scholarly journals Social Norms in Virtual Worlds of Computer Games

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daria Bylieva ◽  
Tatiana Nam
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Computer Games

Establishing Social Order in 3D Virtual Worlds with Virtual Institutions

2011 ◽  
pp. 140-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anton Bogdanovych ◽  
Simeon Simoff
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Physical World ◽  
3D Interaction ◽  
Commercial Activities ◽  
Virtual Institutions ◽  
The Social ◽  
Rule Changes ◽  
Controlled Environments

An important security aspect of Virtual Worlds (in particular Virtual Worlds oriented towards commercial activities) is controlling participants’ adherence to the social norms (rules of behavior) and making them follow the acceptable interaction patterns. Rules of behavior in the physical world are usually enforced through a post factum punishment, while in computer-controlled environments like Virtual Worlds we can simply block the actions that are inconsistent with the rules and eliminate rule violations as such. In order to facilitate enforcing the rules in such automatic manner and allow for frequent rule changes, the rules have to be expressed in a formal way, so that the software can detect both the rules and the actions that can potentially violate them. In this chapter the authors introduce the concept of Virtual Institutions that are Virtual Worlds with normative regulation of interactions. For development of such systems the authors employ the Virtual Institutions Methodology that separates the development of Normative Virtual Worlds into two independent phases: formal specification of the institutional rules and design of the 3D interaction environment. The methodology is supplied with a set of graphical tools that support the development process on every level, from specification to deployment. The resulting system is capable of enforcing the social norms on the Virtual Worlds’ participants and ensuring the validity of their interactions.

Web 2.0, Virtual Worlds, and Real Ethical Issues

2010 ◽  
pp. 105-117
Author(s):  
Sue Conger
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Web 2.0 ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Industrial Espionage ◽  
Local Norms ◽  
Illegal Activities

Social networking sites, enabled by Web 2.0 technologies and embodied in role-playing virtual worlds, are gaining in popularity and use both for recreational and business purposes. Behavioral controls can be regulated through program code restrictions, rules of conduct, and local norms. Most vendor hosts of virtual worlds use code restrictions sparingly, restricting only overtly illegal activities. Otherwise, all worlds publish some form of rules of conduct and rely on the development of in-world local norms to regulate behavior. As a result, many unethical forms of behavior have arisen, including griefing, fragging, and industrial espionage. There is no sure method of solving the unethical forms of behavior unless strong social norms develop; therefore, users must take precautions when acting in virtual worlds to understand how to avoid or deflect virtual attacks of different types.

scholarly journals Virtual action

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan-Hendrik Heinrichs
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Computer Games ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Complex Analysis ◽  
Moral Evaluation ◽  
Computer Hardware ◽  
Moral Reasons ◽  
Virtual Murder ◽  
Virtual Pedophilia

AbstractIn the debate about actions in virtual environments two interdependent types of question have been pondered: What is a person doing who acts in a virtual environment? Second, can virtual actions be evaluated morally? These questions have been discussed using examples from morally dubious computer games, which seem to revel in atrocities. The examples were introduced using the terminology of “virtual murder” “virtual rape” and “virtual pedophilia”. The terminological choice had a lasting impact on the debate, on the way action types are assigned and on how moral evaluation is supposed to be conducted. However, this terminology and its theoretical consequences, while sometimes resulting in correct results, lead to absurd results when applied across the board. It will be suggested that these absurd consequences can be avoided by a different answer to the question what people in virtual worlds are doing. Alleged virtual actions are first and foremost the creation and modification of data-structures and the resulting output in computer hardware. Such modifications of data structure and imagery can be performed with different intentions, purposes and styles, which will influence the type and moral evaluation of a user’s actions. This reinterpretation allows for a more complex analysis of the moral reasons for praiseworthiness or blameworthiness of actions in virtual environments. This analysis takes not just harm and effects on character into account but the peculiar ways in which speech acts can be morally wrong: e.g. agitatory, deceptive, bullshitting.

Wag the Kennel

2009 ◽  
pp. 577-592 ◽  
Author(s):  
David William Shaffer
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Educational Reform ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Real World ◽  
Computer Games ◽  
Creative Thinking ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Academic Content

In this chapter, I look at the relationship between games and assessment—and more broadly at what that tells us about the relationship between educational reform and technological change. Research already shows that with their ability to provide rich, complex, and compelling virtual worlds, well-designed computer games can teach players innovative and creative ways of thinking, deep understanding of complex academic content, and valuable forms of real-world skills. But, in the end, even effective games can only take students as far as the tests will let them go. If we want to use games to prepare young people for life in a changing world, we need to change how we think about assessment first. To address this challenge, in what follows I examine one way to think about assessing the development of innovative and creative thinking through game-play.

WHY PEOPLE JOIN VIRTUAL WORLDS OF COMPUTER GAMES? QUALITATIVE RESEARCH AMONGST POLISH USERS

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Hofman-Kohlmeyer
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Computer Games ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Target Market ◽  
The World ◽  
Game Environment ◽  
Game Developers ◽  
Depth Interviews

Introduction: When virtual worlds (e.g. Second Life or World of Warcraft) became immensely popular, with millions of active users around the world, real life companies started to utilize them for business purposes, such as testing new products or organizing various events. However, the activities of companies can only be successful if a sufficient number of players are engaged in virtual worlds. Objectives: The present paper is aimed to investigate individual players’ motives for joining virtual worlds of computer games. Methods: The author carried out 22 in-depth interviews amongst polish players (20 were finally accepted) of three virtual worlds: The Sims, Second Life and Euro Track Simulator 2. Interviews were carried out from August 21, 2018 to December 5, 2018. Results: Respondents most frequently mentioned consecutively: curiosity (caused by TV series, TV programme, newspaper or advertisement), interact with others, interest in the topic of a game, enjoyment from playing, opportunity to see or do things unattainable in real life, exploring the virtual world, spending free time. With reference to the gratification paradigm, individual motivations were divided into: experiential (16 motives), functional (6 motives), social (3 motives). From the perspective of marketing managers, understanding the motivations of players allows them to describe the target market of their promotional activities inside the game environment. For game developers, it can help attract new and maintain current users.

Avatar-Based Group Discussions in Virtual Worlds

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie Nussli ◽  
Kevin Oh
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Qualitative Inquiry ◽  
Discussion Groups ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Physical Presence ◽  
Communication Modalities

This article focuses on developing guidelines for the effective facilitation of avatar-based group discussions. This qualitative inquiry is guided by an investigation of (1) social affordances of avatar-based discussions, with an emphasis on social and physical presence, (2) strategies to help establish rapport with other avatars, and (3) the complexities of communication modalities (voice vs. text) in avatar-based discussions. The study also explores the benefits and challenges of participating in virtual discussions. The data originated from avatar-based discussion groups in Second Life moderated by expert hosts and co-hosts and were gathered through participant and non-participant observation. Guidelines for the effective moderation of avatar-based discussion groups are presented throughout the chapter, such as, creating a feeling of acceptance and non-judgment, communicating synchronously to support immediacy, demonstrating virtual sharing acts, using voice for humanized communication, showing social emotionality, and observing real-life social norms.

scholarly journals Organizational Gameplay: The Player as Designer of Character Organizations

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciano R. Coutinho ◽  
Victor M. Galvão ◽  
Antônio de Abreu Batista ◽  
Bruno Roberto S. Moraes ◽  
Márcio Regis M. Fraga
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Computer Games ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Artificial Agents ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Organizational Model ◽  
Agent Platform ◽  
Abstract Architecture ◽  
Modes Of Interaction ◽  
And Control

Looking at the ways in which players interact with computer games (thegameplays), we perceive predominance of character-centered and/or microcontrolled modes of interaction. Despite being well established, these gameplays tend to structure the games in terms of challenges to be fulfilled on an individual basis, or by thinking collectively but having to microcontrol several characters at the same time. From this observation, the paper presents a complementary gameplay in which the player is urged to face collective challenges by designingcharacter organizations. The basic idea is to make the player structure and control group of characters by definingorganizational specifications(i.e., definitions of roles, collective strategies, and social norms). During the game, commanded by the player, artificial agents are then instantiated to play the roles and to follow the strategies and norms as defined in the organizational specification. To turn the idea into practice, the paper proposes an abstract architecture comprising three components or layers. This architecture is materialized in a proof of concept prototype that combines the Minecraft game server, JADE agent platform, and MOISE+ organizational model. Variations and possibilities are discussed and the proposal is compared to related work in the literature.

scholarly journals Worldfulness, Role-enrichment & Moving Rituals: Design Ideas for CRPGs

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Champion
Keyword(s):  
Social Presence ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Computer Games ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Digital Games ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Role Playing Games ◽  
Traditional Cultures ◽  
Different Cultures ◽  
Design Ideas

Roles and rituals are essential for creating, situating and maintaining cultural practices. Computer Role-Playing games (CRPGs) and virtual online worlds that appear to simulate different cultures are well known and highly popular. So it might appear that the roles and rituals of traditional cultures are easily ported to computer games. However, I contend that the meaning behind worlds, rituals and roles are not fully explored in these digital games and virtual worlds and that more needs to be done in order to create worldfulness, moving rituals and role enrichment. I will provide examples from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and The ElderScrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda, 2006, 2011) to reveal some of the difficulties in creating digitally simulated social and cultural worlds, but I will also suggest some design ideas that could improve them in terms of cultural presence and social presence.

USING VIRTUAL WORLDS TO DEVELOP THINKING IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

2021 ◽  
pp. 60-62
Author(s):  
A. V. Filipov
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Computer Games ◽  
Computer Game ◽  
The World ◽  
Educational Computer ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Classical Means ◽  
Main Activity ◽  
Amount Of Knowledge ◽  
Educational Computer Game

During the first seven years of his life, the child receives a huge amount of knowledge about the world around him. The development of the child's thinking during this period and the results of his knowledge of the world around him affect the further educational activities of the preschooler. Thanks to the development of thinking, a child is able to imagine an image of an object and its properties in the absence of the object itself, based only on previously received information. In a child in the early and preschool years of life, game is the main activity for forming a personality. Didactic games facilitate the process of all-round development of children. Various tasks solved in didactic games are presented for children in an interesting and attractive form of activity. In a computer game, using simulation, it becomes possible to demonstrate objects and phenomena that are inaccessible to a child in the real world. The use of didactic computer games not only increases the preschooler's motivation to learn new material, but also contributes to the development of thinking. An educational computer game acts as a mentor for a child. However, the lack of communication with a living, and not virtual, mentor causes a negative effect both on the development of the child's speech and the formation of his communicative abilities. Therefore, a computer game cannot be perceived as a complete alternative to the classical means of teaching and educating preschoolers.

SOCIAL COMPUTER GAMES AS A MARKETING CHANNEL FOR CREATING AND MEETING VIRTUAL NEEDS. AN EXAMPLE OF SECOND LIFE

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 115-125
Author(s):  
Magdalena Hofman-Kohlmeyer
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Computer Games ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Marketing Channel ◽  
Purchase Behavior ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Target Market ◽  
Social Games ◽  
Purchase Behaviors

Internet development and demographic changes among users of computer games caused that the players became an attractive target market in the sale of products and consumer services. Inside the virtual worlds of games, especially in social games such as Second Life, products from various industries and brands are purchased. With the appearance of this phenomenon, scholars focused on understanding of virtual consumption and explore certain regularities and similarities in relation to purchase behavior in the real world. This article aims to present current knowledge in the field of a needs and purchase behaviors in the computer social games based on literature review. The directions of future research will be also presented.

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