scholarly journals White Man’s Virtual World: A Systematic Content Analysis of Gender and Race in Massively Multiplayer Online Games

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Franklin Waddell ◽  
James D. Ivory ◽  
Rommelyn Conde ◽  
Courtney Long ◽  
Rachel McDonnell
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Social Reality ◽  
Online Game ◽  
Gender And Race ◽  
Massively Multiplayer Online Game ◽  
Content Analyses ◽  
Character Portrayals ◽  
Massively Multiplayer

Based on previous research indicating that character portrayals in video games and other media can influence users’ perceptions of social reality, systematic content analyses have examined demographic trends in the way video game characters are portrayed. Although these studies have extensively documented character portrayals in traditional console and computer video games, there is a lack of content analyses examining character portrayals in the very popular massively multiplayer online game (MMO) genre. Such studies are needed because many characters in MMOs are customized avatars created by users, which may lead to different trends in character demographics. This content analysis examined representations of gender and race among 417 unique characters appearing 1,356 times in 20 hours of recorded content from four popular commercial MMOs, which was generated by five recruited users. Characters tended to be disproportionately male and white, with females and racial minorities appearing much less often. Implications for potential effects on users’ perceptions of social reality are discussed.

Player experiences in a massively multiplayer online game: A diary study of performance, motivation, and social interaction

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (11) ◽  
pp. 4056-4073 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse Fox ◽  
Michael Gilbert ◽  
Wai Yen Tang
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Online Game ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Massively Multiplayer Online Game ◽  
Diary Methods ◽  
Multiplayer Online Game ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Player Experiences ◽  
Massively Multiplayer

Video game researchers have struggled to capture players’ personal experiences in natural gaming contexts. We used longitudinal diary methods to examine the everyday experiences of new and experienced players within a massively multiplayer online game, Team Fortress 2. Participants ( N = 38) completed diaries about gameplay and negative social interactions such as trash-talking and harassment. Themes included frustrating play and performance as motivator, as well as six themes regarding social interaction: skill disparagement, fairweather friends, toxic masculinity, vicious cycles, “kicking” players, and reporting differences. Some findings supported existing research; others challenge previous research using other methods. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using diary methods in video game research.

scholarly journals Harsh Words and Deeds: Systematic Content Analyses of Offensive* User Behavior in the Virtual Environments of Online First-Person Shooter Games

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrienne Holz Ivory ◽  
James D. Ivory ◽  
Winston Wu ◽  
Anthony M. Limperos ◽  
Nathaniel Andrew ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Online Games ◽  
User Generated Content ◽  
First Person ◽  
Online Game ◽  
Full Spectrum ◽  
Content Analyses ◽  
First Person Shooter

While the virtual environments of online games can foster healthy relationships and strong communities, some online games are also marred by antisocial and offensive behavior. Such behavior, even when relatively rare, influences the interactions and relationships of users in online communities. Thus, understanding the prevalence and nature of antisocial and offensive behaviors in online games is an important step toward understanding the full spectrum of healthy and unhealthy interactions and relationships in virtual environments. Extensive research has explored video game content produced by game developers, such as violence, profanity, and sexualized portrayals, but much less research has systematically examined potentially problematic content produced by players in online games. While potential effects of antisocial and offensive online game content are not well understood, a first step toward exploring this concern is systematic documentation of offensive user-generated content in online games. To that end, two large-scale content analyses measured a range of offensive user-generated content, including utterances, text, and images, from a total of more than 2,500 users in popular first-person shooter video games. Findings indicated that some content, such as profanity, was frequent among users who spoke during games. More offensive and potentially harmful content, such as racial slurs, was proportionally very rare, but frequent enough to be encountered often by regular players. Results of this initial investigation should be interpreted tentatively, do not suggest that relationships in online shooter games lack healthy elements, and should not be generalized to other online game communities until further research is conducted.* Note: This paper contains strong language which may be offensive to some readers.

scholarly journals Enrolling Heterogeneous Partners in Video Game Preservation

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhiannon Bettivia
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Video Games ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Advisory Board ◽  
Library Services ◽  
Heritage Preservation ◽  
Digital Objects ◽  
Game Developers ◽  
Cultural Heritage Preservation

This article extends previous work known as Preserving Virtual Worlds II (PVWII), funded through a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The author draws on interview data collected from video game developers, content analysis of several long-running video game series, as well as the project’s advisory board and researcher reports. This paper exposes two fundamental challenges in creating metrics and specifications for the preservation of virtual worlds; namely, that there is no one type of user or designated video game stakeholder community, and that significant properties of games cannot always be located in code or platform. The PVWII data serve to explain why existing ideas about preservation of video games are inadequate when games are treated as digital cultural heritage. Preservation specialists need to bind nebulous and dynamic digital objects, a process that is necessary while inherently artificial.  

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