements for teamwork. In previous work, we suggested that interaction- and goal-driven rules could guide interdependence and teamwork strategies. Based on this finding, for the present experiment we developed two versions of multiplayer Breakout, varying in rule-sets, designed to elicit player strategies of either dependent competition or dependent cooperation. Results showed that the two rule-sets could generate distinct reported player experiences and observable distinct player behaviors that could be further discriminated into four patterns: expected patterns of helping and ignoring, and unexpected patterns of agreeing and obstructing. Classic game theory was applied to understand the four behavior patterns and made us conclude that goal-driven rules steered players towards competition and cooperation. Interaction rules, in contrast, mainly stimulated dependent competitive behavior, e.g. obstructing each other. Since different types of rules thus led to different player behavior, discriminating in game design between interaction- and goal-driven rules seems relevant. Moreover, our research showed that game theory proved to be useful for understanding goal-driven rules.

The Influence of Game Design on the Collaborative Problem Solving Process: A Cross-Case Study of Multi-Player Collaborative Gameplay Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Yildirim, Nilay

2013-01-01

This cross-case study examines the relationships between game design attributes and collaborative problem solving process in the context of multi-player video games. The following game design attributes: sensory stimuli elements, level of challenge, and presentation of game goals and rules were examined to determine their influence on game…

Passion, craving, and affect in online gaming: Predicting how gamers feel when playing and when prevented from playing

OpenAIRE

Stoeber, Joachim; Harvey, Matt; Ward, Joshua A.; Childs, Julian H.

2011-01-01

According to the Dualistic Model of Passion, two forms of passion can motivate a behavior: harmonious passion and obsessive passion. Across various life activities, studies have found that the two forms of passion show different relationships with affect, linking harmonious passion to positive affect and obsessive passion to negative affect. To investigate if this pattern also holds for online gaming, the present study investigated 160 gamers involved in playing massively multiplayer online r...

How to Be Both Rich and Happy: Combining Quantitative and Qualitative Strategic Reasoning about Multi-Player Games

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bulling, Nils; Goranko, Valentin

2013-01-01

We propose a logical framework combining a game-theoretic study of abilities of agents to achieve quantitative objectives in multi-player games by optimizing payoffs or preferences on outcomes with a logical analysis of the abilities of players for achieving qualitative objectives of players, i.......e., reaching or maintaining game states with desired properties. We enrich concurrent game models with payoffs for the normal form games associated with the states of the model and propose a quantitative extension of the logic ATL* enabling the combination of quantitative and qualitative reasoning....

The Effect of Socioscientific Topics on Discourse within an Online Game Designed to Engage Middle School Students in Scientific Argumentation

Science.gov (United States)

Craig-Hare, Jana; Ault, Marilyn; Rowland, Amber

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the types of argumentation discourse displayed by students when they engaged in chat as part of an online multiplayer game about both socioscientific and scientific topics. Specifically, this study analyzed discourse episodes created by middle school students as they discussed scientific and…

Online Games

OpenAIRE

Kerr, Aphra; Ivory, James D.

2015-01-01

When we agreed to edit the theme on online games for this Encyclopedia our first question was, “What is meant by online games?” Scholars of games distinguish between nondigital games (such as board games) and digital games, rather than between online and offline games. With networked consoles and smartphones it is becoming harder and harder to find players in the wealthy industrialized countries who play “offline” digital games. Most games developers now include ...

Collaborative Gaming: Teaching Children about Complex Systems and Collective Behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Peppler, Kylie; Danish, Joshua A.; Phelps, David

2013-01-01

Although games--including board games, video games, and Massive Multiplayer Online Games--have garnered significant attention in recent years for their impact on educational outcomes, a primary focus of this interest is the transfer of knowledge from game to nongame settings. Building on this literature, our research explores how game designs that…

Games in Language Learning: Opportunities and Challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Godwin-Jones, Robert

2014-01-01

There has been a substantial increase in recent years in the interest in using digital games for language learning. This coincides with the explosive growth in multiplayer online gaming and with the proliferation of mobile games for smart phones. It also reflects the growing recognition among educators of the importance of extramural, informal…

Martian Boneyards: Scientific Inquiry in an MMO Game

Science.gov (United States)

Asbell-Clarke, Jodi; Edwards, Teon; Rowe, Elizabeth; Larsen, Jamie; Sylvan, Elisabeth; Hewitt, Jim

2012-01-01

This paper reports on research of a game designed for scientific inquiry in a new and publicly available massively-multiplayer online environment (MMO). Educators and game designers worked together to create a highly immersive environment, a compelling storyline, and research-grounded tools for scientific inquiry within the game. The designers…

Collaborative Virtual Gaming Worlds in Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Whitton, Nicola; Hollins, Paul

2008-01-01

There is growing interest in the use of virtual gaming worlds in education, supported by the increased use of multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) and massively multi-player online role-playing games (MMORPGs) for collaborative learning. However, this paper argues that collaborative gaming worlds have been in use much longer and are much wider…

Game E-Learning Code Master Dengan Konsep Mmorpg Menggunakan Adobe Flex 3

OpenAIRE

Fredy Purnomo; Monika Leslivania; Daniel Daniel; Lisye Mareta Cahya

2010-01-01

The research objective is to design a web-based e-learning game that could be used to be a learning facility of C language programming and as an online game so it could be enjoyed by everybody easily in internet. Flex usage in this game online is to implement RIA (Rich Internet Application) concept in the game so e-learning process is hoped to be more interesting and interactive. E-learning game is also designed in MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) concept. The research ...

The attitudes, feelings and experiences of online gamers: a qualitative analysis

OpenAIRE

Hussain, Z; Griffiths, MD

2009-01-01

The playing of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) is now a highly popular leisure activity. The present study set out to explore the attitudes, experiences, and feelings of online gamers. The study entailed 71 interviews with online gamers (52 males, 19 females) from 11 different countries. Six main themes emerged from the analyses of the interview transcripts: (a) online gaming and integration into day-to-day lives; (b) online gaming, excessive play, and problems; (c) ...

How to Be Both Rich and Happy: Combining Quantitative and Qualitative Strategic Reasoning about Multi-Player Games (Extended Abstract

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nils Bulling

2013-03-01

Full Text Available We propose a logical framework combining a game-theoretic study of abilities of agents to achieve quantitative objectives in multi-player games by optimizing payoffs or preferences on outcomes with a logical analysis of the abilities of players for achieving qualitative objectives of players, i.e., reaching or maintaining game states with desired properties. We enrich concurrent game models with payoffs for the normal form games associated with the states of the model and propose a quantitative extension of the logic ATL* enabling the combination of quantitative and qualitative reasoning.

How Massive Multiplayer Online Games Incorporate Principles of Economics

Science.gov (United States)

Barnett, Joshua H.; Archambault, Leanna

2010-01-01

Games have always been a part of the human experience. Even the earliest of civilizations created games for enjoyment and entertainment. However, the educational value of those games is a relatively recent consideration. Over the previous fifty years, scholars have questioned the potential positive lessons learned from games such as Monopoly[R],…

Video Games, Identity, and the Constellation of Information

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Crystle

2012-01-01

This article explores the identity of youth in relation to the information sources they choose in the constellation of information of video games, using the massively multiplayer online game "World of Warcraft" as an example. From this study, several identities are recognized that are combinations of the participants skill and level in the game,…

Introducción al proceso de producción y comercialización del Massivel y Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG)

OpenAIRE

Lozano Delmar, Javier; Hermida, Alberto

2009-01-01

El MMOG o ‘Massively Multiplayer Online Game’ (videojuego en línea de multijugador masivo) se ha convertido en uno de los tipos de videojuego de mayor éxito en los últimos años. Gracias a una de sus características fundamentales, el acceso masivo a la red, el MMOG desarrolla toda una serie de estrategias comunicacionales que han transformado por completo la industria del videojuego y el perfil del consumidor. El presente artículo pretende ofrecer una panorámica sobre los pro...

Social Media Interactions and Online Games - Building up New Human Relationships in Danube Region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Predrag K Nikolić

2015-08-01

Full Text Available In this paper we are trying to explore possibilities of using online environment, multiplayer gaming culture and social media networks to engage people in the Danube Region around social, multi-cultural and environment initiatives. The Danube Region online community could become a new cultural phenomena, technology mediated, built on human interactions, common interests and cultural heritage which open space for future humancentered social and infrastructural design initiatives. We believe that such social media environment could also be a research playground where people form Danube Region may express their needs and desires as well as to leave the trace of their behavior, significant for further Danube Region development.

Collaborate and share: an experimental study of the effects of task and reward interdependencies in online games.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Boreum; Lee, Inseong; Choi, Dongseong; Kim, Jinwoo

2007-08-01

Today millions of players interact with one another in online games, especially massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). These games promote interaction among players by offering interdependency features, but to date few studies have asked what interdependency design factors of MMORPGs make them fun for players, produce experiences of flow, or enhance player performance. In this study, we focused on two game design features: task and reward interdependency. We conducted a controlled experiment that compared the interaction effects of low and high task-interdependency conditions and low and high reward-interdependency conditions on three dependent variables: fun, flow, and performance. We found that in a low task-interdependency condition, players had more fun, experienced higher levels of flow, and perceived better performance when a low reward-interdependency condition also obtained. In contrast, in a high task-interdependency condition, all of these measures were higher when a high reward-interdependency condition also obtained.

Games of stake: control, agency and ownership in World of Warcraft

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Glas, M.A.J.

2010-01-01

World of Warcraft has become one of the most significant computer games of recent years. The massively multiplayer online role-playing game (or MMORPG) has introduced millions of players around the world to new forms of community-based play within a constantly evolving virtual environment. The game

Real-time monitoring prefrontal activities during online video game playing by functional near-infrared spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yue; Zhang, Lei; Long, Kehong; Gong, Hui; Lei, Hao

2018-02-16

A growing body of literature has suggested that video game playing can induce functional and structural plasticity of the brain. The underlying mechanisms, however, remain poorly understood. In this study, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to record prefrontal activities in 24 experienced game players when they played a massively multiplayer online battle arena video game, League of Legends (LOL), under naturalistic conditions. It was observed that game onset was associated with significant activations in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) and concomitant deactivations in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and frontal pole area (FPA). Game events, such as slaying an enemy and being slain by an enemy evoked region-specific time-locked hemodynamic/oxygenation responses in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). It was proposed that the VLPFC activities during LOL playing are likely responses to visuo-motor task load of the game, while the DLPFC/FPA activities may be involved in the constant shifts of attentional states and allocation of cognitive resources required by game playing. The present study demonstrated that it is feasible to use fNIRS to monitor real-time prefrontal activity during online video game playing. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

SecurityCom: A Multi-Player Game for Researching and Teaching Information Security Teams

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Douglas P. Twitchell

2007-12-01

Full Text Available A major portion of government and business organizations’ attempts to counteract information security threats is teams of security personnel.  These teams often consist of personnel of diverse backgrounds in specific specialties such as network administration, application development, and business administration, resulting in possible conflicts between security, functionality, and availability.  This paper discusses the use of games to teach and research information security teams and outlines research to design and build a simple, team-oriented, configurable, information security game. It will be used to study how information security teams work together to defend against attacks using a multi-player game, and to study the use of games in training security teams.  Studying how information security teams work, especially considering the topic of shared-situational awareness, could lead to better ways of forming, managing, and training teams.  Studying the effectiveness of the game as a training tool could lead to better training for security teams. 

Gaming: from Addiction Mechanisms to Clinical Practices

OpenAIRE

Thorens, Gabriel

2016-01-01

Video game addiction is the main theme of this thesis. After a brief definition of addiction, the focus is on the specific addictive properties of Internet and games. Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) are described, as they tend to be the most addictive type of game, with a specific focus on World of Warcraft (WoW). Issues of diagnostic criteria for Internet addiction and Internet gaming disorder (IGD) are be presented.

Aorta: a management layer for mobile peer-to-peer massive multiplayer games

Science.gov (United States)

Edlich, Stefan; Hoerning, Henrik; Brunnert, Andreas; Hoerning, Reidar

2005-03-01

The development of massive multiplayer games (MMPGs) for personal computers is based on a wide range of frameworks and technologies. In contrast, MMPG development for cell phones lacks the availability of framework support. We present Aorta as a multi-purpose lightweight MIDP 2.0 framework to support the transparent and equal API usage of peer-to-peer communication via http, IP and Bluetooth. Special experiments, such as load-tests on Nokia 6600s, have been carried out with Bluetooth support in using a server-as-client architecture to create ad-hoc networks by using piconet functionalities. Additionally, scatternet functionalities, which will be supported in upcoming devices, have been tested in a simulated environment on more than 12 cell phones. The core of the Aorta framework is the Etherlobby, which manages connections, peers, the game lobby, game policies and much more. The framework itself was developed to enable the fast development of mobile games, regardless of the distance between users, which might be within the schoolyard or much further away. The earliest market-ready application shown here is a multimedia game for cell phones utilizing all of the frameworks features. This game, called Micromonster, acts as platform for developer tests, as well as providing valuable information about interface usability and user acceptance.

The Influence of an Educational Course on Language Expression and Treatment of Gaming Addiction for Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) Players

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Pyoung Won; Kim, Seo Young; Shim, Miseon; Im, Chang-Hwan; Shon, Young-Min

2013-01-01

Addiction to Massive Multiple Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) among juveniles has become a serious problem in Korea and has led to legislation prohibiting juveniles from playing games after midnight. One key factor in gaming addiction is the so-called narrative, or story, gamers create for themselves while playing. This study investigated how…

Aspiration dynamics of multi-player games in finite populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Jinming; Wu, Bin; Altrock, Philipp M; Wang, Long

2014-05-06

On studying strategy update rules in the framework of evolutionary game theory, one can differentiate between imitation processes and aspiration-driven dynamics. In the former case, individuals imitate the strategy of a more successful peer. In the latter case, individuals adjust their strategies based on a comparison of their pay-offs from the evolutionary game to a value they aspire, called the level of aspiration. Unlike imitation processes of pairwise comparison, aspiration-driven updates do not require additional information about the strategic environment and can thus be interpreted as being more spontaneous. Recent work has mainly focused on understanding how aspiration dynamics alter the evolutionary outcome in structured populations. However, the baseline case for understanding strategy selection is the well-mixed population case, which is still lacking sufficient understanding. We explore how aspiration-driven strategy-update dynamics under imperfect rationality influence the average abundance of a strategy in multi-player evolutionary games with two strategies. We analytically derive a condition under which a strategy is more abundant than the other in the weak selection limiting case. This approach has a long-standing history in evolutionary games and is mostly applied for its mathematical approachability. Hence, we also explore strong selection numerically, which shows that our weak selection condition is a robust predictor of the average abundance of a strategy. The condition turns out to differ from that of a wide class of imitation dynamics, as long as the game is not dyadic. Therefore, a strategy favoured under imitation dynamics can be disfavoured under aspiration dynamics. This does not require any population structure, and thus highlights the intrinsic difference between imitation and aspiration dynamics.

Bipartite Graphs as Models of Population Structures in Evolutionary Multiplayer Games

Science.gov (United States)

Peña, Jorge; Rochat, Yannick

2012-01-01

By combining evolutionary game theory and graph theory, “games on graphs” study the evolutionary dynamics of frequency-dependent selection in population structures modeled as geographical or social networks. Networks are usually represented by means of unipartite graphs, and social interactions by two-person games such as the famous prisoner’s dilemma. Unipartite graphs have also been used for modeling interactions going beyond pairwise interactions. In this paper, we argue that bipartite graphs are a better alternative to unipartite graphs for describing population structures in evolutionary multiplayer games. To illustrate this point, we make use of bipartite graphs to investigate, by means of computer simulations, the evolution of cooperation under the conventional and the distributed N-person prisoner’s dilemma. We show that several implicit assumptions arising from the standard approach based on unipartite graphs (such as the definition of replacement neighborhoods, the intertwining of individual and group diversity, and the large overlap of interaction neighborhoods) can have a large impact on the resulting evolutionary dynamics. Our work provides a clear example of the importance of construction procedures in games on graphs, of the suitability of bigraphs and hypergraphs for computational modeling, and of the importance of concepts from social network analysis such as centrality, centralization and bipartite clustering for the understanding of dynamical processes occurring on networked population structures. PMID:22970237

The Impact of a Racing Feature on Middle School Science Students' Performance in an Educational Game: The Effect of Content-Free Game-Actions

Science.gov (United States)

Ault, Marilyn; Craig-Hare, Jana; Frey, Bruce

2016-01-01

Reason Racer is an online, rate-based, multiplayer game designed to engage middle school students in the knowledge and skills related to scientific argumentation. Several game features are included as design considerations unrelated to science content or argumentation. One specific feature, a competitive racing component that occurs in between…

Multimodal game bot detection using user behavioral characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Ah Reum; Jeong, Seong Hoon; Mohaisen, Aziz; Kim, Huy Kang

2016-01-01

As the online service industry has continued to grow, illegal activities in the online world have drastically increased and become more diverse. Most illegal activities occur continuously because cyber assets, such as game items and cyber money in online games, can be monetized into real currency. The aim of this study is to detect game bots in a massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG). We observed the behavioral characteristics of game bots and found that they execute repetitive tasks associated with gold farming and real money trading. We propose a game bot detection method based on user behavioral characteristics. The method of this paper was applied to real data provided by a major MMORPG company. Detection accuracy rate increased to 96.06 % on the banned account list.

Development of mobile application in game industry

OpenAIRE

Horňák, Miroslav

2016-01-01

This thesis describes process of design and development of multiplayer online mobile game. Including ways of monetisation, setting a game goals and design of user interface and game environment. It also shows potential problems which can occur while developing this kind of a game. All this is demonstrated on real mobile game project targeting all major mobile operating systems. Inseparable part of this thesis is also summary of mobile operating systems and tools currently used in mobile game ...

Gaming under the influence: An exploratory study.

Science.gov (United States)

Škařupová, Kateřina; Blinka, Lukas; Ťápal, Adam

2018-05-23

Background and aims Association between substance use and excessive play of online games exists both in theory and research. However, no study to date examined playing online games under the influence of licit and illicit drugs. Methods We questioned a convenient online sample of 3,952 Czech online gamers on their experiences and motives of using caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, psychoactive pharmaceuticals, and illicit drugs while playing massive multiplayer online games (MMOGs). Results The results showed low prevalence of illicit drug use while playing online games. Substance use was positively associated with intensity of gaming and both addiction and engagement; psychoactive substances with stimulating effect were linked to higher engagement and gaming intensity, whereas use of sedatives was associated with higher addiction score. Substance use varied slightly with the preference of game genre. Discussion Drug use while playing appears as behavior, which is mostly not related to gaming - it concerns mostly caffeine, tobacco, alcohol, or cannabis. For some users, however, drug use was fueled by motivations toward improving their cognitive enhancement and gaming performance.

Live action role-playing games

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tychsen, Anders; Hitchens, Michael; Brolund, Thea

2006-01-01

Live action role-playing games share a range of characteristics with massively multi-player online games (MMOGs). Because these games have existed for more than 20 years, players of these games have a substantial amount of experience in handling issues pertinent to MMOGs. Survey and review of live...... action role-playing games, whose participant count can be in the thousands, reveal that features such as size, theme, game master-to-player ratio, and others interact to form complex systems that require several different groups of control tools to manage. The way that these games are managed offers...

Learning by Gaming: Supply Chain Management

OpenAIRE

Arisha, Amr; Tobail, Ayman; Crowe, John

2011-01-01

Today's third level students are of a virtual generation, where online interactive multi-player games, virtual reality and simulations are a part of everyday life, making gaming and simulation a very important catalyst in the learning process. Teaching methods have to be more innovative to help students understand the complexity of decisions within dynamic supply chain environment. Interactive simulation games have the potential to be an efficient and enjoyable means of learning. A serious in...

Collaborative virtual gaming worlds in higher education

OpenAIRE

Whitton, Nicola; Hollins, Paul

2008-01-01

There is growing interest in the use of virtual gaming worlds in education, supported by the increased use of multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) and massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) for collaborative learning. However, this paper argues that collaborative gaming worlds have been in use much longer and are much wider in scope; it considers the range of collaborative gaming worlds that exist and discusses their potential for learning, with particular reference to h...

Gaming as Extramural English L2 Learning and L2 Proficiency among Young Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Sylven, Liss Kerstin; Sundqvist, Pia

2012-01-01

Today, playing digital games is an important part of many young people's everyday lives. Claims have been made that certain games, in particular massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) provide L2 English learners with a linguistically rich and cognitively challenging virtual environment that may be conducive to L2 learning, as…

Effect of Digital Game Based Learning on Ninth Grade Students' Mathematics Achievement

Science.gov (United States)

Swearingen, Dixie K.

2011-01-01

This experimental study examined the effect of an educational massive multiplayer online game (MMOG) on achievement on a standards-based mathematics exam. It also examined the interaction of student characteristics (gender and socioeconomic status) with digital game play on mathematics achievement. Two hundred eighty ninth grade students from a…

The Effectiveness of Reason Racer, a Game Designed to Engage Middle School Students in Scientific Argumentation

Science.gov (United States)

Ault, Marilyn; Craig-Hare, Jana; Frey, Bruce; Ellis, James D.; Bulgren, Janis

2015-01-01

Reason Racer is an online, rate-based, multiplayer game that applies specific game features in order to engage middle school students in introductory knowledge of and thinking related to scientific argumentation. Game features include rapid and competitive play, timed performance, immediate feedback, and high rates of response across many…

Towards a Framework for Learning in the OSMA Serious Game Engine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tanguy Coenen

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Online multiplayer serious games offer a way to support learning in a gaming paradigm that is familiar to many players and has proven its effectiveness in providing sustainably enjoyable gameplay. We aim to decrease development cost for these games by providing a modular game design framework and a component-based technical architecture. The technical architecture and the game design framework will be implemented and iteratively refined through two proofs of concept.

Video games as American popular culture

OpenAIRE

Wolf, Mark J.P.

2017-01-01

Video games have moved, possibly surpassing even movies, into a central role in American popular culture in a relatively short time, and today there is increasing evidence that the video game console –to some extent, as much as the personal computer– has emerged as a central media device through which “convergence culture” is taking place. In the world of massively multiplayer online games, new (and very real) economies and cultures have evolved with striking rapidity, while on a very differe...

TimeMesh – A Serious Game for European Citizenship

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ricardo Baptista

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Serious games are games where the entertainment aspect is not the most relevant motivation or objective. TimeMesh is an online, multi-language, multiplayer, collaborative and social game platform for sharing and acquiring knowledge of the history of European regions. As such it is a serious game with educational characteristics. This article evaluates the use of TimeMesh with students of 13 and 14 years-old. It shows that this game is already a significant learning tool about European citizenship.

Hubungan Antara Kontrol Diri Dengan Intensitas Bermain Game Online Pada Mahasiswa Pemain Game Online Di Game Center X Semarang

OpenAIRE

Budhi, Ferry Hernoyo; Indrawati, Endang Sri

2016-01-01

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui hubungan antara kontrol diri dengan intensitas bermain game online pada mahasiswa pemain game online di game center X Semarang. Populasi penelitian ini adalah mahasiswa yang bermain game online di game center X Semarang. Sampel penelitian berjumlah 70 orang yang dipilih menggunakan teknik convenient sampling. Pengumpulan data menggunakan dua buah skala psikologi, yaitu skala intensitas bermain game online (45 aitem valid dengan α= 0,944) dan skala kon...

The attitudes, feelings, and experiences of online gamers: a qualitative analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Hussain, Zaheer; Griffiths, Mark D

2009-12-01

The playing of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) is now a highly popular leisure activity. The present study set out to explore the attitudes, experiences, and feelings of online gamers. The study entailed 71 interviews with online gamers (52 males, 19 females) from 11 different countries. Six main themes emerged from the analyses of the interview transcripts: (a) online gaming and integration into day-to-day lives; (b) online gaming, excessive play, and problems; (c) addiction; (d) psychosocial impact of online gaming; (e) online gaming, dissociation, and time loss; and (f) online gaming and the alleviation of negative feelings and mood states. These findings specifically showed how gamers used MMORPGs to alleviate negative feelings and provided detailed descriptions of personal problems that had arisen due to playing MMORPGs. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to previous qualitative and quantitative research in the area.

Linking online gaming and addictive behavior: converging evidence for a general reward deficiency in frequent online gamers.

Science.gov (United States)

Hahn, Tim; Notebaert, Karolien Hilde; Dresler, Thomas; Kowarsch, Linda; Reif, Andreas; Fallgatter, Andreas J

2014-01-01

Millions of people regularly play so-called massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs). Recently, it has been argued that MMORPG overuse is becoming a significant health problem worldwide. Symptoms such as tolerance, withdrawal, and craving have been described. Based on behavioral, resting state, and task-related neuroimaging data, we test whether frequent players of the MMORPG "World of Warcraft" (WoW) - similar to drug addicts and individuals with an increased risk for addictions - show a generally deficient reward system. In frequent players of the MMORPG "World of Warcraft" (WoW-players) and in a control group of non-gamers we assessed (1) trait sensitivity to reward (SR), (2) BOLD responses during monetary reward processing in the ventral striatum, and (3) ventral-striatal resting-state dynamics. We found a decreased neural activation in the ventral striatum during the anticipation of both small and large monetary rewards. Additionally, we show generally altered neurodynamics in this region independent of any specific task for WoW players (resting state). On the behavioral level, we found differences in trait SR, suggesting that the reward processing deficiencies found in this study are not a consequence of gaming, but predisposed to it. These findings empirically support a direct link between frequent online gaming and the broad field of behavioral and drug addiction research, thus opening new avenues for clinical interventions in addicted gamers and potentially improving the assessment of addiction-risk in the vast population of frequent gamers.

Rochester Castle MMORPG: Instructional Gaming and Collaborative Learning at a Western Australian School

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Mark J. W.; Eustace, Ken; Fellows, Geoff; Bytheway, Allan; Irving, Leah

2005-01-01

This paper reports on the first stage of a project to develop and test the use of massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs) for promoting computer supported collaborative learning through instructional gaming in the high school classroom. Teachers and students of English and Science at Swan View Senior High School, Western…

Encouraging Free Play: Extramural Digital Game-Based Language Learning as a Complex Adaptive System

Science.gov (United States)

Scholz, Kyle

2017-01-01

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games like World of Warcraft are ideally suited to encourage and facilitate second language development (SLD) in the extramural setting, but to what extent do the language learners' actual trajectories of gameplay contribute to SLD? With the current propensity to focus research in digital game-based…

Træfsikre mødesteder. Sociale og kulturelle møder i og omkring online multiplayer computerspil

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stald, Gitte Bang

2005-01-01

Online multiplayer computerspil1 er i l¢bet af ganske kart tid blevet udbredt i et omfang, der syntes utopisk for fa ar siden - for internettets udbredelse, etableringen af netcafeer og udviklingen af spil med potentiale til online multi­player-spil i bade gameplay, grafik og interface. Det prcec...... forskelle i prog­noser indikerer tallene big business og star brugerinteresse (IGDA 2003: 15-28)....

Game design as marketing: How game mechanics create demand for virtual goods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lehdonvirta, V.

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Selling virtual goods for real money is an increasingly popular revenue model for massively-multiplayer online games (MMOs, social networking sites (SNSs and other online hangouts. In this paper, we argue that the marketing of virtual goods currently falls short of what it could be. Game developers have long created compelling game designs, but having to market virtual goods to players is a relatively new situation to them. Professional marketers, on the other hand, tend to overlook the internal design of games and hangouts and focus on marketing the services as a whole. To begin bridging the gap, we propose that the design patterns and game mechanics commonly used in games and online hangouts should be viewed as a set of marketing techniques designed to sell virtual goods. Based on a review of a number of MMOs, we describe some of the most common patterns and game mechanics and show how their effects can be explained in terms of analogous techniques from marketing science. The results provide a new perspective to game design with interesting implications to developers. Moreover, they also suggest a radically new perspective to marketers of ordinary goods and services: viewing marketing as a form of game design.

"Gamestar Mechanic": Learning a Designer Mindset through Communicational Competence with the Language of Games

Science.gov (United States)

Games, Ivan Alex

2010-01-01

This article presents the results of a three-year study of "Gamestar Mechanic" (www.gamestarmechanic.com), a flash-based multiplayer online role-playing game developed for the MacArthur Foundation's digital media learning initiative by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Gamelab in New York. The game's objective is to help children…

KETERGANTUNGAN ONLINE GAME DAN PENANGANANNYA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ridwan Syahran

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Penelitian ini dimaksudkan untuk mengetahui perilaku yang ditimbulkan dari kecanduan bermaian online game pada siswa SMP Negeri 1 Palu yang meliputi faktor-faktor penyebab kecanduan, keadaan psikologis yang ditimbulkan dari kecanduan bermain online game dan dampak-dampak yang ditimbulkan dari kecanduan bermain online game.Pendekatan penelitian ini adalah penelitian kualitatif dengan jenis penelitian studi kasus dengan berdasarkan responden dan informan sebagai bahan sumber data. Dalam proses pengumpulan data digunakan teknik observasi dan wawancara, dimana setelah data diperoleh selanjutnya dianalisis dengan menggunakan analisis deskriptif kualitatif.Berdasarkan hasil penelitian ini, bahwa subyek (RZ dan (MT, kedua subyek penelitian menjadi ketergantungan atau kecanduan untuk bermain online game yang dikarenakan tersedianya beberapa fasilitas pendukung untuk bermain game di rumah, adanya faktor sosial dari pertemanan dengan teman bermain dan keingintahuan yang sangat besar terhadap suatu jenis game. Penanganan ketergantungan game online dengan bantuan dari berbagai pihak terutama pihak sekolah memberikan kepercayaan kepada konselor sekolah atau guru BK untuk mengadakan seminar kepada orang tua siswa tentang game online dan masalah yang akan ditimbulkan, mengatur waktu belajar dan bermain anak, memasukkan materi tentang game online dan dampaknya kepada siswa serta memberikan penyaluran yang baik dalam memilih game yang edukatif serta Menjalin komunikasi interpersonal agar anak dapat terbuka dengan orang tua.

Addictive Online Games: Examining the Relationship Between Game Genres and Internet Gaming Disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Lemmens, Jeroen S; Hendriks, Stefan J F

2016-04-01

Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is the most recent term used to describe problematic or pathological involvement with computer or video games. This study examined whether this disorder is more likely to involve pathological involvement with online (i.e., Internet) games as opposed to offline games. We also explored the addictive potential of nine video game genres by examining the relationship between IGD and 2,720 games played by a sample of 13- to 40-year olds (N = 2,442). Although time spent playing both online and offline games was related to IGD, online games showed much stronger correlations. This tendency is also reflected within various genres. Disordered gamers spent more than four times as much time playing online role-playing games than nondisordered gamers and more than thrice as much time playing online shooters, whereas no significant differences for offline games from these genres were found. Results are discussed within the frame of social interaction and competition provided by online games.

Exploring the enjoyment of playing browser games.

Science.gov (United States)

Klimmt, Christoph; Schmid, Hannah; Orthmann, Julia

2009-04-01

Browser games--mostly persistent game worlds that can be used without client software and monetary cost with a Web browser--belong to the understudied digital game types, although they attract large player communities and motivate sustained play. The present work reports findings from an online survey of 8,203 players of a German strategy browser game ("Travian"). Results suggest that multiplayer browser games are enjoyed primarily because of the social relationships involved in game play and the specific time and flexibility characteristics ("easy-in, easy-out"). Competition, in contrast, seems to be less important for browser gamers than for users of other game types. Findings are discussed in terms of video game enjoyment and game addiction.

Interactive evolution of levels for a competitive multiplayer FPS

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olsted, P.T.; Ma, B.; Risi, S.

2015-01-01

Traditionally a dedicated level designer has to create every aspect of a level by hand, distribute and gather people to test it. Especially for multiplayer maps, the cyclic process of developing and testing can be quite cumbersome and time consuming. This paper presents a novel approach to provide...... live generation of levels for such multiplayer maps through procedural content generation and interactive evolution. The approach is demonstrated in the FPSEvolver video game that aims at replicating the look and feel of popular games like Counter-Strike. Without leaving the game a group of players can......”. The presented approach can generate enjoyable maps that adapt to the preferences of players across a range of skill levels. Several distinct types of levels were created during testing, which range from open to closed, and complex to simple, each fitting closely with what the different players consider a good...

From Territorial to Temporal Ambitions: The Politics of Time and Imagination in Massive Multiplayer Online Forecasting Games

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lonny J. Avi Brooks

2015-09-01

Full Text Available In 2010, the online forecasting game Urgent Evoke, produced by Jane McGonigal, former Director of Gaming at the Institute for the Future and the World Bank Institute, elicited praise by gaming critics as a model for “serious gaming.” The game promised to show how players could think about long-term solutions to urgent social problems like hunger, poverty, conflict, and climate change using the African continent as its test bed. Players imagined future temporal outcomes through remixing media. In a qualitative analysis of actual game play during the real-time introduction of the game for teaching organizational communication, Evoke became a platform for student inquiry for questioning its underlying design as an expansion of territorial and temporal conquest. Evoke served as a springboard for building a literacy of critical time among students in accessing stakeholder power to determine the future. Students challenged, created, and followed the cultural capital of promissory visions in circulation. The curriculum design for using serious and forecasting games like Evoke must account for the conceptual development of what Sarah Sharma calls critical time or chronopolitics, a hidden politics of time that shapes our approaches to cultures, organizations, and innovation. By placing spatial and temporal dynamics center stage, we investigated how serious games produce a chronopolitics of time differentiating among people by class and ethnicity. Alternative Reality Games offer the potential for building a literacy of critical forecasting time to understand the practices for anticipating the future as temporal networks of power, different and uneven.

Leadership in MMOGs: A Field of Research on Virtual Teams

Science.gov (United States)

Mysirlaki, Sofia; Paraskeva, Fotini

2012-01-01

As our need for collaboration constantly grows, new tools have emerged to connect us in social networks, supporting the development of online communities, such as online games and virtual worlds. MMOGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Games) and MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) are complex systems, in which players are…

Pengaruh Persepsi Nilai pada Intensi Pembelian Produk Virtual yang Dimediasi oleh Kepuasan

OpenAIRE

Tunjungsari, Hetty Karunia; Lunardy, Dennis

2016-01-01

. Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mengukur intensi pembelian produk virtualyang ditawarkan pada pemain online game selama periode bermain berlangsung.Kepuasan terhadap game diduga menjadi variabel mediasi dalam pengaruh persepsinilai terhadap intensi pembelian. Online game yang dimainkan oleh responden dalampenelitian ini adalah tipe MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role PlayingGames) dan MMOBA (Massively Multiplayer Online Battle Arena). Hasil penelitianmenunjukkan bahwa baik pada kelompo...

Linking online gaming and addictive behavior: Converging evidence for a general reward deficiency in frequent online gamers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tim eHahn

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Millions of people regularly play so-called Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs. Recently, it has been argued that MMORPG overuse is becoming a significant health problem worldwide. Symptoms such as tolerance, withdrawal and craving have been described. Based on behavioral, resting state and task-related neuroimaging data, we test whether frequent players of the MMORPG World of Warcraft (WoW – similar to drug addicts and individuals with an increased risk for addictions – show a generally deficient reward system. In frequent players of the MMORPG World of Warcraft (WoW-players and in a control group of non-gamers we assessed 1 trait sensitivity to reward, 2 BOLD responses during monetary reward processing in the ventral striatum and 3 ventral-striatal resting state dynamics. We find a decreased neural activation in the ventral striatum during the anticipation of both small and large monetary rewards. Additionally, we show generally altered neurodynamics in this region independent of any specific task for WoW players (resting state. On the behavioral level, we found differences in trait sensitivity to reward, suggesting that the reward processing deficiencies found in this study are not a consequence of gaming, but predisposed to it. These findings empirically support a direct link between frequent online gaming and the broad field of behavioral and drug addiction research, thus opening new avenues for clinical interventions in addicted gamers and potentially improving the assessment of addiction-risk in the vast population of frequent gamers.

Capability and Interface Assessment of Gaming Technologies for Future Multi-Unmanned Air Vehicle Systems

Science.gov (United States)

2011-08-01

Playing Games ( MMORPG ), which necessitate the management of multiple independent entities with sophisticated capabilities; and finally, arcade-style... MMORPG , SA 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT SAR 18. NUMBER OF PAGES 34 19a. NAME OF RESPONSIBLE...tested platform for simultaneous control of multiple entities. Similarly, the popularity of Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games ( MMORPG

Video Game Characters. Theory and Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Felix Schröter

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This essay develops a method for the analysis of video game characters based on a theoretical understanding of their medium-specific representation and the mental processes involved in their intersubjective construction by video game players. We propose to distinguish, first, between narration, simulation, and communication as three modes of representation particularly salient for contemporary video games and the characters they represent, second, between narrative, ludic, and social experience as three ways in which players perceive video game characters and their representations, and, third, between three dimensions of video game characters as ‘intersubjective constructs’, which usually are to be analyzed not only as fictional beings with certain diegetic properties but also as game pieces with certain ludic properties and, in those cases in which they function as avatars in the social space of a multiplayer game, as representations of other players. Having established these basic distinctions, we proceed to analyze their realization and interrelation by reference to the character of Martin Walker from the third-person shooter Spec Ops: The Line (Yager Development 2012, the highly customizable player-controlled characters from the role-playing game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda 2011, and the complex multidimensional characters in the massively multiplayer online role-playing game Star Wars: The Old Republic (BioWare 2011-2014.

The Mediating Effect of Gaming Motivation Between Psychiatric Symptoms and Problematic Online Gaming: An Online Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Király, Orsolya; Urbán, Róbert; Griffiths, Mark D; Ágoston, Csilla; Nagygyörgy, Katalin; Kökönyei, Gyöngyi

2015-01-01

Background The rapid expansion of online video gaming as a leisure time activity has led to the appearance of problematic online gaming (POG). According to the literature, POG is associated with different psychiatric symptoms (eg, depression, anxiety) and with specific gaming motives (ie, escape, achievement). Based on studies of alcohol use that suggest a mediator role of drinking motives between distal influences (eg, trauma symptoms) and drinking problems, this study examined the assumption that there is an indirect link between psychiatric distress and POG via the mediation of gaming motives. Furthermore, it was also assumed that there was a moderator effect of gender and game type preference based on the important role gender plays in POG and the structural differences between different game types. Objective This study had two aims. The first aim was to test the mediating role of online gaming motives between psychiatric symptoms and problematic use of online games. The second aim was to test the moderator effect of gender and game type preference in this mediation model. Methods An online survey was conducted on a sample of online gamers (N=3186; age: mean 21.1, SD 5.9 years; male: 2859/3186, 89.74%). The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), the Motives for Online Gaming Questionnaire (MOGQ), and the Problematic Online Gaming Questionnaire (POGQ) were administered to assess general psychiatric distress, online gaming motives, and problematic online game use, respectively. Structural regression analyses within structural equation modeling were used to test the proposed mediation models and multigroup analyses were used to test gender and game type differences to determine possible moderating effects. Results The mediation models fitted the data adequately. The Global Severity Index (GSI) of the BSI indicated that the level of psychiatric distress had a significant positive direct effect (standardized effect=.35, Pgaming motives: escape (standardized effect=.139

Characteristics of Social Network Gamers: in between Social Networking and Online Role-Playing Games

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olga eGeisel

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Current research on internet addiction (IA reported moderate to high prevalence rates of IA and comorbid psychiatric symptoms in users of social networking sites (SNS and online role-playing games. The aim of this study was to characterise adult users of an internet multiplayer strategy game within a SNS. Therefore, we conducted an exploratory study using an online survey to assess sociodemographic variables, psychopathology and the rate of IA in a sample of adult social network gamers by Young´s Internet Addiction Test (IAT, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS, the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II, the Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R and the WHO Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF. All participants were listed gamers of combat zone in the SNS Facebook. In the IAT analysis, 16.2 % of the participants (n = 60 were categorized as subjects with IA and 19.5 % (n = 72 fulfilled the criteria for alexithymia. Comparing study participants with and without IA, the IA group had significantly more subjects with alexithymia, reported more depressive symptoms, and showed poorer quality of life. These findings suggest that social network gaming might also be associated with maladaptive patterns of internet use. Furthermore, a relationship between IA, alexithymia and depressive symptoms was found that needs to be elucidated by future studies.

The mediating effect of gaming motivation between psychiatric symptoms and problematic online gaming: an online survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Király, Orsolya; Urbán, Róbert; Griffiths, Mark D; Ágoston, Csilla; Nagygyörgy, Katalin; Kökönyei, Gyöngyi; Demetrovics, Zsolt

2015-04-07

The rapid expansion of online video gaming as a leisure time activity has led to the appearance of problematic online gaming (POG). According to the literature, POG is associated with different psychiatric symptoms (eg, depression, anxiety) and with specific gaming motives (ie, escape, achievement). Based on studies of alcohol use that suggest a mediator role of drinking motives between distal influences (eg, trauma symptoms) and drinking problems, this study examined the assumption that there is an indirect link between psychiatric distress and POG via the mediation of gaming motives. Furthermore, it was also assumed that there was a moderator effect of gender and game type preference based on the important role gender plays in POG and the structural differences between different game types. This study had two aims. The first aim was to test the mediating role of online gaming motives between psychiatric symptoms and problematic use of online games. The second aim was to test the moderator effect of gender and game type preference in this mediation model. An online survey was conducted on a sample of online gamers (N=3186; age: mean 21.1, SD 5.9 years; male: 2859/3186, 89.74%). The Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), the Motives for Online Gaming Questionnaire (MOGQ), and the Problematic Online Gaming Questionnaire (POGQ) were administered to assess general psychiatric distress, online gaming motives, and problematic online game use, respectively. Structural regression analyses within structural equation modeling were used to test the proposed mediation models and multigroup analyses were used to test gender and game type differences to determine possible moderating effects. The mediation models fitted the data adequately. The Global Severity Index (GSI) of the BSI indicated that the level of psychiatric distress had a significant positive direct effect (standardized effect=.35, Pgaming motives: escape (standardized effect=.139, Pgaming (standardized effect size=.64

Predicting protein structures with a multiplayer online game

OpenAIRE

Cooper, Seth; Khatib, Firas; Treuille, Adrien; Barbero, Janos; Lee, Jeehyung; Beenen, Michael; Leaver-Fay, Andrew; Baker, David; Popović, Zoran

2010-01-01

People exert significant amounts of problem solving effort playing computer games. Simple image- and text-recognition tasks have been successfully crowd-sourced through gamesi, ii, iii, but it is not clear if more complex scientific problems can be similarly solved with human-directed computing. Protein structure prediction is one such problem: locating the biologically relevant native conformation of a protein is a formidable computational challenge given the very large size of the search sp...

Men's harassment behavior in online video games: Personality traits and game factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Wai Yen; Fox, Jesse

2016-11-01

Online video games afford co-play and social interaction, often anonymous, among players from around the world. As predicted by the social identity model of deindividuation effects, undesirable behavior is not uncommon in online gaming environments, and online harassment has become a pervasive issue in the gaming community. In this study, we sought to determine what personality traits and game-related variables predicted two types of online aggression in video games: general harassment (e.g., skill-based taunting, insulting others' intelligence) and sexual harassment (e.g., sexist comments, rape threats). Men who play online video games (N = 425) participated in an anonymous online survey. Social dominance orientation and hostile sexism predicted higher levels of both sexual harassment and general harassment in online games. Game involvement and hours of weekly gameplay were additional predictors of general harassment. We discuss implications of online social aggression and online sexual harassment for online gaming. We also apply our findings to the broader understanding of online harassment, cyberaggression, cyberbullying, and other forms of online hostility in computer-mediated communication contexts. Aggr. Behav. 42:513-521, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Brain activities associated with gaming urge of online gaming addiction.

Science.gov (United States)

Ko, Chih-Hung; Liu, Gin-Chung; Hsiao, Sigmund; Yen, Ju-Yu; Yang, Ming-Jen; Lin, Wei-Chen; Yen, Cheng-Fang; Chen, Cheng-Sheng

2009-04-01

The aim of this study was to identify the neural substrates of online gaming addiction through evaluation of the brain areas associated with the cue-induced gaming urge. Ten participants with online gaming addiction and 10 control subjects without online gaming addiction were tested. They were presented with gaming pictures and the paired mosaic pictures while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning. The contrast in blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) signals when viewing gaming pictures and when viewing mosaic pictures was calculated with the SPM2 software to evaluate the brain activations. Right orbitofrontal cortex, right nucleus accumbens, bilateral anterior cingulate and medial frontal cortex, right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and right caudate nucleus were activated in the addicted group in contrast to the control group. The activation of the region-of-interest (ROI) defined by the above brain areas was positively correlated with self-reported gaming urge and recalling of gaming experience provoked by the WOW pictures. The results demonstrate that the neural substrate of cue-induced gaming urge/craving in online gaming addiction is similar to that of the cue-induced craving in substance dependence. The above-mentioned brain regions have been reported to contribute to the craving in substance dependence, and here we show that the same areas were involved in online gaming urge/craving. Thus, the results suggest that the gaming urge/craving in online gaming addiction and craving in substance dependence might share the same neurobiological mechanism.

Promotion of cooperation induced by discriminators in the spatial multi-player donor-recipient game

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Guang-Hai; Wang, Zhen; Ren, Jian-Kang; Lu, Kun; Li, Ming-Chu

2016-11-01

Although the two-player donor-recipient game has been used extensively in studying cooperation in social dilemmas, the scenario in which a donor can simultaneously donate resources to multiple recipients is also common in human societies, economic systems, and social networks. This paper formulates a model of the multi-player donor-recipient game considering a multi-recipient scenario. The promotion of cooperation is also studied by introducing a discriminative cooperation strategy into the game, which donates resources to recipients in proportion to their previous donations with a cost for the collection of information. The evolutionary dynamics of individual strategies are explored in homogeneous and heterogeneous scenarios by leveraging spatial evolutionary game theory. The results show that in a homogeneous scenario, defectors can dominate the network at the equilibrium state only when the cost-to-benefit ratio (R) of donated resources is large. In a heterogeneous scenario, three strategies can coexist all the time within the range of R that was studied, and the promotion of cooperation is more effective when the values of R are smaller. Results from a single node evolution and the formation of local patterns of interaction are provided, and it is analytically shown that discriminators can maintain fairness in resource donation and guarantee long-term cooperation when R is not too large.

Game E-Learning Code Master Dengan Konsep Mmorpg Menggunakan Adobe Flex 3

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fredy Purnomo

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The research objective is to design a web-based e-learning game that could be used to be a learning facility of C language programming and as an online game so it could be enjoyed by everybody easily in internet. Flex usage in this game online is to implement RIA (Rich Internet Application concept in the game so e-learning process is hoped to be more interesting and interactive. E-learning game is also designed in MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game concept. The research method used is analysis and design method. Analysis method is done through literature study, user analysis, and similar game analysis. Meanwhile, design method is about monitor display, gameplay and system design. The conclution of this research is that this game provides an interesting learning media of C language program accordingly to subject material at class and also easier to use through website. 

GAME FPS DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN MULTIPLAYER GAME

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ida Bagus Made Oka Widharma

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Perkembangan game saat ini sangat pesat sehingga banyak orang yang tertarik untuk memainkannya bahkan sampai lupa waktu,suatu game akan membuat orang tertarik dan penasaran karena didalam nya terdapat AI (artificial intelegent. Tujuan pengembangan kecerdasan buatan adalah untuk membuat aksi dan reaksi otonom agen atau NPC (Non-Player Character dari game. Dua NPC bisa saling membantu dalam menjalankan strategi menyerang terhadap musuh. penelitian  ini menjelaskan tentang bagaimana orang dapat bermain game secara bersama-sama dengan menggunakan jaringan computer atau jaringan internet . Dua NPC yang dimaksud  adalahNPC Scout yang bertugas memancing serangan musuh, dan NPC Sniper yang bertugas memberikan back up serangan dari jarak jauh.. Perilaku yangdimaksud adalah menyerang brutal, menyerang, bertahan dan melarikan diri. Masing-masing perilaku diujicobakan dalam game First Person Shooter menggunakan unity engine. Dalam simulasi game terjadi respon perubahan perilaku masing-masing NPC terhadap kondisi yang dihadapi dengan mengetahui respon dari NPC maka akan dapat menentukan strategi dalam game tersebut.

Ketergantungan Online Game Dan Penanganannya

OpenAIRE

Syahran, Ridwan

2015-01-01

Penelitian ini dimaksudkan untuk mengetahui perilaku yang ditimbulkan dari kecanduan bermaian online game pada siswa SMP Negeri 1 Palu yang meliputi faktor-faktor penyebab kecanduan, keadaan psikologis yang ditimbulkan dari kecanduan bermain online game dan dampak-dampak yang ditimbulkan dari kecanduan bermain online game.Pendekatan penelitian ini adalah penelitian kualitatif dengan jenis penelitian studi kasus dengan berdasarkan responden dan informan sebagai bahan sumber data. Dalam proses ...

Online Strategy Games.

Science.gov (United States)

Dye, Bryan

2002-01-01

A strategy game is an online interactive game that requires thinking in order to be played at its best and whose winning strategy is not obvious. Provides information on strategy games that are written in Java or JavaScript and freely available on the web. (KHR)

Cyber security issues in online games

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Chen

2018-04-01

With the rapid development of the Internet, online gaming has become a way of entertainment for many young people in the modern era. However, in recent years, cyber security issues in online games have emerged in an endless stream, which have also caused great attention of many game operators. Common cyber security problems in the game include information disclosure and cyber-attacks. These problems will directly or indirectly cause economic losses to gamers. Many gaming companies are enhancing the stability and security of their network or gaming systems in order to enhance the gaming user experience. This article has carried out the research of the cyber security issues in online games by introducing the background and some common cyber security threats, and by proposing the latent solution. Finally, it speculates the future research direction of the cyber security issues of online games in the hope of providing feasible solution and useful information for game operators.

MMORPG gaming and hostility predict internet addiction symptoms in adolescents: an empirical multilevel longitudinal study

OpenAIRE

Stavropoulos, V; Kuss, DJ; Griffiths, MD; Wilson, P; Motti-Stefanidi, F

2017-01-01

Internet addiction (IA) has become an increasingly researched topic. In the present study, IA symptoms in adolescents were investigated longitudinally with specific focus on the individual’s hostility, gaming use (of Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games\\ud [MMORPGs]) and gaming on the classroom level (calculated using the percentage of MMORPG players within classes). The sample comprised 648 Greek adolescents who were\\ud assessed over a two-year period (aged 16-18 years). IA sympto...

Interpersonal dependency and online gaming addiction.

Science.gov (United States)

Škařupová, Kateřina; Blinka, Lukas

2016-03-01

Background and aims The present study explores the relationship between social motivations and addiction to online gaming and if that possible connection can be explained by the personality traits responsible for social functioning. Methods We employ Bernstein's concept of interpersonal dependency to distinguish healthy dependency, dysfunctional detachment, and destructive overdependence, and Charlton and Danforth's conceptualisation of online gaming addiction and high engagement. An online questionnaire was administered to a self-nominated sample of 4,074 online gamers. Two regression models were constructed to separately explain gaming addiction and high engagement using social motivations to play, while controlling for age, gender, and time spent online. Results High scores on subscales measuring dysfunctional detachment and destructive overdependence were positively associated with online gaming addiction, while healthy dependency was negatively correlated with addiction scores. In contrast, the overall role of social motivation was negligible. Discussion People with healthy relationship profiles are less likely to develop problematic patterns of online gaming. High in-game engagement, although sharing some factors with addiction, was only poorly explained by the study variables, suggesting the mutual exclusiveness of addiction and engagement.

THE EFFECT OF MOTIVATION ON PURCHASING INTENTION OF ONLINE GAMES AND VIRTUAL ITEMS PROVIDED BY ONLINE GAME PROVIDER

OpenAIRE

Sisca Stefany

2014-01-01

The development of online games is so high that leads many companies to compose games. To increase competitiveness, extra service is needed for the customers. Before giving service, online games provider has to know what factor that motivates player to buy online games and virtual items that are presented in order to increase competitiveness. The research is done by using case of online games perfect world, where the area of respondents is Jakarta and the age ranges between 15 to 24. This res...

Comparison of Online Game Addiction in High School Students with Habitual Computer Use and Online Gaming

Science.gov (United States)

Müezzin, Emre

2015-01-01

The aim of this study is to compare the online game addiction in high school students with the habitual computer use and online gaming. The sample selected through the criterion sampling method, consists of 61.8% (n = 81) female, 38.2% (n = 50) male, 131 high school students. The "Online Game Addiction Scale" developed by Kaya and Basol…

Efficient Energy Distribution in a Smart Grid using Multi-Player Games

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas Brihaye

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Algorithms and models based on game theory have nowadays become prominent techniques for the design of digital controllers for critical systems. Indeed, such techniques enable automatic synthesis: given a model of the environment and a property that the controller must enforce, those techniques automatically produce a correct controller, when it exists. In the present paper, we consider a class of concurrent, weighted, multi-player games that are well-suited to model and study the interactions of several agents who are competing for some measurable resources like energy. We prove that a subclass of those games always admit a Nash equilibrium, i.e. a situation in which all players play in such a way that they have no incentive to deviate. Moreover, the strategies yielding those Nash equilibria have a special structure: when one of the agents deviate from the equilibrium, all the others form a coalition that will enforce a retaliation mechanism that punishes the deviant agent. We apply those results to a real-life case study in which several smart houses that produce their own energy with solar panels, and can share this energy among them in micro-grid, must distribute the use of this energy along the day in order to avoid consuming electricity that must be bought from the global grid. We demonstrate that our theory allows one to synthesise an efficient controller for these houses: using penalties to be paid in the utility bill as an incentive, we force the houses to follow a pre-computed schedule that maximises the proportion of the locally produced energy that is consumed.

Teaching water sustainability and STEM concepts using in-class, online, and real-world multiplayer simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Moysey, S. M.; Hannah, A. C.; Miller, S.; Mobley, C.

2013-12-01

Serious games are computer games with a primary purpose other than entertainment. Serious games are frequently used for training purposes, and can be used for educational and research purposes, increasing student interest and level of interaction as well as allowing researchers to collect data about emergent player behavior. The Naranpur Express simulation is based on a previously existing multiplayer role-playing game, where each player manages a small farm in rural India. Player goals include subsistence, upward economic mobility, and mitigation of environmental impact. Hydrologic and agricultural models are used to connect each player's small-scale decisions with their more far-reaching, and often difficult to perceive environmental impacts. This approach allows students to learn by discovery, experiencing first-hand the challenges of overuse of groundwater, fertilizers, and pesticides. Integration of new and rapidly developing social media techniques allows players to discuss solutions to their shared challenges, and help define a set of formal or informal rules governing their community. Previous versions of this game were implemented on paper, or in a spreadsheet run on each student's laptop. However, moving this simulation to an interactive online setting will allow us to study aggregate, as well as spatially varying effects of player decisions on economic and environmental outcomes. By coupling both physical and economic models with the real dynamics of player behavior, and considering the social and cultural aspects of agriculture, we can investigate the decision-making processes that control real environmental outcomes. By varying the types of information available to players, we can investigate how access to different kinds of information drives environmental decision-making. This can help identify key misunderstandings, thereby benefiting education and outreach efforts related to environmental justice and sustainability issues. Surveys collected from

Test and Evaluation of the Malicious Activity Simulation Tool (MAST) in a Local Area Network (LAN) Running the Common PC Operating System Environment (COMPOSE)

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-01

Malicious Activity Simulation Tool MMORPG Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game MMS Mission Management Server MOA Memorandum of Agreement MS...conferencing, and massively multiplayer online role- playing games ( MMORPG ). During all of these Internet-based exchanges and transactions, the Internet user

Digital gaming and second language development: Japanese learners interactions in a MMORPG

OpenAIRE

Mark Peterson

2011-01-01

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) are identified as valuable arenas for language learning, as they provide access to contexts and types of interaction that are held to be beneficial in second language acquisition research. This paper will describe the development and key features of these games, and explore claims made regarding their value as environments for language learning. The discussion will then examine current research. This is followed by an analysis of t...

The influence of game genre on Internet gaming disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Na, Euihyeon; Choi, Inyoung; Lee, Taek-Ho; Lee, Hyeseon; Rho, Mi Jung; Cho, Hyun; Jung, Dong Jin; Kim, Dai-Jin

2017-06-29

Background and aims Although Internet gaming disorder (IGD) has been investigated in detail, minimal research has been conducted regarding the influence of different game genres on IGD. The aim of this study is to compare the characteristics of members of game genre-specific groups with IGD and to identify factors associated with IGD status in each group in a large sample of adults. Methods Internet games were categorized into four genres: real-time strategy games, massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG), sport games, and first-person shooter (FPS) games. Participants (n = 2,923) who usually played one of these games completed an anonymous online survey that collected sociodemographic, game usage pattern, and psychopathological assessment data. Results MMORPG and FPS game players more frequently met the criteria for IGD than participants in the other two groups. Differences between the IGD-suspected gamers within the genre-specific groups were observed for a few items, such as average game-playing time and the subscales of the behavioral activation system; however, the factors that contributed to the development of IGD within each game genre-specific group were found to be considerably different. Discussion and conclusions The findings of this study suggest that IGD is a stable psychiatric diagnosis encompassing users of a broad range of game genres. In addition, the development of strategies for the prevention of and early intervention on individuals at high risk for developing IGD may require consideration of the distinct characteristics identified as effective predictors of IGD in users of each game genre.

Interpersonal dependency and online gaming addiction

Science.gov (United States)

Škařupová, Kateřina; Blinka, Lukas

2016-01-01

Background and aims The present study explores the relationship between social motivations and addiction to online gaming and if that possible connection can be explained by the personality traits responsible for social functioning. Methods We employ Bernstein’s concept of interpersonal dependency to distinguish healthy dependency, dysfunctional detachment, and destructive overdependence, and Charlton and Danforth’s conceptualisation of online gaming addiction and high engagement. An online questionnaire was administered to a self-nominated sample of 4,074 online gamers. Two regression models were constructed to separately explain gaming addiction and high engagement using social motivations to play, while controlling for age, gender, and time spent online. Results High scores on subscales measuring dysfunctional detachment and destructive overdependence were positively associated with online gaming addiction, while healthy dependency was negatively correlated with addiction scores. In contrast, the overall role of social motivation was negligible. Discussion People with healthy relationship profiles are less likely to develop problematic patterns of online gaming. High in-game engagement, although sharing some factors with addiction, was only poorly explained by the study variables, suggesting the mutual exclusiveness of addiction and engagement. PMID:26690326

Promoting sales of online games through customer engagement.

OpenAIRE

Cheung, C. M. K.; Shen, A. X. L.; Lee, Z. W. Y.; Chan, T. K. H.

2015-01-01

With keen competition in the online game industry, game developers and publishers are finding new ways to induce players’ to spend money on subscriptions and virtual items. As the online game itself provides a highly engaging environment, this study examines online sales from the perspective of customer engagement. We propose a research model that examines why game players actively engage in playing online games, and how such engagement can contribute to sales of online games, empirically tes...

Effects of passion for massively multiplayer online role-playing games on interpersonal relationships

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Utz, S.; Jonas, K.J.; Tonkens, E.

2012-01-01

Game research suffers from using a variety of concepts to predict the (often negative) effects of playing games. These concepts often overlap (e.g., addiction or pathological gaming), include negative consequences in their definition, or are very game-specific (e.g., collective play). We argue that

Babylonians - online strategy game using python

OpenAIRE

Al-Kendi, Wissam

2015-01-01

The internet provides many important needs and functions and arguably one of the most important of these is online gaming. To date, many different types of games have been designed to be played online by multiple players; these include board games, action games and strategic games. The majority of these games depend on client/server architecture to connect the players over a network. The current research project has developed a strategic game that simulates the Babylonian era in Mesopotami...

Win, Learn, Focus, Adapt, Win Again: The Scrimmage Should be as Hard as the Game

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-01

deployed. In addition, the Training Brain is helping us to evolve massive multiplayer online role-playing games that will al- low soldiers and leaders...training at home station and training at the combat training centers. Absent actual violence , each should confront Soldiers and leaders with the

[Online gaming. Potential risk and prevention programs].

Science.gov (United States)

Malischnig, Doris

2014-12-01

Online gaming is more and more common and increasingly accessible. Due to a lack of social control the participation could be a potential risk for certain customers. The given article focuses on prevention measures that are provided by the Austrian online gaming operator, the Austrian Lotteries, provider of the online gaming platform win2day, in the light of the specifics of Internet gaming in order to avoid problems with gaming.

Psychiatrists' Perceptions of Role-Playing Games.

Science.gov (United States)

Lis, Eric; Chiniara, Carl; Biskin, Robert; Montoro, Richard

2015-09-01

The literature has seen a surge in research on the mental health impacts of technologies such as Facebook, video games, and massively-multiplayer online role-playing games such as World of Warcraft, but little is known regarding the mental health impact of non-video role-playing games, such as Dungeons & Dragons. The present study examines how psychiatrists' perceive role-playing games and whether they play them. Psychiatrists at a tertiary care centre in Canada completed a questionnaire assessing history of playing role-playing games and whether they associate them with psychopathology. Forty-eight psychiatrists responded. Twenty-three percent have played a role-playing game over their lifetimes. Twenty-two percent believed there was an association between psychopathology and role-playing games. A majority of psychiatrists who responded do not associate role-playing games with psychopathology. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed.

Acceleration and Information: Managing South Korean Online Gaming Culture

OpenAIRE

Rea, Stephen Campbell

2015-01-01

This ethnography explores the practical experiences and institutional entanglements of online games, gaming, and gamers in contemporary South Korean culture and society. Korean online gaming culture is encountered at numerous sites and scales of experience, from the virtual worlds of online games, to the offline spaces where gaming happens, to societal practices and discourses around the management of online gaming and gamers backed by competing institutional interests. Online gaming is conte...

Evolutionary Multiplayer Games

OpenAIRE

Gokhale, Chaitanya S.; Traulsen, Arne

2014-01-01

Evolutionary game theory has become one of the most diverse and far reaching theories in biology. Applications of this theory range from cell dynamics to social evolution. However, many applications make it clear that inherent non-linearities of natural systems need to be taken into account. One way of introducing such non-linearities into evolutionary games is by the inclusion of multiple players. An example is of social dilemmas, where group benefits could e.g.\\ increase less than linear wi...

Effectiveness of MMORPG-Based Instruction in Elementary English Education in Korea

Science.gov (United States)

Suh, S.; Kim, S. W.; Kim, N. J.

2010-01-01

This study investigated the effectiveness of massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG)-based (massive multiplayer online role-playing game) instruction in elementary English education. The effectiveness of the MMORPG program was compared with face-to-face instruction and the independent variables (gender, prior knowledge, motivation…

Building online worlds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Toft-Nielsen, Claus

2013-01-01

The fantasy genre has proven to be extremely durable in creating blockbuster successes across multiple media platforms, such as books, films, tabletop and especially online computer games. Currently 85 % of all Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) are situated in fantasy...... universes (Van Geel, 2012). This paper will focus on the far most popular fantasy-MMORPG to date, namely World of Warcraft (Blizzard, 2004) as a lens to examine the different potentials of the fantasy genre spanning across various media platforms. Using the concept of “worldness”, traditionally understood...... as a specific textual quality (Klastrup, 2009; Krzywinska, 2008; Pearce, 2009), I argue that understanding it as an experiential quality of the engagement with and reception of a fantasy media text, opens up for a boarder understanding of the fantasy function as a blockbuster genre: The fantasy media matrix...

Online Gamers' Preferences for Online Game Charging Mechanisms: The Effect of Exploration Motivation

OpenAIRE

Fan-Chen Tseng; Ching-I Teng

2015-01-01

Online games construct a virtual world where gamers can explore and experience various exciting environments. However, studies on gamer behavior rarely investigated the relationships between motivations and spending for online games. Understanding these relationships helps online game service providers manage gamers' motivations and develop better revenue models. This study investigated the relationships between one core motivation for playing online games—exploration motivation—and onlin...

How successful are mutants in multiplayer games with fluctuating environments? Sojourn times, fixation and optimal switching

Science.gov (United States)

Baron, Joseph W.; Galla, Tobias

2018-03-01

Using a stochastic model, we investigate the probability of fixation, and the average time taken to achieve fixation, of a mutant in a population of wild-types. We do this in a context where the environment in which the competition takes place is subject to stochastic change. Our model takes into account interactions which can involve multiple participants. That is, the participants take part in multiplayer games. We find that under certain circumstances, there are environmental switching dynamics which minimize the time that it takes for the mutants to fixate. To analyse the dynamics more closely, we develop a method by which to calculate the sojourn times for general birth-death processes in fluctuating environments.

The development of indonesian online game addiction questionnaire.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tjibeng Jap

Full Text Available Online game is an increasingly popular source of entertainment for all ages, with relatively prevalent negative consequences. Addiction is a problem that has received much attention. This research aims to develop a measure of online game addiction for Indonesian children and adolescents. The Indonesian Online Game Addiction Questionnaire draws from earlier theories and research on the internet and game addiction. Its construction is further enriched by including findings from qualitative interviews and field observation to ensure appropriate expression of the items. The measure consists of 7 items with a 5-point Likert Scale. It is validated by testing 1,477 Indonesian junior and senior high school students from several schools in Manado, Medan, Pontianak, and Yogyakarta. The validation evidence is shown by item-total correlation and criterion validity. The Indonesian Online Game Addiction Questionnaire has good item-total correlation (ranging from 0.29 to 0.55 and acceptable reliability (α = 0.73. It is also moderately correlated with the participant's longest time record to play online games (r = 0.39; p<0.01, average days per week in playing online games (ρ = 0.43; p<0.01, average hours per days in playing online games (ρ = 0.41; p<0.01, and monthly expenditure for online games (ρ = 0.30; p<0.01. Furthermore, we created a clinical cut-off estimate by combining criteria and population norm. The clinical cut-off estimate showed that the score of 14 to 21 may indicate mild online game addiction, and the score of 22 and above may indicate online game addiction. Overall, the result shows that Indonesian Online Game Addiction Questionnaire has sufficient psychometric property for research use, as well as limited clinical application.

Game-Based Virtual Worlds as Decentralized Virtual Activity Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Scacchi, Walt

There is widespread interest in the development and use of decentralized systems and virtual world environments as possible new places for engaging in collaborative work activities. Similarly, there is widespread interest in stimulating new technological innovations that enable people to come together through social networking, file/media sharing, and networked multi-player computer game play. A decentralized virtual activity system (DVAS) is a networked computer supported work/play system whose elements and social activities can be both virtual and decentralized (Scacchi et al. 2008b). Massively multi-player online games (MMOGs) such as World of Warcraft and online virtual worlds such as Second Life are each popular examples of a DVAS. Furthermore, these systems are beginning to be used for research, deve-lopment, and education activities in different science, technology, and engineering domains (Bainbridge 2007, Bohannon et al. 2009; Rieber 2005; Scacchi and Adams 2007; Shaffer 2006), which are also of interest here. This chapter explores two case studies of DVASs developed at the University of California at Irvine that employ game-based virtual worlds to support collaborative work/play activities in different settings. The settings include those that model and simulate practical or imaginative physical worlds in different domains of science, technology, or engineering through alternative virtual worlds where players/workers engage in different kinds of quests or quest-like workflows (Jakobsson 2006).

Educational On-Line Gaming Propensity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sudzina, Frantisek; Razmerita, Liana; Kirchner, Kathrin

2014-01-01

Educational on-line games are promising for new generations of students who are grown up digital. Th e new generations of students are technology savvy and spend lots of time on the web and on social networks. Based on an exploratory study, this article investigates the factors that infl uence...... students’ willingness to participate in serious games for teaching/learning. Th is study investigates the relationship between students’ behavior on Facebook, Facebook games, and their attitude toward educational on-line games. Th e results of the study reveal that the early adopters of educational games...... are likely to be students, who are young, have only a few Facebook connections, who currently play Facebook game(s). Furthermore, the study emphasizes that there may be differences between students coming from various countries....

What Do Deep Statistical Analysis on Gaming Motivation and Game Characteristics Clusters Reveal about Targeting Demographics when Designing Gamified Contents?

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Alireza Tavakkoli

2015-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the comprehensive results of the study of a cohort of college graduate and undergraduate students who participated in playing a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG as a gameplay rich with social interaction as well as intellectual and aesthetic features. We present the full results of the study in the form of inferential statistics and a review of our descriptive statistics previously reported in [46]. Separate one-way independent-measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA's were used to analyze the data from several instruments to determine if there were statistically significant differences first by gender, then by age group, and then by degree. Moreover, a one-way repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA was used to determine if there was a statistically significant difference between the clusters in the 5 gaming clusters on the Game Characteristic Survey. Follow-up paired samples t-tests were used to see if there was a statistically significant difference between each of the 10 possible combinations of paired clusters. Our results support the hypotheses and outline the features that may need to be taken into account in support of tailoring gamified educational content targeting a certain demographic. Sections 1, 2, and 3 below from our pervious study [46] are included because this is the second part of the two-part study. [46] Tavakkoli, A., Loffredo, D., Ward, M., Sr. (2014. "Insights from Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games to Enhance Gamification in Education", Journal of Systemics, Cybernetics, and Informatics, 12(4, 66-78.

Pegembangan Game dengan Menggunakan Teknologi Voice Recognition Berbasis Android

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Franky Hadinata Marpaung

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research is to create a new kind of game by using technology that rarely used in current games. It is developed as an entertainment media and also a social media in which the users can play the games together via multiplayer mode. This research uses Scrum development method since it supports small scaled developer and it supports software increment along the development. Using this game application, the users can play and watch interesting animations by controlling it with their voice, listen the character imitating the users’ voice, play various mini games both in single player or multiplayer mode via Bluetooth connection. The conclusion is that game application of My Name is Dug use voice recognition and inter-devices connection as its main features. It also has various mini games that support both single player and multiplayer.

The Metacognitions about Online Gaming Scale: Development and psychometric properties.

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Spada, Marcantonio M; Caselli, Gabriele

2017-01-01

Recent research has suggested that metacognitions may play a role across the spectrum of addictive behaviours. The goal of our studies was to develop the first self-report scale of metacognitions about online gaming. We conducted two studies with samples of online gamers (n=225, n=348) to test the structure and psychometric properties of the Metacognitions about Online Gaming Scale and examined its capacity to predict weekly online gaming hours and Internet addiction. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported a three-factor solution: positive metacognitions about online gaming, negative metacognitions about the uncontrollability of online gaming, and negative metacognitions about the dangers of online gaming. Internal consistency, predictive and divergent validity were acceptable. All the factors of the Metacognitions about Online Gaming Scale correlated positively with weekly online gaming hours and Internet addiction. Regression analyses showed that negative metacognitions about the uncontrollability of online gaming and levels of Internet addiction were the only significant predictors of weekly online gaming hours, and that positive metacognitions about online gaming and negative metacognitions about the uncontrollability of online gaming were the only significant predictors of Internet addiction. The Metacognitions about Online Gaming Scale was shown to possess good psychometric properties, as well as predictive and divergent validity within the populations that were tested. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The development of indonesian online game addiction questionnaire.

Science.gov (United States)

Jap, Tjibeng; Tiatri, Sri; Jaya, Edo Sebastian; Suteja, Mekar Sari

2013-01-01

Online game is an increasingly popular source of entertainment for all ages, with relatively prevalent negative consequences. Addiction is a problem that has received much attention. This research aims to develop a measure of online game addiction for Indonesian children and adolescents. The Indonesian Online Game Addiction Questionnaire draws from earlier theories and research on the internet and game addiction. Its construction is further enriched by including findings from qualitative interviews and field observation to ensure appropriate expression of the items. The measure consists of 7 items with a 5-point Likert Scale. It is validated by testing 1,477 Indonesian junior and senior high school students from several schools in Manado, Medan, Pontianak, and Yogyakarta. The validation evidence is shown by item-total correlation and criterion validity. The Indonesian Online Game Addiction Questionnaire has good item-total correlation (ranging from 0.29 to 0.55) and acceptable reliability (α = 0.73). It is also moderately correlated with the participant's longest time record to play online games (r = 0.39; ponline games (ρ = 0.43; ponline games (ρ = 0.41; ponline games (ρ = 0.30; ponline game addiction, and the score of 22 and above may indicate online game addiction. Overall, the result shows that Indonesian Online Game Addiction Questionnaire has sufficient psychometric property for research use, as well as limited clinical application.

Online Evolution for Multi-Action Adversarial Games

OpenAIRE

Justesen, Niels; Mahlmann, Tobias; Togelius, Julian

2016-01-01

We present Online Evolution, a novel method for playing turn-based multi-action adversarial games. Such games, which include most strategy games, have extremely high branching factors due to each turn having multiple actions. In Online Evolution, an evolutionary algorithm is used to evolve the combination of atomic actions that make up a single move, with a state evaluation function used for fitness. We implement Online Evolution for the turn-based multi-action game Hero Academy and compare i...

Online gaming dependency: a preliminary study in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Wei; Liu, Ming

2010-06-01

Based on theories and previous studies on problematic Internet use, we propose a model to better understand the contributors to and consequences of online gaming dependency. A preliminary study was conducted through a survey of online gamers in China. The results of path analysis found that maladaptive cognitions, shyness, and depression are positively related to online gaming dependency. Online gaming dependency was also positively related to different types of negative life outcomes. The findings of this study have implications for the prevention and treatment of addictive online gaming.

Online Games and University Life

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María Alejandra Saucedo James

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The research focuses on knowing the characteristics of the attraction of online games, the advantages and disadvantages of them in the educational process of higher education. Over the years the games have been a huge metamorphosis, were no longer in a physical console and move to servers that are located kilometers away, but that’s not the main attraction, if not, how allow us uniting play our adversaries and allies who may even have different cultures, languages ages among other cultural and educational features. Playing online means leaving aside der many hobbies, obligations to turn it into an online addiction, which we have to see what our advantage and disadvantage of being in them. In college concentration and time it is very important, amounts of reading tasks and occupies a large percentage of time the university. Online games can bring to the cognitive part, mental agility, interaction between people, but can also affect them if our hobby or sport as taking some it becomes an addiction without control. For this it has conducted a study on a Technical University of Babahoyo, Finance Faculty of Management and Informatics, to know the effects of online games of a group of students that shape it.

Why do People Stop Playing On-Line Games?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sudzina, Frantisek; Razmerita, Liana

2012-01-01

The recent initial public offering of shares of Zynga, probably the most important on-line game provider, drew interest of potential investors but also of general public to their business model. What the most interested people learned so far is that if Zynga had not changed their accounting...... practice, they would be in red numbers for several months already. This is most likely caused by people stopping to play their games. This paper provides an estimate of what proportion of people, who played on-line games, already stopped playing them. Additionally, it analyzed the reasons why people...... stopped playing on-line games. It also compares Facebook and other on-line games....

Problematic Gaming Behavior Among Finnish Junior High School Students: Relation to Socio-Demographics and Gaming Behavior Characteristics.

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Männikkö, Niko; Ruotsalainen, Heidi; Demetrovics, Zsolt; Lopez-Fernandez, Olatz; Myllymäki, Laura; Miettunen, Jouko; Kääriäinen, Maria

2017-09-14

Multiplatform digital media use and gaming have been increased in recent years. The aim of this study was to examine associations between sociodemographics and digital gaming behavior characteristics (i.e., gaming time, medium, and genres) with problematic gaming behavior in adolescents. A convenience sample of Finnish junior high school students (n = 560; mean age 14 years, ranging from 12 to 16 years) participated in the cross-sectional survey, of which, 83% (n = 465) reported having played digital games regularly. Sociodemographic data, different forms of digital media use, gaming behavior characteristics and problematic gaming behavior was assessed. Study participants spent on average one hour per day playing digital games; casual games (23.9%), shooting games (19.8%), and sport games (12.9%), were the most popular games among participants. By using regression analysis, a blended family structure and gaming time related positively to problematic gaming behavior. Preferences for game genres such as solo, Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing and strategy-management games were also positively associated with problematic use of digital games. These findings provide knowledge that can be utilized in the prevention of the possible negative consequences of digital gaming.

Addictive Online Games: Examining the Relationship Between Game Genres and Internet Gaming Disorder

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lemmens, J.S.; Hendriks, S.J.F.

Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is the most recent term used to describe problematic or pathological involvement with computer or video games. This study examined whether this disorder is more likely to involve pathological involvement with online (i.e., Internet) games as opposed to offline games.

Online Game Elements, Players and the Bond Between Them

OpenAIRE

Schweizer, Sandra

2017-01-01

The results are guidelines for game developers to improve their game design. Through using the guidelines of the paper, developers know how to implement appealing online game elements which appeal to the player and draw them in. The result of the thesis are socializing, achievements and immersion are motivated the player to play online games, as well as the way online games stimulate the player's brain.

The Effect Playing Online GamesOn The Players

OpenAIRE

Christopher Akami J.S

2014-01-01

Online game is a game that requires internet connection to play and while playing a lot of individuals do not care about a lot of things. Games can also influence the gamers to have bad behavior. However, playing online games can be exciting although only playing for a moment.

Online game-enhanced teaching in game theory

OpenAIRE

Badeau-Mahmoud, Sonia; Deloche, Regis; Koscielniak, Thierry

2014-01-01

Introducing digital educational games into class lessons can generate engagement, interactivity, and motivation. It can also result in an active participation of the students in the classroom. To achieve this goal, one teaching strategy is to use online digital games in teaching and learning situations. In our case, we wanted to test this strategy in an economics course, especially in a Game Theory lesson. We set up an experiment in two different lessons: the “Economie expérimentale” (...

Designing and evaluating sociability in online video games

OpenAIRE

Christou, Georgios; Law, Effie; Geerts, David; Nacke, Lennart; Zaphiris, Panayiotis

2013-01-01

The emergence of Online Video Games has led to new ways of socializing with friends. Nowadays a good online game is also associated with the pleasure of socializing and interaction with other players. One cannot play such a game solitarily in a meaningful sense without interacting with the other players. However, there are still no integrated ways of designing and evaluating the inherent sociability of online video games, nor are there methods or guidelines for designing and evaluating social...

Personality traits and life satisfaction among online game players.

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Chen, Lily Shui-Lien; Tu, Hill Hung-Jen; Wang, Edward Shih-Tse

2008-04-01

The DFC Intelligence predicts worldwide online game revenues will reach $9.8 billion by 2009, making online gaming a mainstream recreational activity. Understanding online game player personality traits is therefore important. This study researches the relationship between personality traits and life satisfaction in online game players. Taipei, Taiwan, is the study location, with questionnaire surveys conducted in cyber cafe shops. Multiple regression analysis studies the causal relationship between personality traits and life satisfaction in online game players. The result shows that neuroticism has significant negative influence on life satisfaction. Both openness and conscientiousness have significant positive influence on life satisfaction. Finally, implications for leisure practice and further research are discussed.

Time distortion for expert and novice online game players.

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Rau, Pei-Luen Patrick; Peng, Shu-Yun; Yang, Chin-Chow

2006-08-01

Online game addiction is a new mental disorder. This disorder is difficult to describe because of its comprehensive nature. Many online game players have problems controlling their playing time. They cannot stop playing a game that they enjoy. This research surveyed the past literature on "flow" and time disorder theory. A time distortion experiment was conducted. This research invited 64 children, teenagers, and young adults to investigate player skill and playing time effects on online game break-off. The playing experience and degree of time distortion were measured and analyzed. The results showed that both novice and expert online game players were subject to time distortion. The participants had difficulty breaking off from the game without intrusion by others in the real world. This research also suggests eight questions for self-evaluation for online game addiction.

The Effect Playing Online GamesOn The Players

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher Akami J.S

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Online game is a game that requires internet connection to play and while playing a lot of individuals do not care about a lot of things. Games can also influence the gamers to have bad behavior. However, playing online games can be exciting although only playing for a moment.

[Evaluation of the characteristics of addiction to online video games among adolescents and young adults].

Science.gov (United States)

Schmit, S; Chauchard, E; Chabrol, H; Sejourne, N

2011-06-01

The objectives of this study are to assess the social characteristics, coping strategies, self-esteem and depressive symptoms in a population-dependent and not dependent on video games online, in order to investigate the correlations existing between these characteristics. The study was conducted among 193 subjects. Data were collected through a global questionnaire constituted of several scales. The global questionnaire consisted of a sociodemographic part (age, sex, social status, most played game, number of hours per week devoted to the game), a questionnaire assessing dependence and abuse according to the DSM -IV-TR, the feeling of social belonging scale (or ESAS which was doubled to collect information about the belonging in real life and virtual life), the Ways of coping check-list (WCCL), the Rosenberg self-esteem scale (EES), the Quality of interpersonal relations scale (EQRI), the UCLA Loneliness scale and the Center for epidemiologic studies depression scale (CES-D). The questionnaire was broadcasted on the Internet, specifically in the forums dedicated to "massively multiplayer online role-playing games" and in young people's forums in specific subject headings. The results show that there are significant differences between the two populations, especially regarding the social characteristics, depressive symptoms, self-esteem and coping strategies. In the entire population, 66 subjects (42%) were considered dependent on online video games and 92 subjects (58%) were not considered dependent. In the dependent population, the number of hours spent playing per week, the score of social belonging in the virtual life, the coping focused on the emotion, the score of loneliness or social isolation and the score obtained on the CES-D appeared more important than the scores obtained by the non-dependent. Moreover, the average age, the scores of social belonging in real life, self-esteem and sub-dimensions "family" and "friends" of the quality of interpersonal

How do challenges increase customer loyalty to online games?

Science.gov (United States)

Teng, Ching-I

2013-12-01

Despite the design of various challenge levels in online games, exactly how these challenges increase customer loyalty to online games has seldom been examined. This study investigates how such challenges increase customer loyalty to online games. The study sample comprises 2,861 online gamers. Structural equation modeling is performed. Analytical results indicate that the relationship between challenge and loyalty intensifies when customers perceive that overcoming challenges takes a long time. Results of this study contribute to efforts to determine how challenges and challenge-related perceptions impact customer loyalty to online games.

Nursing students' attitudes toward video games and related new media technologies.

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Lynch-Sauer, Judith; Vandenbosch, Terry M; Kron, Frederick; Gjerde, Craig Livingston; Arato, Nora; Sen, Ananda; Fetters, Michael D

2011-09-01

Little is known about Millennial nursing students' attitudes toward computer games and new media in nursing education and whether these attitudes differ between undergraduates and graduates. This study elicited nursing students' experience with computer games and new media, their attitudes toward various instructional styles and methods, and the role of computer games and new media technologies in nursing education. We e-mailed all nursing students enrolled in two universities to invite their participation in an anonymous cross-sectional online survey. The survey collected demographic data and participants' experience with and attitudes toward video gaming and multi-player online health care simulations. We used descriptive statistics and logistic regression to compare the differences between undergraduates and graduates. Two hundred eighteen nursing students participated. Many of the nursing students support using new media technologies in nursing education. Nurse educators should identify areas suitable for new media integration and further evaluate the effectiveness of these technologies. Copyright 2011, SLACK Incorporated.

THE EFFECT OF MOTIVATION ON PURCHASING INTENTION OF ONLINE GAMES AND VIRTUAL ITEMS PROVIDED BY ONLINE GAME PROVIDER

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Sisca Stefany

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The development of online games is so high that leads many companies to compose games. To increase competitiveness, extra service is needed for the customers. Before giving service, online games provider has to know what factor that motivates player to buy online games and virtual items that are presented in order to increase competitiveness. The research is done by using case of online games perfect world, where the area of respondents is Jakarta and the age ranges between 15 to 24. This research involves survey for 186 respondents in which 30 respondents are for pilot test while 156 are for actual test. The data processing is used SEM which the measurement variables consist of effort expectancy, performance expectancy, perceived value, enjoyment story, enjoyment length, enjoyment graphic, enjoyment control, customization, purchase intention and actual purchase behavior. The result of research shows that motivation factor that has high effect to purchase intention is perceived value, enjoyment story, enjoyment length, enjoyment control and customization. While, purchase intention affects actual purchase behavior significantly

Online Game Addiction among Chinese College Students Measurement and Attribution.

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Zhou, Yuqiong; Li, Zhitian

2009-01-01

This study made an initial attempt to measure and attribute online game addiction among Chinese college students. We generated three factors of online game addiction: Control Disorder, Conflict, and Injury, as well as proposed a comprehensive model that attributed online game addiction to three groups of driving forces: environmental influences (most significant), characteristics of online games, and personal reasons.

Gaming Preferences of Aging Generations.

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Blocker, Kenneth A; Wright, Timothy J; Boot, Walter R

2014-01-01

Increasing evidence suggests that action digital game training can improve a variety of perceptual and cognitive abilities, including those that decline most with age. Unfortunately, previous work has found that older adults dislike these games and adherence may be poor for action game-based interventions. The focus of the current study was to better understand the types of games older adults are willing to play and explore predictors of game preference (e.g., gender, age, technology experience, personality). With this information action games might be modified or developed to maximize adherence and cognitive benefit. Older adults were administered a modified version of an existing game questionnaire and a custom game preference survey. Clear preferences were observed that were similar between participants with and without previous digital game experience (with puzzle and intellectually stimulating games being most interesting to older adults in our sample, and massively multiplayer online games and first-person shooters being least interesting). Personality, demographic, and technology experience variables were also collected. Interesting trends suggested the possibility that several demographic and personality variables might be predictive of game preference. Results have implications for future directions of research, designing games that would appeal to older adult audiences, and for how to design custom games to maximize intervention adherence based on individual difference characteristics.

Video Gaming in a Hyperconnected World: A Cross-sectional Study of Heavy Gaming, Problematic Gaming Symptoms, and Online Socializing in Adolescents.

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Colder Carras, Michelle; Van Rooij, Antonius J; Van de Mheen, Dike; Musci, Rashelle; Xue, Qian-Li; Mendelson, Tamar

2017-03-01

Examining online social interactions along with patterns of video gaming behaviors and game addiction symptoms has the potential to enrich our understanding of disorders related to excessive video game play. We performed latent class analysis in a sample of 9733 adolescents based on heavy use of games, social networking and instant messaging, and game addiction symptoms. We used latent class regression to determine associations between classes, psychosocial well-being and friendship quality. We identified two types of heavy gaming classes that differed in probability of online social interaction. Classes with more online social interaction reported fewer problematic gaming symptoms than those with less online social interaction. Most adolescents estimated to be in heavy gaming classes had more depressive symptoms than normative classes. Male non-social gamers had more social anxiety. Female social gamers had less social anxiety and loneliness, but lower self-esteem. Friendship quality attenuated depression in some male social gamers, but strengthened associations with loneliness in some male non-social gamers. In adolescents, symptoms of video game addiction depend not only on video game play but also on concurrent levels of online communication, and those who are very socially active online report fewer symptoms of game addiction.

Social Capital and Online Games

OpenAIRE

Safferling, Christoph

2011-01-01

We use data from an online game economy and econometric matching methods to test whether social capital of players has an impact on game success. Membership in a 'clan', a voluntary organization of players, positively impacts game success. Hence, social capital has a positive effect on outcomes. Yet, top performers do not gain from access to this social capital.

Lesson Plan--Online Games to Teach Vocabulary to Young Learners

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Okaz, Abeer Ali

2014-01-01

This article describes how teachers can use online learning games to enhance young learners' language skill learning. Children love all sorts of games, therefore, implementing games (particularly online ones) are a useful aspect of lessons. Games are an indispensable tool while teaching, especially if employed effectively. The online activities…

Digital gaming expertise

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Toft-Nielsen, Claus

In a digitally saturated environment digital media users of all kinds, engaged in different areas of activity, are increasingly categorized in terms of their ability to appropriate and use digital media – they are regarded as non-users, experts, natives, or literates for instance. Within communic......In a digitally saturated environment digital media users of all kinds, engaged in different areas of activity, are increasingly categorized in terms of their ability to appropriate and use digital media – they are regarded as non-users, experts, natives, or literates for instance. Within...... communication and game studies there are multiple understandings of how digital expertise is expressed and performed, and subsequently how these expressions and performances can be valued, understood and theorized within the research community. Among other things expertise with and within digital games has......-of-game (Schrøder, 2003) in a three-year-long study of men and women (couples and singles) playing the largest Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game to date, World of Warcraft. In focusing on how different aspects of gaming expertise are articulated, negotiated, and performed, I aim to illustrate how...

Excessive and addictive gaming control using counselling agent in online game design

Science.gov (United States)

Ididi, Italumeh O.; Hassan, Sa'adah; Ghani, Abdul Azim Abd; Ali, Norhayati Mohd

2017-10-01

In recent times, online game play has become a food for thought to concerned individuals, researchers and authorities of various countries due to its excessive and addictive usage. Although, various government have taken certain measures such as shutting down internet cafe at certain hours of the day, censoring the most brutal, offensive and aggressive sections of certain games before they are released. Researchers have advised developers on ways of limiting harm on players by suggesting design changes on time limit. Furthermore, researchers have also suggested that online game distributors ought to make available appropriate referral services. The impart of the above are yet to make any remarkable impact on players. In this paper, we have proposed a Counseling Agent model integrating informative and self-appraisal messages in online game design as a control measure. Informative and self-appraisal messaging in games have proven optimistic through making positive impact on player's thoughts and behavior towards gaming. These messages are expected to remind players about the negative impact of excessive and addictive gaming habits, as well as suggesting possible reductive solutions through message streaming.

The effect of online violent video games on levels of aggression.

Science.gov (United States)

Hollingdale, Jack; Greitemeyer, Tobias

2014-01-01

In recent years the video game industry has surpassed both the music and video industries in sales. Currently violent video games are among the most popular video games played by consumers, most specifically First-Person Shooters (FPS). Technological advancements in game play experience including the ability to play online has accounted for this increase in popularity. Previous research, utilising the General Aggression Model (GAM), has identified that violent video games increase levels of aggression. Little is known, however, as to the effect of playing a violent video game online. Participants (N = 101) were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions; neutral video game--offline, neutral video game--online, violent video game--offline and violent video game--online. Following this they completed questionnaires to assess their attitudes towards the game and engaged in a chilli sauce paradigm to measure behavioural aggression. The results identified that participants who played a violent video game exhibited more aggression than those who played a neutral video game. Furthermore, this main effect was not particularly pronounced when the game was played online. These findings suggest that both playing violent video games online and offline compared to playing neutral video games increases aggression.

The (co-)occurrence of problematic video gaming, substance use, and psychosocial problems in adolescents.

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VAN Rooij, Antonius J; Kuss, Daria J; Griffiths, Mark D; Shorter, Gillian W; Schoenmakers, M Tim; VAN DE Mheen, Dike

2014-09-01

The current study explored the nature of problematic (addictive) video gaming (PVG) and the association with game type, psychosocial health, and substance use. Data were collected using a paper and pencil survey in the classroom setting. Three samples were aggregated to achieve a total sample of 8478 unique adolescents. Scales included measures of game use, game type, the Video game Addiction Test (VAT), depressive mood, negative self-esteem, loneliness, social anxiety, education performance, and use of cannabis, alcohol and nicotine (smoking). Findings confirmed problematic gaming is most common amongst adolescent gamers who play multiplayer online games. Boys (60%) were more likely to play online games than girls (14%) and problematic gamers were more likely to be boys (5%) than girls (1%). High problematic gamers showed higher scores on depressive mood, loneliness, social anxiety, negative self-esteem, and self-reported lower school performance. Nicotine, alcohol, and cannabis using boys were almost twice more likely to report high PVG than non-users. It appears that online gaming in general is not necessarily associated with problems. However, problematic gamers do seem to play online games more often, and a small subgroup of gamers - specifically boys - showed lower psychosocial functioning and lower grades. Moreover, associations with alcohol, nicotine, and cannabis use are found. It would appear that problematic gaming is an undesirable problem for a small subgroup of gamers. The findings encourage further exploration of the role of psychoactive substance use in problematic gaming.

A Comparison of Solo and Multiplayer Active Videogame Play in Children with Unilateral Cerebral Palsy.

Science.gov (United States)

Howcroft, Jennifer; Fehlings, Darcy; Wright, Virginia; Zabjek, Karl; Andrysek, Jan; Biddiss, Elaine

2012-08-01

Active videogames (AVGs) have potential in terms of physical activity and therapy for children with cerebral palsy. However, the effect of social interaction on AVG play has not yet been assessed. The objective of this study is to determine if multiplayer AVG versus solo affects levels of energy expenditure and movement patterns. Fifteen children (9.77 [standard deviation (SD) 1.78] years old) with hemiplegic cerebral palsy (Gross Motor Function Classification System Level I) participated in solo and multiplayer Nintendo(®) "Wii™ Boxing" (Nintendo, Inc., Redmond, WA) AVG play while energy expenditure and punching frequency were monitored. Moderate levels of physical activity were achieved with no significant differences in energy measures during multiplayer and solo play. Dominant arm punching frequency increased during the multiplayer session from 95.75 (SD 37.93) punches/minute to 107.77 (SD 36.99) punches/minute. Conversely, hemiplegic arm punching frequency decreased from 39.05 (SD 29.57) punches/minutes to 30.73 (SD 24.74) punches/minutes during multiplayer game play. Children enjoyed multiplayer more than solo play. Opportunities to play AVGs with friends and family may translate to more frequent participation in this moderate physical activity. Conversely, increased hemiplegic limb use during solo play may have therapeutic advantages. As such, new strategies are recommended to promote use of the hemiplegic hand during multiplayer AVG play and to optimize commercial AVG systems for applications in virtual reality therapy.

Strengthening weak ties through on-line gaming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sudzina, Frantisek; Razmerita, Liana Virginia; Kirchner, Kathrin

On-line gaming became widespread in the last couple of years. The aim of the research presented in the paper is to figure out to what extent does game playing helps to strengthen weak ties and what additional factors influence this process. The approach is rather exploratory – some factors...... are grounded in theory, some are new. These factors are age, gender, place of origin, number of their Facebook connections (friends in Facebook terminology), the amount of time they are on Facebook, the amount of time they keep the Facebook site open, the amount of time they play on-line games, and the reasons...... for starting to play on-line games. Regarding the latter, we chose to focus only on escapist reasons....

Massive Multiplayer Online Gaming: A Research Framework for Military Training and Education

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Bonk, Curtis J; Dennen, Vanessa P

2005-01-01

.... However, much of the research in this area lags behind the technological advances, focusing on user demographics, attention spans, and perceptual skills, instead of addressing the impact these games...

Emotional competence and online game use in adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Seo, Mia; Kang, Hee Sun; Chae, Sun-Mi

2012-12-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the relations between emotional competence and online game use in adolescents. This study is a cross-sectional descriptive survey using a convenience sample. The participants were 2199 adolescents in South Korea. Online game use and emotional competence including positive emotion, emotional expression, and emotional intelligence were measured. The study results indicated that emotional competence was negatively correlated with excessive online game use. All variables of emotional competence were significantly lower in high-risk users compared with general users. In addition, female adolescents were rated significantly higher in emotional competence among general users, but there were no significant gender differences among high-risk users. The results of our study imply that high-risk game users have lower levels of emotional intelligence than general users do. The results of this study suggest that emotion is an important factor to which practitioners in psychomedical fields and nursing should pay attention. Therefore, nurses in schools and communities should regularly screen the emotions of adolescents who habitually play online games and develop a program to enhance emotional competence associated with online games.

Analyzing online game players: from materialism and motivation to attitude.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Ju-Hui; Zhang, Hongxia

2008-12-01

The online game market has been growing rapidly and has received an increasing amount of attention in recent years. The results of a survey conducted in China to explore online game players' attitude formation reveal that (a) the online game player's level of materialism positively influences the motivation for playing, (b) motivation positively influences attitude toward online games, and (c) motivation fully mediates the effects of materialism on attitude.

ENHANCING ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS’ MOTIVATION THROUGH ONLINE GAMES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nataliia V. Iaremenko

2017-06-01

Full Text Available In this article, we examine the potentials of online games which teachers can employ in order to motivate their students and summarize the positive effects of playing learning games. The study addresses the question of how gamified learning is applicable to learning English as a second language. The other research questions refer to the reasons that make language learners want to play a learning game and the influence of particular game elements onto players. All of these questions are investigated on the example of Kahoot web resource. The study suggests that online learning games can foster intrinsic motivation and help engage students in learning activities. The use of online games in English as a second language learning shows the direct relationship between a high energy level of fun competition and increased motivation.

Development and Evaluation of MOOSES games in Flash/Macromedia

OpenAIRE

Ekse, Magnus Førland

2010-01-01

Video games are very popular today and the electronic entertainment industry is in many areas equal to the more mature entertainment industries like film and music in terms of usage and revenues. The MOOSES (Multiplayer On One Screen Entertainment System) allows players to play on one big screen together with the use of their mobile phone as a game controller. The framework was designed for easy development of multiplayer games in Java and C++.Flash is a very popular technology on the Interne...

Evolutionary games in the multiverse.

Science.gov (United States)

Gokhale, Chaitanya S; Traulsen, Arne

2010-03-23

Evolutionary game dynamics of two players with two strategies has been studied in great detail. These games have been used to model many biologically relevant scenarios, ranging from social dilemmas in mammals to microbial diversity. Some of these games may, in fact, take place between a number of individuals and not just between two. Here we address one-shot games with multiple players. As long as we have only two strategies, many results from two-player games can be generalized to multiple players. For games with multiple players and more than two strategies, we show that statements derived for pairwise interactions no longer hold. For two-player games with any number of strategies there can be at most one isolated internal equilibrium. For any number of players with any number of strategies , there can be at most isolated internal equilibria. Multiplayer games show a great dynamical complexity that cannot be captured based on pairwise interactions. Our results hold for any game and can easily be applied to specific cases, such as public goods games or multiplayer stag hunts.

The development of the Problematic Online Gaming Questionnaire (POGQ).

Science.gov (United States)

Demetrovics, Zsolt; Urbán, Róbert; Nagygyörgy, Katalin; Farkas, Judit; Griffiths, Mark D; Pápay, Orsolya; Kökönyei, Gyöngyi; Felvinczi, Katalin; Oláh, Attila

2012-01-01

Online gaming has become increasingly popular. However, this has led to concerns that these games might induce serious problems and/or lead to dependence for a minority of players. The aim of this study was to uncover and operationalize the components of problematic online gaming. A total of 3415 gamers (90% males; mean age 21 years), were recruited through online gaming websites. A combined method of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was applied. Latent profile analysis was applied to identify persons at-risk. EFA revealed a six-factor structure in the background of problematic online gaming that was also confirmed by a CFA. For the assessment of the identified six dimensions--preoccupation, overuse, immersion, social isolation, interpersonal conflicts, and withdrawal--the 18-item Problematic Online Gaming Questionnaire (POGQ) proved to be exceedingly suitable. Based on the latent profile analysis, 3.4% of the gamer population was considered to be at high risk, while another 15.2% was moderately problematic. The POGQ seems to be an adequate measurement tool for the differentiated assessment of gaming related problems on six subscales.

Psychometric properties of the problematic online gaming questionnaire short-form and prevalence of problematic online gaming in a national sample of adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Pápay, Orsolya; Urbán, Róbert; Griffiths, Mark D; Nagygyörgy, Katalin; Farkas, Judit; Kökönyei, Gyöngyi; Felvinczi, Katalin; Oláh, Attila; Elekes, Zsuzsanna; Demetrovics, Zsolt

2013-05-01

The rise and growing popularity of online games has led to the appearance of excessive gaming that in some cases can lead to physical and psychological problems. Several measures have been developed to explore the nature and the scale of the phenomenon. However, few measures have been validated psychometrically. The aim of the present study was to test the psychometric properties of the 12-item Problematic Online Gaming Questionnaire Short-Form (POGQ-SF) and to assess the prevalence of problematic online gaming. Data collection was carried out to assess the prevalence of problematic online gaming in a national representative adolescent sample by using an offline (pen and pencil) method. A total of 5,045 secondary school students were assessed (51% male, mean age 16.4 years, SD=0.9 years) of which 2,804 were gamers (65.4% male, mean age 16.4 years, SD=0.9 years). Confirmatory factor analysis was applied to test the measurement model of problematic online gaming, and latent profile analysis was used to identify the proportion of gamers whose online game use can be considered problematic. Results showed that the original six-factor model yielded appropriate fit to the data, and thus the POGQ-SF has appropriate psychometric properties. Latent profile analysis revealed that 4.6% of the adolescents belong to a high risk group and an additional 13.3% to a low risk group. Due to its satisfactory psychometric characteristics, the 12-item POGQ-SF appears to be an adequate tool for the assessment of problematic online gaming.

The association between online gaming, social phobia, and depression: an internet survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Han-Ting

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Online gaming technology has developed rapidly within the past decade, and its related problems have received increasing attention. However, there are few studies on the psychiatric symptoms associated with excessive use of online games. The aim of this study is to investigate the characteristics of online gamers, and the association between online gaming hours, social phobia, and depression using an internet survey. Methods An online questionnaire was designed and posted on a popular online game websites, inviting the online gamers to participate the survey. The content of the questionnaire included demographic data, profiles of internet usage and online gaming, and self-rating scales of Depression and Somatic Symptoms Scale (DSSS, Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN, and Chen Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS. Results A total of 722 online gamers with a mean age of 21.8 ± 4.9 years completed the online survey within one month. 601 (83.2% participants were male, and 121 (16.8% were female. The mean weekly online gaming time was 28.2 ± 19.7 hours, which positively associated with history of online gaming (r = 0.245, p  Conclusion The online gamers with longer weekly gaming hours tended to have a longer history of online gaming, and more severe depressive, social phobic, and internet addiction symptoms. Female online gamers had fewer weekly online gaming hours and a shorter previous online gaming history, but tended to have more severe somatic, pain, and social phobic symptoms. The predictors for depression were higher social phobic symptom, higher internet addiction symptoms, longer online gaming hours, and female gender.

Korean Online Game's Platform Competition under Two-Sided Market Characteristic

OpenAIRE

SeonJun Kang; Sang-Yong Tom Lee

2014-01-01

While the growth of total game market size slowed down and the arcade game industry started to shrink, the online game market keeps increasing, attaining 26.5% annual growth rate for the early 2010's. Korea's online game business is especially popular, so that the size is about US$ 4 billion, which is 64.2% of Korea's total game industry. In 2013, Game market size and online game market size were estimated to be about US$ 9 billion and US$ 7 billion, respectively. From a standpoint of sales, ...

The effect of online violent video games on levels of aggression.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jack Hollingdale

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: In recent years the video game industry has surpassed both the music and video industries in sales. Currently violent video games are among the most popular video games played by consumers, most specifically First-Person Shooters (FPS. Technological advancements in game play experience including the ability to play online has accounted for this increase in popularity. Previous research, utilising the General Aggression Model (GAM, has identified that violent video games increase levels of aggression. Little is known, however, as to the effect of playing a violent video game online. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Participants (N = 101 were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions; neutral video game--offline, neutral video game--online, violent video game--offline and violent video game--online. Following this they completed questionnaires to assess their attitudes towards the game and engaged in a chilli sauce paradigm to measure behavioural aggression. The results identified that participants who played a violent video game exhibited more aggression than those who played a neutral video game. Furthermore, this main effect was not particularly pronounced when the game was played online. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These findings suggest that both playing violent video games online and offline compared to playing neutral video games increases aggression.

Experiments with Online Reinforcement Learning in Real-Time Strategy Games

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Toftgaard Andersen, Kresten; Zeng, Yifeng; Dahl Christensen, Dennis

2009-01-01

Real-time strategy (RTS) games provide a challenging platform to implement online reinforcement learning (RL) techniques in a real application. Computer, as one game player, monitors opponents' (human or other computers) strategies and then updates its own policy using RL methods. In this article......, we first examine the suitability of applying the online RL in various computer games. Reinforcement learning application depends on both RL complexity and the game features. We then propose a multi-layer framework for implementing online RL in an RTS game. The framework significantly reduces RL...... the effectiveness of our proposed framework and shed light on relevant issues in using online RL in RTS games....

Attack of the S. Mutans!: a stereoscopic-3D multiplayer direct-manipulation behavior-modification serious game for improving oral health in pre-teens

Science.gov (United States)

Hollander, Ari; Rose, Howard; Kollin, Joel; Moss, William

2011-03-01

Attack! of the S. Mutans is a multi-player game designed to harness the immersion and appeal possible with wide-fieldof- view stereoscopic 3D to combat the tooth decay epidemic. Tooth decay is one of the leading causes of school absences and costs more than $100B annually in the U.S. In 2008 the authors received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to build a science museum exhibit that included a suite of serious games involving the behaviors and bacteria that cause cavities. The centerpiece is an adventure game where five simultaneous players use modified Wii controllers to battle biofilms and bacteria while immersed in environments generated within a 11-foot stereoscopic WUXGA display. The authors describe the system and interface used in this prototype application and some of the ways they attempted to use the power of immersion and the appeal of S3D revolution to change health attitudes and self-care habits.

Exploring Stereotypical Perceptions of Female Players in Digital Gaming Contexts.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaye, Linda K; Gresty, Claire E; Stubbs-Ennis, Natasha

2017-12-01

Gender stereotypes are still reported to exist in digital gaming contexts, despite the fact that participation of females is relatively equal to that of males. The current research explored a number of factors and their impact upon stereotypical perceptions and attitudes toward female players. This included avatar gender, gender identity by gaming context, as well as more general gender-role beliefs. We undertook two studies, each utilizing an online questionnaire targeted toward online players. Study 1 recruited online gamers (N = 489) and compared competence perceptions of players, which varied by player gender (male, female) and avatar gender (male, female), whereby four conditions were established. Overall, player competence was perceived to be highest when male avatars were used, specifically when female players were depicted in this way. Study 2 explored the relationships between male social identity and gender-role beliefs, with sexist attitudes in gaming, and whether this varied by gaming context (massively multiplayer online [MMO] vs. first-person shooter [FPS]). Male online gamers (N = 193) were recruited, of which 112 were MMO players, and 81 were FPS players. It was found that identifying as male social identity was not related to sexist attitudes in either gaming context. However, more general gender-role beliefs were related to sexist attitudes. The findings indicate that although certain stereotypes exist (e.g., competence perceptions), these are not necessarily harvested by players' identities within communities, but may derive through more operational functions such as avatar gender.

Third-person effect and gender in online gaming

OpenAIRE

Zhang, Lin

2013-01-01

This study explores gender differences in third–person effect in the context of online games based on a survey conducted with 574 online gamers. Not only has it confirmed the existence of self–other perceptual gap regarding the effect of online games, it has also validated the gender difference in effect perception as both genders are found to perceive the opposite–gender as more susceptible to the influence of negative effects of games, and the size of this gender–bas...

Online Marketing Strategy for a browser games portal

OpenAIRE

Vinaixa Campos, Joan

2008-01-01

The Browser games industry: Introduction and description of browser games and browser games portals. Description of the main characteristics that define the browser games industry and its competitive environment. Analysis of all the factors that need to be considered in order to make a successful market entry. Online marketing techniques: Introduction and description to the main online marketing techniques that exist to market a product or service in internet: Search Engine Marketing...

Why are you satisfied with an online game?:exploring game attractiveness and gaming climate from a socio-technical perspective

OpenAIRE

Zuo, W. (Wangjing)

2016-01-01

Abstract Some online games are prosperous and have attracted a large number of players, while others cannot sustain. Both technical and social factors likely affect a player’s satisfaction with an online game. However, there is a clear dearth of studies in which have investigated online games from a socio-technical perspective. This article seeks to address this gap through an empirical study on technical factors (manifesti...

Effect of increase in allotted time on game playing performance: Case study of an online word game

OpenAIRE

Putthiwanit, Chutinon; Kincart, Andrew

2011-01-01

Online game players tend to differ in the duration of time they play. However, no matter whether the time on playing an online game is spent positively or negatively, we may assume that when the duration of each online-game round is increased, players tend to engage in more interaction with their opponents. Though there are a significant number of research studies on time usage in computer games, there is no research exploring the direct effect of time on online game playing performance. As a...

The Relationship Between Online Video Game Involvement and Gaming-Related Friendships Among Emotionally Sensitive Individuals

Science.gov (United States)

Domahidi, Emese; Quandt, Thorsten

2014-01-01

Abstract Some researchers believe that online gaming spaces can be socially accommodating environments for socially inhibited individuals, such as the socially inept, socially anxious, or shy. While previous research has examined, and found, significant links between these populations and online video game play, it remains unknown to what extent these spaces are contributing to tangible social benefits for the socially inhibited. The current study addresses this question by evaluating the link between gaming-related friendships and shyness, as quantified by emotional sensitivity. Drawing from a representative sample of German game players, the results indicate that emotionally sensitive players are using online gaming spaces differently from their less emotionally sensitive counterparts and reporting tangible differences in their in-game friendship networks. This suggests that online games hold the potential to be socially advantageous for shy individuals by allowing them to overcome their traditional social difficulties and generate new friendships as well as strengthen old ones. PMID:24660878

The relationship between online video game involvement and gaming-related friendships among emotionally sensitive individuals.

Science.gov (United States)

Kowert, Rachel; Domahidi, Emese; Quandt, Thorsten

2014-07-01

Some researchers believe that online gaming spaces can be socially accommodating environments for socially inhibited individuals, such as the socially inept, socially anxious, or shy. While previous research has examined, and found, significant links between these populations and online video game play, it remains unknown to what extent these spaces are contributing to tangible social benefits for the socially inhibited. The current study addresses this question by evaluating the link between gaming-related friendships and shyness, as quantified by emotional sensitivity. Drawing from a representative sample of German game players, the results indicate that emotionally sensitive players are using online gaming spaces differently from their less emotionally sensitive counterparts and reporting tangible differences in their in-game friendship networks. This suggests that online games hold the potential to be socially advantageous for shy individuals by allowing them to overcome their traditional social difficulties and generate new friendships as well as strengthen old ones.

The development of the Problematic Online Gaming Questionnaire (POGQ.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zsolt Demetrovics

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Online gaming has become increasingly popular. However, this has led to concerns that these games might induce serious problems and/or lead to dependence for a minority of players. AIM: The aim of this study was to uncover and operationalize the components of problematic online gaming. METHODS: A total of 3415 gamers (90% males; mean age 21 years, were recruited through online gaming websites. A combined method of exploratory factor analysis (EFA and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA was applied. Latent profile analysis was applied to identify persons at-risk. RESULTS: EFA revealed a six-factor structure in the background of problematic online gaming that was also confirmed by a CFA. For the assessment of the identified six dimensions--preoccupation, overuse, immersion, social isolation, interpersonal conflicts, and withdrawal--the 18-item Problematic Online Gaming Questionnaire (POGQ proved to be exceedingly suitable. Based on the latent profile analysis, 3.4% of the gamer population was considered to be at high risk, while another 15.2% was moderately problematic. CONCLUSIONS: The POGQ seems to be an adequate measurement tool for the differentiated assessment of gaming related problems on six subscales.

The association between online gaming, social phobia, and depression: an internet survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Han-Ting; Chen, Mu-Hong; Huang, Po-Cheng; Bai, Ya-Mei

2012-07-28

Online gaming technology has developed rapidly within the past decade, and its related problems have received increasing attention. However, there are few studies on the psychiatric symptoms associated with excessive use of online games. The aim of this study is to investigate the characteristics of online gamers, and the association between online gaming hours, social phobia, and depression using an internet survey. An online questionnaire was designed and posted on a popular online game websites, inviting the online gamers to participate the survey. The content of the questionnaire included demographic data, profiles of internet usage and online gaming, and self-rating scales of Depression and Somatic Symptoms Scale (DSSS), Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN), and Chen Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS). A total of 722 online gamers with a mean age of 21.8 ± 4.9 years completed the online survey within one month. 601 (83.2%) participants were male, and 121 (16.8%) were female. The mean weekly online gaming time was 28.2 ± 19.7 hours, which positively associated with history of online gaming (r = 0.245, p online gaming (6.0 ± 3.1 vs. 7.2 ± 3.6 years, p = 0.001) and shorter weekly online gaming hours (23.2 ± 17.0 vs. 29.2 ± 20.2 hours, p = 0.002), but had higher DSSS (13.0 ± 9.3 vs. 10.9 ± 9.7, p = 0.032) and SPIN (22.8 ± 14.3 vs. 19.6 ± 13.5, p = 0.019) scores than the male players. The linear regression model showed that higher DSSS scores were associated with female gender, higher SPIN scores, higher CIAS scores, and longer weekly online gaming hours, with controlling for age and years of education. The online gamers with longer weekly gaming hours tended to have a longer history of online gaming, and more severe depressive, social phobic, and internet addiction symptoms. Female online gamers had fewer weekly online gaming hours and a shorter previous online gaming history, but tended to have

Gaming Preferences of Aging Generations

Science.gov (United States)

Blocker, Kenneth A.; Wright, Timothy J.; Boot, Walter R.

2017-01-01

Increasing evidence suggests that action digital game training can improve a variety of perceptual and cognitive abilities, including those that decline most with age. Unfortunately, previous work has found that older adults dislike these games and adherence may be poor for action game-based interventions. The focus of the current study was to better understand the types of games older adults are willing to play and explore predictors of game preference (e.g., gender, age, technology experience, personality). With this information action games might be modified or developed to maximize adherence and cognitive benefit. Older adults were administered a modified version of an existing game questionnaire and a custom game preference survey. Clear preferences were observed that were similar between participants with and without previous digital game experience (with puzzle and intellectually stimulating games being most interesting to older adults in our sample, and massively multiplayer online games and first-person shooters being least interesting). Personality, demographic, and technology experience variables were also collected. Interesting trends suggested the possibility that several demographic and personality variables might be predictive of game preference. Results have implications for future directions of research, designing games that would appeal to older adult audiences, and for how to design custom games to maximize intervention adherence based on individual difference characteristics. PMID:29033699

The effect of family therapy on the changes in the severity of on-line game play and brain activity in adolescents with on-line game addiction

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Doug Hyun; Kim, Sun Mi; Lee, Young Sik; Renshaw, Perry F.

2015-01-01

We evaluated whether a brief 3-week family therapy intervention would change patterns of brain activation in response to affection and gaming cues in adolescents from dysfunctional families who met criteria for on-line game addiction. Fifteen adolescents with on-line game addiction and fifteen adolescents without problematic on-line game play and an intact family structure were recruited. Over 3 weeks, families were asked to carry out homework assignments focused on increasing family cohesion for more than 1 hour/day and 4 days/week. Before therapy, adolescents with on-line game addiction demonstrated decreased activity as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) within the caudate, middle temporal gyrus, and occipital lobe in response to images depicting parental affection and increased activity of the middle frontal and inferior parietal in response scenes from on-line games, relative to healthy comparison subjects. Improvement in perceived family cohesion following 3 weeks of treatment was associated with an increase in the activity of the caudate nucleus in response to affection stimuli and was inversely correlated with changes in on-line game playing time. With evidence of brain activation changes in response to on-line game playing cues and images depicting parental love, the present findings suggest that family cohesion may be an important factor in the treatment of problematic on-line game playing. PMID:22698763

Collaborative virtual gaming worlds in higher education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicola Whitton

2008-12-01

Full Text Available There is growing interest in the use of virtual gaming worlds in education, supported by the increased use of multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs and massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs for collaborative learning. However, this paper argues that collaborative gaming worlds have been in use much longer and are much wider in scope; it considers the range of collaborative gaming worlds that exist and discusses their potential for learning, with particular reference to higher education. The paper discusses virtual gaming worlds from a theoretical pedagogic perspective, exploring the educational benefits of gaming environments. Then practical considerations associated with the use of virtual gaming worlds in formal settings in higher education are considered. Finally, the paper considers development options that are open to educators, and discusses the potential of Alternate Reality Games (ARGs for learning in higher education. In all, this paper hopes to provide a balanced overview of the range of virtual gaming worlds that exist, to examine some of the practical considerations associated with their use, and to consider their benefits and challenges in learning and teaching in the higher education context.

Gender Differences in the Perception and Acceptance of Online Games

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Hsiu-Yuan; Wang, Yi-Shun

2008-01-01

With the proliferation of online games, understanding users' intention to play online games has become a new issue for academics and practitioners. Prior studies have investigated the factors affecting behavioural intention to play online games. However, little research has been conducted to investigate the gender differences in the acceptance of…

Cortical thickness abnormalities in late adolescence with online gaming addiction.

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Kai; Cheng, Ping; Dong, Tao; Bi, Yanzhi; Xing, Lihong; Yu, Dahua; Zhao, Limei; Dong, Minghao; von Deneen, Karen M; Liu, Yijun; Qin, Wei; Tian, Jie

2013-01-01

Online gaming addiction, as the most popular subtype of Internet addiction, had gained more and more attention from the whole world. However, the structural differences in cortical thickness of the brain between adolescents with online gaming addiction and healthy controls are not well unknown; neither was its association with the impaired cognitive control ability. High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging scans from late adolescence with online gaming addiction (n = 18) and age-, education- and gender-matched controls (n = 18) were acquired. The cortical thickness measurement method was employed to investigate alterations of cortical thickness in individuals with online gaming addiction. The color-word Stroop task was employed to investigate the functional implications of the cortical thickness abnormalities. Imaging data revealed increased cortical thickness in the left precentral cortex, precuneus, middle frontal cortex, inferior temporal and middle temporal cortices in late adolescence with online gaming addiction; meanwhile, the cortical thicknesses of the left lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), insula, lingual gyrus, the right postcentral gyrus, entorhinal cortex and inferior parietal cortex were decreased. Correlation analysis demonstrated that the cortical thicknesses of the left precentral cortex, precuneus and lingual gyrus correlated with duration of online gaming addiction and the cortical thickness of the OFC correlated with the impaired task performance during the color-word Stroop task in adolescents with online gaming addiction. The findings in the current study suggested that the cortical thickness abnormalities of these regions may be implicated in the underlying pathophysiology of online gaming addiction.

Tantangan Industri Kreatif-Game Online di Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Choirul Fajri

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Information and communication technology currently has grown to such an extent, not only to meet the needs for information only, but now has grown to the fulfillment of the will of entertainment. These developments, and then bring up the creative industries technology-based communication and information, one of them is online gaming. Creative industries in this area, has become a phenomenon by itself, and makes it as one of the important sectors for economic growth. However, based on the data we get, there are still constraints faced in the development of this industry, such as: the limitations of knowledge, capital, the absence of Government support, as well as the lack of adequate infrastructure. The negative impact was unavoidable as well as from the industry, for example, will the existence of addiction for the gamers who have an impact on crime and action elements of pornography are also inherent in this online game. Therefore, it takes the good cooperation between the developers of the game and also the Government to be able to develop the online gaming industry. There is awareness of the game developer to make a quality game play and has educational values.

The (co-)occurrence of problematic video gaming, substance use, and psychosocial problems in adolescents

Science.gov (United States)

VAN ROOIJ, ANTONIUS J.; KUSS, DARIA J.; GRIFFITHS, MARK D.; SHORTER, GILLIAN W.; SCHOENMAKERS, M. TIM; VAN DE MHEEN, DIKE

2014-01-01

Abstract Aims: The current study explored the nature of problematic (addictive) video gaming (PVG) and the association with game type, psychosocial health, and substance use. Methods: Data were collected using a paper and pencil survey in the classroom setting. Three samples were aggregated to achieve a total sample of 8478 unique adolescents. Scales included measures of game use, game type, the Video game Addiction Test (VAT), depressive mood, negative self-esteem, loneliness, social anxiety, education performance, and use of cannabis, alcohol and nicotine (smoking). Results: Findings confirmed problematic gaming is most common amongst adolescent gamers who play multiplayer online games. Boys (60%) were more likely to play online games than girls (14%) and problematic gamers were more likely to be boys (5%) than girls (1%). High problematic gamers showed higher scores on depressive mood, loneliness, social anxiety, negative self-esteem, and self-reported lower school performance. Nicotine, alcohol, and cannabis using boys were almost twice more likely to report high PVG than non-users. Conclusions: It appears that online gaming in general is not necessarily associated with problems. However, problematic gamers do seem to play online games more often, and a small subgroup of gamers – specifically boys – showed lower psychosocial functioning and lower grades. Moreover, associations with alcohol, nicotine, and cannabis use are found. It would appear that problematic gaming is an undesirable problem for a small subgroup of gamers. The findings encourage further exploration of the role of psychoactive substance use in problematic gaming. PMID:25317339

Prevalence and Correlates of Internet Gaming Problem among Internet Users: Results from an Internet Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Subramaniam, Mythily; Chua, Boon Yiang; Abdin, Edimansyah; Pang, Shirlene; Satghare, Pratika; Vaingankar, Janhavi A; Verma, Swapna; Ong, Say How; Picco, Louisa; Chong, Siow Ann

2016-05-01

The current study aimed to establish the prevalence of internet gaming disorder (IGD) and its association with demographic characteristics, game genre, game use (time spent on gaming), as well as psychological distress, social phobia and well-being among current online gamers in Singapore. A total of 1251 participants aged 13 to 40 years completed the study which was administered as a web survey. The online questionnaire was designed using QuestionPro, and consisted of 8 sections and 105 questions. The 9-item Internet Gaming Disorder Questionnaire was used to establish the prevalence of IGD in the study. A series of logistic regression models were used to examine the associations between IGD, demographic characteristics and game genre, as well as IGD and psychological distress, social phobia and well-being. The prevalence of IGD established using a cutoff of 5 among those who were current online gamers was 17.7%. Multiple logistic regressions revealed that those meeting criteria of IGD were more likely to be older, reported an earlier age of onset of playing online games, had primary and secondary education versus tertiary education, were currently students versus being currently employed and played massively multiplayer online role-playing games. Distress and social anxiety were higher while satisfaction with life was significantly lower among those who met criteria for IGD than those who did not meet the criteria. The prevalence of IGD and its negative consequences in our sample of current online gamers was significant and point towards the need for further clinical studies and innovative interventions to address the problem.

Cortical thickness abnormalities in late adolescence with online gaming addiction.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kai Yuan

Full Text Available Online gaming addiction, as the most popular subtype of Internet addiction, had gained more and more attention from the whole world. However, the structural differences in cortical thickness of the brain between adolescents with online gaming addiction and healthy controls are not well unknown; neither was its association with the impaired cognitive control ability. High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging scans from late adolescence with online gaming addiction (n = 18 and age-, education- and gender-matched controls (n = 18 were acquired. The cortical thickness measurement method was employed to investigate alterations of cortical thickness in individuals with online gaming addiction. The color-word Stroop task was employed to investigate the functional implications of the cortical thickness abnormalities. Imaging data revealed increased cortical thickness in the left precentral cortex, precuneus, middle frontal cortex, inferior temporal and middle temporal cortices in late adolescence with online gaming addiction; meanwhile, the cortical thicknesses of the left lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC, insula, lingual gyrus, the right postcentral gyrus, entorhinal cortex and inferior parietal cortex were decreased. Correlation analysis demonstrated that the cortical thicknesses of the left precentral cortex, precuneus and lingual gyrus correlated with duration of online gaming addiction and the cortical thickness of the OFC correlated with the impaired task performance during the color-word Stroop task in adolescents with online gaming addiction. The findings in the current study suggested that the cortical thickness abnormalities of these regions may be implicated in the underlying pathophysiology of online gaming addiction.

[Problematic online gaming. A review of the literature].

Science.gov (United States)

Nagygyörgy, Katalin; Pápay, Orsolya; Urbán, Róbert; Farkas, Judit; Kun, Bernadette; Griffiths, Mark; Demetrovics, Zsolt

2013-01-01

In parallel with the increasing popularity of online games, researchers have reported an increasing number of problematic users. For this reason there is a growing amount of literature analyzing the effects of online games. The present review described the evolution of online games as well as their types and specific characteristics of these types. This review examines (i) the question of definition, (ii) symptoms of problematic use, (iii) the measurement instruments (iv) prevalence data, (v) issues of etiology, (vi) the results of comorbidity, and (vii) the main trends and results in the area of prevention and treatment.

Exploring Online Game Players' Flow Experiences and Positive Affect

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Chiang, Yu-Tzu; Lin, Sunny S. J.; Cheng, Chao-Yang; Liu, Eric Zhi-Feng

2011-01-01

The authors conducted two studies to explore online game players' flow experiences and positive affect. Our findings indicated that online game are capable of evoking flow experiences and positive affect, and games of violent or nonviolent type may not arouse players' aggression. The players could be placed into four flow conditions: flow,…

Serious games as instrument to support energy retrofitting : Lessons from the Go2Zero City-zen game

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Bueren, E.M.; Bekebrede, G.; Wenzler, I.

2017-01-01

This paper presents the serious multi-player tabletop game GO2Zero and explores how such games may contribute to overcoming barriers to local energy retrofitting. The game lets actors involved in local energy retrofitting, experience the multi-actor decision-making context. In half a day, about

Inclusive Competitive Game Play Through Balanced Sensory Feedback.

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Westin, Thomas; Söderström, David; Karlsson, Olov; Peiris, Ranil

2017-01-01

While game accessibility has improved significantly the last few years, there are still barriers for equal participation and multiplayer issues have been less researched. Game balance is here about making the game fair in a player versus player competitive game. One difficult design task is to balance the game to be fair regardless of visual or hearing capabilities, with clearly different requirements. This paper explores a tentative design method for enabling inclusive competitive game-play without individual adaptations of game rules that could spoil the game. The method involved applying a unified design method to design an unbalanced game, then modifying visual feedback as a hypothetical balanced design, and testing the game with totally 52 people with and without visual or hearing disabilities in three workshops. Game balance was evaluated based on score differences and less structured qualitative data, and a redesign of the game was made. Conclusions are a tentative method for balancing a multiplayer, competitive game without changing game rules and how the method can be applied.

Trajectories of abstinence-induced Internet gaming withdrawal symptoms: A prospective pilot study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dean Kaptsis

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD is positioned in the appendix of the DSM-5 as a condition requiring further study. The IGD criteria refer to withdrawal symptoms, including irritability, anxiety, or sadness, that follow cessation of Internet gaming (APA, 2013. The aim of this study was to prospectively examine the nature of Internet gaming withdrawal symptoms, if they occur, under gaming abstinence conditions. This study employed a repeated-measures protocol to examine the cognitive-affective reactions of participants undertaking an 84-h Internet gaming abstinence period. The sample included individuals who met the IGD criteria as well as those who regularly played Internet games but did not meet the IGD criteria. Outcome variables included affect (positive and negative, psychological distress (depression, anxiety, stress, and Internet gaming withdrawal symptoms (craving/urge, thoughts about gaming, inability to resist gaming. A total of 24 participants (Mage = 24.6 years, SD = 5.8 were recruited from online gaming communities, and completed a series of online surveys before, during, and after abstaining from Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO games. Both the IGD group and the non-IGD group experienced an abstinence-induced decline in withdrawal symptomatology, negative affect, and psychological distress. The IGD group experienced its largest decline in withdrawal symptomatology within the first 24 h of abstinence. These preliminary data suggest that gaming withdrawal symptoms may follow, at least initially, negative linear and quadratic trends. Further prospective work in larger samples involving longer periods of abstinence is required to verify and expand upon these observations.

Trajectories of abstinence-induced Internet gaming withdrawal symptoms: A prospective pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaptsis, Dean; King, Daniel L; Delfabbro, Paul H; Gradisar, Michael

2016-12-01

Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) is positioned in the appendix of the DSM-5 as a condition requiring further study. The IGD criteria refer to withdrawal symptoms, including irritability, anxiety, or sadness, that follow cessation of Internet gaming (APA, 2013). The aim of this study was to prospectively examine the nature of Internet gaming withdrawal symptoms, if they occur, under gaming abstinence conditions. This study employed a repeated-measures protocol to examine the cognitive-affective reactions of participants undertaking an 84-h Internet gaming abstinence period. The sample included individuals who met the IGD criteria as well as those who regularly played Internet games but did not meet the IGD criteria. Outcome variables included affect (positive and negative), psychological distress (depression, anxiety, stress), and Internet gaming withdrawal symptoms (craving/urge, thoughts about gaming, inability to resist gaming). A total of 24 participants ( M age  = 24.6 years, SD  = 5.8) were recruited from online gaming communities, and completed a series of online surveys before, during, and after abstaining from Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) games. Both the IGD group and the non-IGD group experienced an abstinence-induced decline in withdrawal symptomatology, negative affect, and psychological distress. The IGD group experienced its largest decline in withdrawal symptomatology within the first 24 h of abstinence. These preliminary data suggest that gaming withdrawal symptoms may follow, at least initially, negative linear and quadratic trends. Further prospective work in larger samples involving longer periods of abstinence is required to verify and expand upon these observations.

Online Crowdfunding Campaign for an Independent Video Game

OpenAIRE

Kivikangas, Inessa

2014-01-01

Over the past several years online reward-model crowdfunding platforms have become a popular tool for raising funds among independent game developers. Big success of several brilliant indie titles brought to the online crowdfunding platforms Kickstarter and Indiegogo hundreds of hopeful independent developers. However, apart from creating an excellent game indie developers have to be able to reach out to their audience and capture attention of potential supporters and gaming media. Time and e...

Online Video Game Addiction: Exploring a New Phenomenon

OpenAIRE

Rooij, Antonius

2011-01-01

textabstractOver a period of thirty years, video games have evolved from Pac Man to photorealistic, massively populated, three-dimensional environments. Adolescents become involved with online virtual communities (tribes, guilds, groups) and play games on a daily basis with people they have never seen in ‘real’ life. Large online games provide a virtual environment in which they have fun and can freely experiment with different identities, speak other languages, and form new social connection...

Prevalence and Correlates of Video and Internet Gaming Addiction among Hong Kong Adolescents: A Pilot Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chong-Wen Wang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This pilot study investigated the patterns of video and internet gaming habits and the prevalence and correlates of gaming addiction in Hong Kong adolescents. A total of 503 students were recruited from two secondary schools. Addictive behaviors of video and internet gaming were assessed using the Game Addiction Scale. Risk factors for gaming addiction were examined using logistical regression. An overwhelming majority of the subjects (94% reported using video or internet games, with one in six (15.6% identified as having a gaming addiction. The risk for gaming addiction was significantly higher among boys, those with poor academic performance, and those who preferred multiplayer online games. Gaming addiction was significantly associated with the average time spent gaming per week, frequency of spending money on gaming, period of spending money on gaming, perceived family disharmony, and having more close friends. These results suggest that effective educational and preventative programs or strategies are needed.

Prevalence and correlates of video and internet gaming addiction among Hong Kong adolescents: a pilot study.

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Wang, Chong-Wen; Chan, Cecilia L W; Mak, Kwok-Kei; Ho, Sai-Yin; Wong, Paul W C; Ho, Rainbow T H

2014-01-01

This pilot study investigated the patterns of video and internet gaming habits and the prevalence and correlates of gaming addiction in Hong Kong adolescents. A total of 503 students were recruited from two secondary schools. Addictive behaviors of video and internet gaming were assessed using the Game Addiction Scale. Risk factors for gaming addiction were examined using logistical regression. An overwhelming majority of the subjects (94%) reported using video or internet games, with one in six (15.6%) identified as having a gaming addiction. The risk for gaming addiction was significantly higher among boys, those with poor academic performance, and those who preferred multiplayer online games. Gaming addiction was significantly associated with the average time spent gaming per week, frequency of spending money on gaming, period of spending money on gaming, perceived family disharmony, and having more close friends. These results suggest that effective educational and preventative programs or strategies are needed.

Online and Offline Gaming Social Preferences of Students

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Shaffer, Jeannette R.

2012-01-01

The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between the self-reported demographic characteristics of high school students that play games online and their social preferences when playing offline and online. Adolescents are using communication tools while playing games to meet new people, learn new strategies, and maintain…

Online gaming addiction in children and adolescents: A review of empirical research.

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Kuss, Daria J; Griffiths, Mark D

2012-03-01

Research suggests that excessive online gaming may lead to symptoms commonly experienced by substance addicts. Since games are particularly appealing to children and adolescents, these individuals may be more at risk than other groups of developing gaming addiction. Given these potential concerns, a literature review was undertaken in order (i) to present the classification basis of online gaming addiction using official mental disorder frameworks, (ii) to identify empirical studies that assess online gaming addiction in children and adolescents, and (iii) to present and evaluate the findings against the background of related and established mental disorder criteria. Empirical evidence comprising 30 studies indicates that for some adolescents, gaming addiction exists and that as the addiction develops, online gaming addicts spend increasing amounts of time preparing for, organizing, and actually gaming. Evidence suggests that problematic online gaming can be conceptualized as a behavioral addiction rather than a disorder of impulse control.

Exploring the relationship between video game expertise and fluid intelligence.

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Athanasios V Kokkinakis

Full Text Available Hundreds of millions of people play intellectually-demanding video games every day. What does individual performance on these games tell us about cognition? Here, we describe two studies that examine the potential link between intelligence and performance in one of the most popular video games genres in the world (Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas: MOBAs. In the first study, we show that performance in the popular MOBA League of Legends' correlates with fluid intelligence as measured under controlled laboratory conditions. In the second study, we also show that the age profile of performance in the two most widely-played MOBAs (League of Legends and DOTA II matches that of raw fluid intelligence. We discuss and extend previous videogame literature on intelligence and videogames and suggest that commercial video games can be useful as 'proxy' tests of cognitive performance at a global population level.

Game Design Concept Report : Application of the WeShareIt Game Elements in Nzoia River Basin

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Onencan, A.M.; Enserink, B.; van de Walle, B.A.

2018-01-01

In early 2016, we designed Nzoia WeShareIt game to support joint decision-making, in a complex river basin, through policy practice in the form of water allocation trade-offs between food, energy, and nature. Nzoia WeShareIt game is a multi-player hybrid cooperation game.

This concept

Designing Shared Virtual Reality Gaming Experiences in Local Multi-platform Games

OpenAIRE

Liszio , Stefan; Masuch , Maic

2016-01-01

Part 4: Short Papers; International audience; Designing multiplayer virtual reality games is a challenging task since immersion is easily destroyed by real world influences. However, providing fun and social virtual reality experiences is inevitable for establishing virtual reality gaming as a convincing new medium. We propose a design approach to integrate social interactions into the game design while retaining immersion, and present design methods to implement this approach. Furthermore, w...

The Role of Auditory Features Within Slot-Themed Social Casino Games and Online Slot Machine Games.

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Bramley, Stephanie; Gainsbury, Sally M

2015-12-01

Over the last few years playing social casino games has become a popular entertainment activity. Social casino games are offered via social media platforms and mobile apps and resemble gambling activities. However, social casino games are not classified as gambling as they can be played for free, outcomes may not be determined by chance, and players receive no monetary payouts. Social casino games appear to be somewhat similar to online gambling activities in terms of their visual and auditory features, but to date little research has investigated the cross over between these games. This study examines the auditory features of slot-themed social casino games and online slot machine games using a case study design. An example of each game type was played on three separate occasions during which, the auditory features (i.e., music, speech, sound effects, and the absence of sound) within the games were logged. The online slot-themed game was played in demo mode. This is the first study to provide a qualitative account of the role of auditory features within a slot-themed social casino game and an online slot machine game. Our results found many similarities between how sound is utilised within the two games. Therefore the sounds within these games may serve functions including: setting the scene for gaming, creating an image, demarcating space, interacting with visual features, prompting players to act, communicating achievements to players, providing reinforcement, heightening player emotions and the gaming experience. As a result this may reduce the ability of players to make a clear distinction between these two activities, which may facilitate migration between games.

Adiksi Game Online Dan Ketrampilan Penyesuaian Sosial Pada Remaja

OpenAIRE

Nirwanda, Cesaria Septa; Ediati, Annastasia

2016-01-01

Kemampuan remaja dalam melakukan penyesuaian dengan lingkungan sosial diperoleh dari proses belajar melalui pengalaman baru. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui hubungan adiksi game online dengan keterampilan penyesuaian sosial pada remaja di Semarang. Adiksi game online adalah pola penggunaan game yang berlebihan dan mengakibatkan gangguan pada hidup individu. Keterampilan penyesuaian sosial adalah kemampuan untuk menerima dan mengatasi Perubahan keadaan yang terjadi dalam hidupnya. Hi...

Using Online Games to Teach Personal Finance Concepts

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Huang, Chin-Wen; Hsu, Chun-Pin

2011-01-01

This case study explores the use of online games to teach personal finance concepts at the college level. A number of free online games targeting such topics as budgeting and saving, risk and return, consumer credit, financial services, and investments were introduced to the experimental group as homework assignments. Statistical results indicate…

From online to offline game/play

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Clausen, Thea Juhl Roloff

2015-01-01

and teachers face. It can be a challenge for the digital immigrants to see the meanings of digital games, and why children (digital natives) should be introduced to digital games in such a young age. However, it is a fact that digital games are a part of children's everyday lives. If Digital Immigrants must......Children love to play digital games. But how should we relate to children's use of digital games. When children play they use signs from online games into offline games. There will in the paper be pointed out, media pedagogy weaknesses and strengths. And the media didactic challenges that pedagogs...... be able to motivate digital natives for play and learning, it is important to know the rules of the game/play...

Effects of adolescent online gaming time and motives on depressive, musculoskeletal, and psychosomatic symptoms

OpenAIRE

Hellstr?m, Charlotta; Nilsson, Kent W; Leppert, Jerzy; ?slund, Cecilia

2015-01-01

Aim. To investigate whether adolescent online gaming time and the additive effect of gaming motives were associated with depressive, musculoskeletal, and psychosomatic symptoms. The hypothesis was that adolescents who engage in online gaming with escape motives and increased online gaming time have higher probability for depressive, musculoskeletal, and psychosomatic symptoms compared to adolescents with other online gaming motives and/or less online gaming time. Method. An anonymous and volu...

Clarifying the Links Among Online Gaming, Internet Use, Drinking Motives, and Online Pornography Use.

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Bőthe, Beáta; Tóth-Király, István; Orosz, Gábor

2015-04-01

This study was aimed at investigating the links between online gaming and online pornography use by considering gender, problematic Internet use, and different motives for alcohol drinking. University students (n=512; mean age=22.11 years; standard deviation=2.43 years; 64.06 percent women) filled in the Cyber Pornography Use Inventory, Hungarian version, the Problematic Online Gaming Questionnaire, Hungarian version (POGQ-HU), the Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire, Hungarian version (PIUQ-HU), and the Drinking Motive Questionnaire Revised Short Form, Hungarian version (DMQ-R-HU SF) questionnaires. According to hierarchical multiple regression analyses, the neglect factor of PIUQ-HU, the conformity factor of DMQ-R-HU SF, and the immersion and preoccupation factors of POGQ-HU have a significant predictive value on one's online pornography use, but gender does not. This research shows that independently from the effect of Internet and alcohol use dimensions, immersion and preoccupation factors of online gaming have significant effects on online pornography use. However, preoccupation has a negative effect on pornography use. Players scoring high on this subscale may think about gaming as the only interesting activity that rates higher than even pornography.

Network Technologies for Networked Terrorists: Assessing the Value of Information and Communication Technologies to Modern Terrorist Organizations

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2007-01-01

used a number of violent video games 7 See, for example, the Anti-Defamation League study on extremist recruitment in prisons (B’nai B’rith, 2002). 8...compelling experience. The latest generations of computer-based, massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs), in which many individuals interact in a... effectiveness , those with that potential would require some specialization by the group (e.g., creation or subversion of massively multiplayer games for

Gender differences and related factors affecting online gaming addiction among Taiwanese adolescents.

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Ko, Chih-Hung; Yen, Ju-Yu; Chen, Cheng-Chung; Chen, Sue-Huei; Yen, Cheng-Fang

2005-04-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the extent to which gender and other factors predict the severity of online gaming addiction among Taiwanese adolescents. A total of 395 junior high school students were recruited for evaluation of their experiences playing online games. Severity of addiction, behavioral characteristics, number of stressors, and level of satisfaction with daily life were compared between males and females who had previously played online games. Multiple regression analysis was used to explore gender differences in the relationships between severity of online gaming addiction and a number of variables. This study found that subjects who had previously played online games were predominantly male. Gender differences were also found in the severity of online gaming addiction and motives for playing. Older age, lower self-esteem, and lower satisfaction with daily life were associated with more severe addiction among males, but not among females. Special strategies accounting for gender differences must be implemented to prevent adolescents with risk factors from becoming addicted to online gaming.

Problematic Video Gaming in a Young Spanish Population: Association with Psychosocial Health.

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Buiza-Aguado, Carlos; Alonso-Canovas, Araceli; Conde-Mateos, Celia; Buiza-Navarrete, Juan Jose; Gentile, Douglas

2018-06-01

Problematic video gaming (PVG) is a concern for psychologists attending children and adolescents. Uniform diagnostic criteria are lacking, and risk factors are poorly understood. Internet gaming disorder (IGD) was included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), and scales derived from its diagnostic criteria may be helpful to assess PVG. A multicenter study was conducted in secondary schools using an IGD-derived scale (dichotomous Nine-Item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale [IGD-9]), analyzing PVG-related variables. Seven hundred eight students (55.8 percent male) with mean age 15.6 ± 2.7 years were included. Seventy-three percent were gamers and 22 percent heavy gamers (HGs). Forty-five percent reported online gaming and 6.6 percent massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). Fifty-nine students (8.3 percent) scored 5 or more in IGD-9 and were classified as IGD+. HG and IGD+ subjects were more frequently male and online and MMORPG gamers (p  0.01). The multivariate analysis showed that IGD+ scores were significantly associated with worse psychosocial health and adjustment (p MMORPG gaming, and HG) were not significantly associated (p > 0.01). The IGD-9 scale scored positive in 8.3 percent of our sample. Unlike gaming time, this scale was associated with psychosocial disturbances, making it potentially useful as a screening method to detect candidates for clinical intervention.

Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG): association between its addiction, self-control and mental disorders among young people in Vietnam.

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Son, Dinh Thai; Yasuoka, Junko; Poudel, Krishna C; Otsuka, Keiko; Jimba, Masamine

2013-09-01

To explore the association between MMORPG addiction and mental health status, and between self-control ability and mental health status among young male MMORPG players in Hanoi, Vietnam. In this cross-sectional study, 10 computer game rooms were randomly selected out of 77 in five communes in Hanoi. From these game rooms, 350 MMORPG players were purposively recruited as a study group, of whom 344 completed the questionnaire. In the same five communes, 344 non-players were selected as a control group. An online game addiction scale, a self-control scale and the Vietnamese SRQ-20 were used to measure the degree of MMORPG addiction, self-control ability and level of mental disorders. MMORPG players had significantly higher mental disorders scale scores than non-players (p MMORPG addiction scale scores and mental disorders scale scores (r = 0.730, p MMORPG addiction scale score and self-control scale score were considered the best predictors of a higher mental disorders scale score. Young, male MMORPG players with higher addiction scores were more likely to have higher mental disorders scale scores, and such mental status was negatively associated with the level of self-control in Hanoi, Vietnam. Closer attention should be paid to prevent mental disorders among MMORPG players.

Pengaruh Kecanduan Game Online Siswa SMA Kelas X Terhadap Kecerdasan Sosial Sekolah Kristen Swasta Di Makassar

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

maurice andrew suplig

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Perkembangan teknologi pada masa ini sangat berkembang pesat. Salah satu bagian dari hal ini adalah perkembangan game online yang berbasis pada internet. Perkembangan game online ini sudah menguasai banyak orang dan terutama kepada anak-anak remaja. Banyak anak-anak remaja mengalami kecanduan game online. Anak-anak ini menghabiskan banyak waktu untuk bermain game online. Karena menghabiskan waktu yang sangat banyak membuat anak-anak ini kurang bergaul dengan teman-teman di dalam dunia nyata. Oleh karena itu, tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah: Pertama, untuk mengetahui bagaimana game online mengakibatkan seorang pemain game online menjadi kecanduan. Kedua, untuk mengetahui apakah kecanduan game online memengaruhi kecerdasan sosial bagi pengguna game online. Ketiga, supaya siswa kelas X dan remaja pada umumnya memahami bahaya dari kecanduan game online. Keempat, menolong para pemuda remaja untuk terhindar dari masalah kecanduan game online yang berdampak negatif pada kecerdasan sosial.Technology development is very rapidly growing at the present time. One part of this is the development of online games based on the internet. The development of these online games has already gained control over many people, especially teenagers. Teenagers spend a lot of time playing online games. Social intelligence is low making these kids less sociable with friends in the real world. The purpose of this paper is: First, to find out how online games result in online game players becoming addicted. Secondly, to find out if online game addiction affects social intelligence for online gaming users. Third, so that students of class X and teenagers generally understand the dangers of online game addiction. Fourth, to help teenagers to avoid online game addiction problems that negatively impact social intelligence.

The motivation of children to play an active video game.

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Chin A Paw, Marijke J M; Jacobs, Wietske M; Vaessen, Ellen P G; Titze, Sylvia; van Mechelen, Willem

2008-04-01

The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the effect of a weekly multiplayer class on the motivation of children aged 9-12 years to play an interactive dance simulation video game (IDSVG) at home over a period of 12 weeks. A sample of 27 children was randomly assigned to (1) a home group instructed to play the IDSVG at home; (2) a multiplayer group instructed to play the IDSVG at home and to participate in a weekly IDSVG multiplayer class. Participants were asked to play the IDSVG as often as they liked and report the playing time daily on a calendar for a 12-week period. Motivation to play was assessed by the playing duration of IDSVG in minutes and the dropout during the study. Mean age of the 16 children who completed the study was 10.6+/-0.8 years. During the 12-week intervention period, the multiplayer group played approximately twice as many minutes (901min) as the home group (376min, p=0.13). Dropout was significantly (p=0.02) lower in the multiplayer group (15%) than in the home group (64%). Our findings suggest that multiplayer classes may increase children's motivation to play interactive dance simulation video games.

The ReDistricting Game: Teaching Congressional Gerrymandering through an Online Simulation Game

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Juckett, Emily; Feinberg, Joseph R.

2010-01-01

The ReDistricting Game is an online simulation game that engages learners in the redistricting process and spotlights the problem of gerrymandering districts in the United States. Hands-on simulation games such as this one can motivate students to think at higher levels and master key concepts. The concept of redistricting does not automatically…

Bridging Social Capital in Online Communities: Heterogeneity and Social Tolerance of Online Game Players in Japan

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Kobayashi, Tetsuro

2010-01-01

This article examines the democratic potential of online communities by investigating the influence of network heterogeneity on social tolerance in an online gaming environment. Online game communities are potential sources of bridging social capital because they tend to be relatively heterogeneous. Causal analyses are conducted using structural…

Problematic video game use: estimated prevalence and associations with mental and physical health.

Science.gov (United States)

Mentzoni, Rune Aune; Brunborg, Geir Scott; Molde, Helge; Myrseth, Helga; Skouverøe, Knut Joachim Mår; Hetland, Jørn; Pallesen, Ståle

2011-10-01

A nationwide survey was conducted to investigate the prevalence of video game addiction and problematic video game use and their association with physical and mental health. An initial sample comprising 2,500 individuals was randomly selected from the Norwegian National Registry. A total of 816 (34.0 percent) individuals completed and returned the questionnaire. The majority (56.3 percent) of respondents used video games on a regular basis. The prevalence of video game addiction was estimated to be 0.6 percent, with problematic use of video games reported by 4.1 percent of the sample. Gender (male) and age group (young) were strong predictors for problematic use of video games. A higher proportion of high frequency compared with low frequency players preferred massively multiplayer online role-playing games, although the majority of high frequency players preferred other game types. Problematic use of video games was associated with lower scores on life satisfaction and with elevated levels of anxiety and depression. Video game use was not associated with reported amount of physical exercise.

Online and offline video game use in adolescents: measurement invariance and problem severity.

Science.gov (United States)

Smohai, Máté; Urbán, Róbert; Griffiths, Mark D; Király, Orsolya; Mirnics, Zsuzsanna; Vargha, András; Demetrovics, Zsolt

2017-01-01

Despite the increasing popularity of video game playing, little is known about the similarities and differences between online and offline video game players. The aims of this study were (i) to test the applicability and the measurement invariance of the previously developed Problematic Online Gaming Questionnaire (POGQ) in both online and offline gamers and to (ii) examine the differences in these groups. Video game use habits and POGQ were assessed in a sample of 1,964 (71% male) adolescent videogame players. Those gamers who played at least sometimes in an online context were considered "online gamers," while those who played videogames exclusively offline were considered "offline gamers." Confirmatory factor analysis supported the measurement invariance across online and offline videogame players. According to the multiple indicators multiple causes (MIMIC) model, online gamers were more likely to score higher on overuse, interpersonal conflict, and social isolation subscales of the POGQ. The results of the present study suggest that online and offline gaming can be assessed using the same psychometric instrument. These findings open the possibility for future research studies concerning problematic video gaming to include participants who exclusively play online or offline games, or both. However, the study also identified important structural features about how online and offline gaming might contribute differently to problematic use. These results provide important information that could be utilized in parental education and the prevention program about the possible detrimental consequences of online vs. offline video gaming.

The Relationships between Online Game Player Biogenetic Traits, Playing Time, and the Genre of the Game Being Played

OpenAIRE

Kim, Jun Won; Han, Doug Hyun; Park, Doo Byung; Min, Kyung Joon; Na, Churl; Won, Su Kyung; Park, Ga Na

2010-01-01

Objective Psychobiological traits may be associated with excessive Internet use. This study assessed the relationships between biogenetic traits, the amount of time spent in online game playing, and the genre of the online game being played. Methods Five hundred sixty five students who enjoyed one of the four types of games included in this study were recruited. The types of games examined included role playing games (RPG), real-time strategy games (RTS), first person shooting games (FPS), an...

The WoW Factor

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Demski, Jennifer

2009-01-01

For a growing group of educators, the online role-playing game World of Warcraft, Blizzard Entertainment's massively popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), is a place to go to relax, network, and discover potential learning strategies-- and slay a few monsters if they get in the way. The online role-playing game World of…

Games and Simulations in Online Learning: Research and Development Frameworks

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Gibson, David; Aldrich, Clark; Prensky, Marc

2007-01-01

Games and Simulations in Online Learning: Research and Development Frameworks examines the potential of games and simulations in online learning, and how the future could look as developers learn to use the emerging capabilities of the Semantic Web. It presents a general understanding of how the Semantic Web will impact education and how games and…

Understanding Online (Game)worlds

Science.gov (United States)

Klastrup, Lisbeth

With gameworlds as the prime example, this article discusses online worlds as new forms of cultural entertainment systems and presents a framework with which to analyse them. The framework takes its point of departure in a discussion of what online gameworlds are, which genres of worlds exist and how they can be understood as a new form of engaging experience similar to the type of experience we have when we are captivated by the fictional universes of novels, films and tabletop roleplaying games. The proposed framework is grounded in an aesthetic, communicative and sociological approach to online worlds as digital phenomena, with the primary objective of describing how online gameworlds are systems that create meaning through the production of the experience of “worldness”.

On a Quest for English

Science.gov (United States)

Waters, John K.

2007-01-01

This article reports the potential of online role-playing games to be a powerful tool for English as a second language (ESL) learning. When Professor Edd Schneider and game designer Kai Zheng suggested to attendees gathered in San Francisco last spring for the annual Game Developers Conference that massively multiplayer online role-playing games,…

Why do young adults gamble online? A qualitative study of motivations to transition from social casino games to online gambling.

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Kim, Hyoun S; Wohl, Michael J A; Gupta, Rina; Derevensky, Jeffrey L

2017-01-01

The present research examined the mechanisms of initiating online gambling among young adults. Of particular interest was whether social casino gaming was noted as part of young adults' experience with online gambling. This is because there is growing concern that social casino gaming may be a 'gateway' to online gambling. Three focus groups ( N  = 21) were conducted with young adult online gamblers from two large Canadian Universities. Participants noted the role of peer influence as well as incentives (e.g., sign up bonuses) as important factors that motivated them to start engaging in online gambling. Participants also noted a link between social casino games and online gambling. Specifically, several young adults reported migrating to online gambling within a relatively short period after engaging with social casino games. Potential mechanisms that may lead to the migration from social casino games to online gambling included the role of advertisements and the inflated pay out rates on these free to play gambling like games. The results suggest initiatives to prevent the development of disordered gambling should understand the potential of social casino gaming to act as a gateway to online gambling, especially amongst this vulnerable population.

Why do young adults gamble online? A qualitative study of motivations to transition from social casino games to online gambling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hyoun S. Kim

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract The present research examined the mechanisms of initiating online gambling among young adults. Of particular interest was whether social casino gaming was noted as part of young adults’ experience with online gambling. This is because there is growing concern that social casino gaming may be a ‘gateway’ to online gambling. Three focus groups (N = 21 were conducted with young adult online gamblers from two large Canadian Universities. Participants noted the role of peer influence as well as incentives (e.g., sign up bonuses as important factors that motivated them to start engaging in online gambling. Participants also noted a link between social casino games and online gambling. Specifically, several young adults reported migrating to online gambling within a relatively short period after engaging with social casino games. Potential mechanisms that may lead to the migration from social casino games to online gambling included the role of advertisements and the inflated pay out rates on these free to play gambling like games. The results suggest initiatives to prevent the development of disordered gambling should understand the potential of social casino gaming to act as a gateway to online gambling, especially amongst this vulnerable population.

Appeal of playing online First Person Shooter Games.

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Jansz, Jeroen; Tanis, Martin

2007-02-01

First Person Shooter Games (FPSG) such as Counter Strike are often the subject of public concern. Surprisingly, there is no published research available about playing these games. We conducted an exploratory Internet survey (n 5 751) in order to gather information about who the players of online first person shooters are, and why they spend time on playing this particular kind of video game. The results of our survey on the one hand confirmed the stereotype of the gamer as it is often presented in popular media: the players of online FPS were indeed almost exclusively young men (mean age about 18 years) who spend a lot of their leisure time on gaming (about 2.6 h per day). We also found that the most committed gamers, that is, the ones who were members of a (semi)professional clan, scored highest on motives with respect to competition, and challenge in comparison with members of amateur clans and online gamers who had not joined a clan. On the other hand, our results cast doubt on the accuracy of the stereotype. This study showed clearly that online FPSG are not played in isolation. More than 80% of our respondents were member of a clan. Also, the regression analysis showed that the social interaction motive was the strongest predictor of the time actually spend on gaming.

The Use of Massive Multiplayer Online Games to Evaluate C4I Systems

Science.gov (United States)

2004-03-01

are met. This includes processing inputs from connected devices like keyboards and mice in addition to incoming packets that produce the graphical...the game that monopolizes 34% of the market is NCSoft’s monster hit, Lineage. Unveiled in 1998, Lineage became an overnight success and continues to

Game Channels for Trustless Off-Chain Interactions in Decentralized Virtual Worlds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Kraft

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Blockchains can be used to build multi-player online games and virtual worlds that require no central server. This concept is pioneered by Huntercoin, but it leads to large growth of the blockchain and heavy resource requirements. In this paper, we present a new protocol inspired by payment channels and sidechains that allows for trustless off-chain interactions of players in private turn-based games. They are usually performed without requiring space in the public blockchain, but if a dispute arises, the public network can be used to resolve the conflict. We also analyze the resulting security guarantees and describe possible extensions to games with shared turns and for near real-time interaction. Our proposed concept can be used to scale Huntercoin to very large or even infinite worlds and to enable almost real-time interactions between players.

Effects of adolescent online gaming time and motives on depressive, musculoskeletal, and psychosomatic symptoms.

Science.gov (United States)

Hellström, Charlotta; Nilsson, Kent W; Leppert, Jerzy; Åslund, Cecilia

2015-01-01

To investigate whether adolescent online gaming time and the additive effect of gaming motives were associated with depressive, musculoskeletal, and psychosomatic symptoms. The hypothesis was that adolescents who engage in online gaming with escape motives and increased online gaming time have higher probability for depressive, musculoskeletal, and psychosomatic symptoms compared to adolescents with other online gaming motives and/or less online gaming time. An anonymous and voluntary questionnaire was completed during class hours by 7,757 Swedish adolescents aged 13-18 years. The questionnaire included demographic background, gaming habits, and depressive, musculoskeletal, and psychosomatic symptoms. It was found that increased online gaming time during weekdays increased the probability of having depressive, musculoskeletal, and psychosomatic symptoms. However, these relations with time spent gaming were further explained by online gaming motives. Weekday online gaming for more than five hours a day, in combination with escape motives, was associated with an increased probability of depressive symptoms (odds ratio (OR) 4.614, 95% CI 3.230-6.590), musculoskeletal symptoms (OR 2.494, 95% CI 1.598-3.892), and psychosomatic symptoms (OR 4.437, 95% CI 2.966-6.637). The probability of ill health decreased when gaming was for fun or had social motives. Excessive gaming time and escape motives were found to be associated with increased probability of ill health among adolescents. Gaming motives may identify gamers in need of support to reduce unhealthy gaming behaviour as well as identify individuals at risk for ill health.

The Relationships between Online Game Player Biogenetic Traits, Playing Time, and the Genre of the Game Being Played

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Kim, Jun Won; Park, Doo Byung; Min, Kyung Joon; Na, Churl; Won, Su Kyung; Park, Ga Na

2010-01-01

Objective Psychobiological traits may be associated with excessive Internet use. This study assessed the relationships between biogenetic traits, the amount of time spent in online game playing, and the genre of the online game being played. Methods Five hundred sixty five students who enjoyed one of the four types of games included in this study were recruited. The types of games examined included role playing games (RPG), real-time strategy games (RTS), first person shooting games (FPS), and sports games. Behavioral patterns of game play, academic performance, and player biogenetic characteristics were assessed. Results The amount of time that the participants spent playing online games was significantly greater on weekends than on weekdays. On weekends, the types of games with the largest numbers of participants who played games for more than three hours were ranked as follows: RPG and FPS, RTS, and sports games. The Young's Internet Addiction Scale (YIAS)score for the RPG group was the highest among the groups of the four types of game players. The time that participants spent playing games on weekdays was negatively associated with academic performance, especially for the RPG and FPS groups. Compared with the other groups, the RPG and RTS groups had higher novelty seeking (NS) scores and self-directedness (SD) scores, respectively. Additionally, the sports game group had higher reward dependency scores than the other groups. Conclusion These results suggest that RPGs may have specific factors that are attractive to latent game addicts with higher NS scores. Additionally, excessive playing of online games is related to impaired academic performance. PMID:20396428

The Relationships between Online Game Player Biogenetic Traits, Playing Time, and the Genre of the Game Being Played.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jun Won; Han, Doug Hyun; Park, Doo Byung; Min, Kyung Joon; Na, Churl; Won, Su Kyung; Park, Ga Na

2010-03-01

Psychobiological traits may be associated with excessive Internet use. This study assessed the relationships between biogenetic traits, the amount of time spent in online game playing, and the genre of the online game being played. Five hundred sixty five students who enjoyed one of the four types of games included in this study were recruited. The types of games examined included role playing games (RPG), real-time strategy games (RTS), first person shooting games (FPS), and sports games. Behavioral patterns of game play, academic performance, and player biogenetic characteristics were assessed. The amount of time that the participants spent playing online games was significantly greater on weekends than on weekdays. On weekends, the types of games with the largest numbers of participants who played games for more than three hours were ranked as follows: RPG and FPS, RTS, and sports games. The Young's Internet Addiction Scale (YIAS)score for the RPG group was the highest among the groups of the four types of game players. The time that participants spent playing games on weekdays was negatively associated with academic performance, especially for the RPG and FPS groups. Compared with the other groups, the RPG and RTS groups had higher novelty seeking (NS) scores and self-directedness (SD) scores, respectively. Additionally, the sports game group had higher reward dependency scores than the other groups. These results suggest that RPGs may have specific factors that are attractive to latent game addicts with higher NS scores. Additionally, excessive playing of online games is related to impaired academic performance.

Exploring experiential value in online mobile gaming adoption

OpenAIRE

Okazaki, Shintaro

2008-01-01

Despite the growing importance of the online mobile gaming industry, little research has been undertaken to explain why consumers engage in this ubiquitous entertainment. This study attempts to develop an instrument to measure experiential value in online mobile gaming adoption. The proposed scale consists of seven first-order factors of experiential value: intrinsic enjoyment, escapism, efficiency, economic value, visual appeal, perceived novelty, and perceived risklessness. The ...

Social argumentation in online synchronous communication

Science.gov (United States)

Angiono, Ivan

In education, argumentation has an increasing importance because it can be used to foster learning in various fields including philosophy, history, sciences, and mathematics. Argumentation is also at the heart of scientific inquiry. Many educational technology researchers have been interested in finding out how technologies can be employed to improve students' learning of argumentation. Therefore, many computer-based tools or argumentation systems have been developed to assist students in their acquisition of argumentation skills. While the argumentation systems incorporating online debating tools present a good resource in formal settings, there is limited research revealing what argumentative skills students are portraying in informal online settings without the presence of a moderator. This dissertation investigates the nature of argumentative practices in a massively multiplayer online game where the system successfully incorporates the authentic use of online synchronous communication tools and the patterns that emerge from the interplay between a number of contextual variables including synchronicity, interest, authenticity, and topical knowledge.

Psychiatrists' Perceptions of World of Warcraft and Other MMORPGs.

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Lis, Eric; Chiniara, Carl; Wood, Megan A; Biskin, Robert; Montoro, Richard

2016-06-01

Video game use, particularly massively-multiplayer online games (MMOs) and massively-multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), has been a focus of considerable research in recent years. However, little is known regarding how mental health workers perceive patients and clients who report playing them. The present study examines whether psychiatrists play MMOs/MMORPGs and how they perceive those who play them. Psychiatrists (N = 48) at a tertiary care centre in Canada completed a questionnaire assessing history of playing video games as well as whether they associate such use with psychopathology. Only 36.7 % believed there was an association between psychopathology and MMO/MMORPG use. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed.

The relationship between online game addiction and aggression, self-control and narcissistic personality traits.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Eun Joo; Namkoong, Kee; Ku, Taeyun; Kim, Se Joo

2008-04-01

This study aimed to explore the relationship between online game addiction and aggression, self-control, and narcissistic personality traits, which are known as the psychological characteristics linked to "at-risk" populations for online game addiction. A total of 1471 online game users (males 82.7%, females 17.3%, mean age 21.30+/-4.96) participated in this study and were asked to complete several self-report measures using an online response method. Questionnaires included demographic information and game use-related characteristics of the samples, the online game addiction scale (modified from Young's Internet addiction scale), the Buss-Perry aggression questionnaire, a self-control scale, and the narcissistic personality disorder scale. Our results indicated that aggression and narcissistic personality traits are positively correlated with online game addiction, whereas self-control is negatively correlated with online game addiction (ponline game addiction could be predicted based on the person's narcissistic personality traits, aggression, self-control, interpersonal relationship, and occupation. However, only 20% of the variance in behavioral consequences was explained with the model. An interesting profile has emerged from the results of this study, suggesting that certain psychological characteristics such as aggression, self-control, and narcissistic personality traits may predispose some individuals to become addicted to online games. This result will deepen our understanding of the "at-risk" population for online game addiction and provide basic information that can contribute to developing a prevention program for people who are addicted to online games.

Upaya Mereduksi Kebiasaan Bermain Game Online Melalui Teknik Diskusi Kelompok

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wieke Fauziawati

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study is an attempt to reduce the excessive habit of playing online games through group discussion techniques for 8th grade students of class D in SMP Muhammadiyah 3 Yogyakarta in the academic year 2013/2014. This study is an action research. The participants were 10 students selected using purposive sampling techniques. The instruments used are questionnaires of playing online games habit and observation. The analysis used in this research is the t-test formula. The treatment using group discussion techniques was given to the students after the guidance and counseling services were done. The results of this study showed that the average pretest percentage of the habit of playing online games is 90,9%, while the average posttest results is 57,6%. The results showed that there is a reduction of playing online games habit through group dicussion techniques for 8th grade students of class D in SMP Muhammadiyah 3 Yogyakarta. This study can be used as a basis information for guidance and counseling teachers in lessening the habit of playing online games through group discussion techniques.

Effects of adolescent online gaming time and motives on depressive, musculoskeletal, and psychosomatic symptoms

Science.gov (United States)

Nilsson, Kent W; Leppert, Jerzy; Åslund, Cecilia

2015-01-01

Aim. To investigate whether adolescent online gaming time and the additive effect of gaming motives were associated with depressive, musculoskeletal, and psychosomatic symptoms. The hypothesis was that adolescents who engage in online gaming with escape motives and increased online gaming time have higher probability for depressive, musculoskeletal, and psychosomatic symptoms compared to adolescents with other online gaming motives and/or less online gaming time. Method. An anonymous and voluntary questionnaire was completed during class hours by 7,757 Swedish adolescents aged 13–18 years. The questionnaire included demographic background, gaming habits, and depressive, musculoskeletal, and psychosomatic symptoms. Results. It was found that increased online gaming time during weekdays increased the probability of having depressive, musculoskeletal, and psychosomatic symptoms. However, these relations with time spent gaming were further explained by online gaming motives. Weekday online gaming for more than five hours a day, in combination with escape motives, was associated with an increased probability of depressive symptoms (odds ratio (OR) 4.614, 95% CI 3.230–6.590), musculoskeletal symptoms (OR 2.494, 95% CI 1.598–3.892), and psychosomatic symptoms (OR 4.437, 95% CI 2.966–6.637). The probability of ill health decreased when gaming was for fun or had social motives. Conclusion. Excessive gaming time and escape motives were found to be associated with increased probability of ill health among adolescents. Gaming motives may identify gamers in need of support to reduce unhealthy gaming behaviour as well as identify individuals at risk for ill health. PMID:26072677

PENGARUH TANTANGAN TERHADAP LOYALITAS KONSUMEN PADA GAME ONLINE MMORPG DENGAN KETERGANTUNGAN SEBAGAI VARIABEL MEDIASI

OpenAIRE

Sumawan, Oscarvile Nandra

2017-01-01

Permainan online (game online) adalah aktivitas yang dilakukan untuk fun atau menyenangkan yang memiliki aturan sehingga ada yang menang dan ada yang kalah (Kamus Macmillan, 2011). Dalam bermain game, pemain selalu berusaha untuk mengalahkan atau menjadi pemenang dalam suatu permainan game. Hal ini merupakan sebuah bentuk tantangan (challenge) yang disajikan pada setiap permainan game online. Permainan game online dimainkan oleh banyak orang. Hal inilah yang menyebabkan tingginya tingkat kete...

Violent online games exposure and cyberbullying/victimization among adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Lam, Lawrence T; Cheng, Zaohuo; Liu, Xinmin

2013-03-01

This population-based cross-sectional survey examined the association between exposure to violent online games and cyberbullying and victimization in adolescents recruited from two large cities utilizing a stratified two-stage random cluster sampling technique. Cyberbullying and victimization were assessed by the E-victimization and E-bullying scales validated in a previous study. Exposure to violent online games was measured by self-nomination of the degree of violent content in the games played. Results indicated that the majority (74.3 percent) of respondents did not experience any cyberbullying or victimization in the last 7 days before the survey, 14.4 percent reported to be victimized via cyberspace, 2.9 percent admitted that they had bullied others, and 8.4 percent reported to be both perpetrators- and- victims. One hundred and eighty seven (15.3 percent) considered games they were playing were of moderate to severe violence. Students who had been involved in cyberbullying as well as being victimized were two times as likely to have been exposed to violent online games, and nearly four times as likely for those involved in bullying others. Exposure to violent online games was associated with being a perpetrator as well as a perpetrator-and-victim of cyberbullying. Parents and clinicians need to be aware of the potential harm of these exposures. The policy implications of results were also discussed.