Anyway, check it out wolfgang… http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol11/issue4/steinkuehler.html

It isnt simply about MMORPGs offering alternate worldviews and promoting socialibilty.

~Nicodemus

Testing whether it is true: many things that “everyone knows” are wrong. It is good to be the one who disproves conventional wisdom.

It goes both ways: would you be surprised to see that people who play MMOs have worse social skills? Probably not, since we have a whole story about anti-social gamers in their basements. Would you be surprised to see that people who play MMOs have better social skills? Probably not, since we have a whole story about social interaction, forming guilds, organizing raids, etc. Either way that the research turns out, there is a way to phrase it as “duh,” more so if there is no statistically significant effect (”gamers are just like everyone else”).

But yes, feel free to mock researchers. Much published research is…”marginal.”

Let me try (and probably fail) to be a little more terse. I find the roleplaying game genre to be a superficially obvious, but surprisingly poor genre choice for MMOs. By contrast, it is an excellent genre for a game with

First, of course people can have great conversations in an FPS, or any other game for that matter. The key phrase in your comment though was “waiting for the next respawn”…the conversations don’t occur during the gameplay. Players don’t login to a Dust2 Bar and have a drink while polishing their gun barrels.

Second, you are confusing story driven with plot driven. CRPGs and single player games are plot driven. The player is faced with specific scenarios and a linear (ok maybe somewhat open-ended) plot. It is possible to create engaging and emotionally involving experiences in an MMORPG. The problem is that the focus is more on the combat than anything else these days. Yes, it is a vicious cycle until someone does something different.

MMOs are, by definition, role-playing. Players assume a “role” and play. Also, interesting characters are not impossible to pull off at all. You pretty much define interesting character by unique gear or a unique name. Are you a unique individual at school or work? If everyone wears levi’s and a white t-shirt, is it impossible for anyone to be unique or interesting anymore? Quests also do not define a player character..at least not more than finishing a project at the office defines who I am.

Repeat after me: “Free to play is a bad idea!”

Raph: Hi! Thank you for posting. I’m honored you commented here.

Anyway, I am reading the research this afternoon, and I will be adjusting some of my comments in my post. I like ranting, but I like knowing what I am talking about and being fair as well. Having said that, I think I could have written my initial post a little better and been clearer on my viewpoint. I do support industry research, but in this case, I have questions…why was the research in the news with such a silly title? The research seems to be based on MMORPGs as “third places”…does saying “may expose gamers to alternate worldviews and promote sociability” really communicate this?

That brings to mind another question “may expose”….does that also mean that it “may not expose” or that the standard to expect is non-exposure, and that sometimes exposure is possible (sort of like “patients *may* experience side effects, but usually dont”).

We do need academic research and lots of it. It validates our profession and our industry, plus it can offer heady insights into all sorts of things, trends, data, etc.

We also need designers, writers, developers, and publishers to wake up and stop screwing around. I’m getting tired of crappy games that try to be shocking or over the top simply to sell boxes…and end up pissing off the government. I’m getting tired of seeing anti-game laws passed, or people arguing that games are not art. Some games definitely absolutely are art. Again, academic research can help to validate this. Lack of academic credibility and the release of poorly designed games really handicaps the industry.

Well, I need to finish reading this study. Check back later.

Nicodemus / Robert

Seriously — the general public view of MMOs is that they cause broken marriages, suicides, and financial hardships. Studies like these that offer data that is positive are incredibly valuable.

The full study is linked in the comments thread on my site…