Yahoo! Games
Playback 15 Part 1
World of Warcraft
Taken from: http://img.qj.net/uploads/articles_module/67682/world%20of%20warcraft_qjpreviewth.jpg
Guild Wars/Defense of the Ancients
Taken from:
bp2.blogger.com/.../ s400/guild+wars.jpg
http://www.d3scene.com/forum/downloads/__dota_allstars___by_kunkka_lx6.jpg
People tend to think of gamers as people who shut themselves up in there own rooms and spend bulk of their time playing games alone. What people don’t realize is that gamers usually play with someone they know. It might be their classmates, friends or even people they know through the Internet. Their social circle can be as vast as non-gamers. Sometimes, they even have friends that non-gamers would not possibly have. They could easily have gamer friends from other parts of the world who the game with. Skeptics would say that such relationships are weak and superficial. However, I feel that is not the case. Gamers go through thick and thin together in the virtual world.
Need for Speed Underground/Maple Story
Taken from:
http://baixaki.ig.com.br/imagens/wpapers/TheNeedForSpeedUnderground800.jpg
www.fantom-xp.com/ wallpapers/18/Maple_Story.jpg
On the individual level, we can use the DeFleur’s Role of Communication in Relationships, albeit in a slightly different context.
Engagement Gamers get together for the first time.
Management Gamers playing games together.
Disengagement Gamers break off relationship.
Gaming is another platform for people to socialize. Be it cooperative or competitive game play, gamers form relationships through gaming. Gaming is also good for team bonding. Certain gamers form guilds, clans etc, to have a shared identity. Though there might be possibilities of groupthink, it is usually very minimal as such groups are usually form by recruiting elite gamers rather than people who have the same mindsets.
Gamers get together for a variety of reasons.
Similarity How similar they are
Complementarities How well they complement each other
Exchange Benefits of being together
Proximity Frequency of interaction
Competency How competent they are
Fifa 2009
Taken from: http://www.f-team.ru/images/fifa2009/fifa09_3.jpg
As we can see, gamers have a rich social circle in the cyber world. We cannot say that they are socially inactive. However, old stereotypes die hard. Perhaps as we progress into the future, there will be less of such notions.
11 comments:
yeah you are right. normally it is those who do not understand the world of gaming who assumes that gamers are a bunch of no-lifers. well, on the other hand, i will not deny the fact that some hardcore gamers are indeed socially inactive in the real world.
if you asked me, i normally vent the frustrations i faced in reality through gaming. since no one knows my true identity, i am more able to reveal my true self. and yes, the same goes for the others. i believe one does not give much though of being one's true self in the cyber world since no one actually knows who you are. it is in fact a good way to know someone better, rather than facing a handful of masked people, universally known as "hypocrites".
wow. amazing. =)
i think you explained the communication terms and linking it to how gamers socialize rather well.
i think gaming does open up ways for people to socialize. but i do suppose also that gamers who only have virtual friends should also interact with people in real life. after all, a person can't stay a gamer for life. and the lack of communication in real life can make a person a little too much of 'in their own worldness'.
Hello Kai Siang, I think that your article is quite similar with my previous entry. I don't think that there is anything wrong with playing online games if people are able to balance it well with social interactions. Therefore, the focus lies on being able to know when to stop, and not about the act of playing games.
I myself also enjoy video games especially racing :)
As for thinking that gamers are anti-social, it is just a stereotype caused by the bad apples and bad press that they've received.
So in conclusion, I don't see any problem with playing games if he/she knows when to stop.
i think that you are right...i agree with tomoe manda that mormally it is those who do not understand the world of gaming who assumes that gamers are a bunch of no-lifers.
personally, i dont really understand the world of gaming so i guess i dont have a right to say that gamers are a bunch of no lifers
an interesting article...
well, let's put it this way. gamers go through 'thick and thin in the virtual world', but how much of this actually equates to the building up of a genuine friendship in our real lives? and needless to say, the skills involved are vastly different as well. it is not that i agree with the stereotype that gamers are no lifers, but by spending so hours in front of the computer and immersed in a game, they are already missing out on what is happening out there. (:
Hey Lucas,
You might be right about them missing the things out there but not all gamers interact in the cyber world only. They do hold gatherings such as guild/clan outings where they enjoy themselves in other non-gaming activities.
As a gamer myself, i view gaming as a form of entertainment and a way to expand our social network with like-minded people. In reality, i'm making new friends through face-to-face contacts while in the virtual world, i'm making new friends by engaging in various quests/objectives to meet. Basically, it's just engaging in activities with people in two different realms.
I guess you are right and it is wrong to assume that gamers are loners if I may put it that way. It is a stereotype that must be broken. although it may sometimes be true, is usually not the case. A lot of gamers are pretty decent at socialising in real life as well. However, those extreme gamers who really do nothing everyday but game, they might have wide social circles online, but not many real-life interpersonal relationships which might make them socially awkward.
Moderation is key. Gaming is in no way bad, and alot of my friends game, even though I don't. For the most part, they still lead social active lives, so I've never bought into the stereotype that gamers are geeks (Different formed perceptual set). It's only when you start to become consumed by it that negative repurcussions start bouncing into your life. Addiction to gaming is a very real problem, and could lead to the social outcast/inactive stereotype that you mentioned. As with all stereotypes, we tend to exaggerate them. That's why such a personal construct could have come up in the first place - because we take the views of what kind of people game into the extreme.
It has come to today that we have people literally living a "Second Life", a life beyond reality on the Internet, be it virtual world or MMORPG like WOW.
Technology has closed the gap between borders and made communication easily available as the click of the mouse.
Such convenience have led to people to withdraw from the "Real World" that we live in, to indulge in a "Virtual World" where as people say "Pigs do fly, where your dreams come true".
The danger is these people failing to realise for all that they could achieve in the virtual world, it is not real. Much as we enjoy killing monsters and go on dungeon raids, it will do one much good to just take a step outside and breathe the fresh air, of the real world.
Sterotypes have awalys exsisted. And i think that sterotypes can best be broken when someone take the time and effort to go and 'investigate'. Only with real evidence will only this fixed perception can be broken.
I agree with you that "old stereotypes die hard. Perhaps as we progress into the future, there will be less of such notions." haha.
yijing
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