Why Games? Use of Massively Multiplayer Online Games in English andBusiness CoursesinHigherEducation

The Phenomenological study investigated the perceptions of 4 Community College administrators and 2 faculty, who experienced for the first time, the process of curricular modification using Massively Multiplayer Online Games or MMOs in their Business and English programs. Since administrators and faculty are key stakeholders of any initiative for technology integration in curricular modification, the study contributed to filling the gap in the literature regarding such stakeholder perceptions and added new insights regarding easy and affordable ways to successfully and effectively integrate MMOs within the curriculum in Higher Education disciplines.

Massively Multiplayer Online Games and Well-Being: A Systematic Literature Review

Background: Massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) evolve online, whilst engaging large numbers of participants who play concurrently. Their online socialization component is a primary reason for their high popularity. Interestingly, the adverse effects of MMOs have attracted significant attention compared to their potential benefits.Methods: To address this deficit, employing PRISMA guidelines, this systematic review aimed to summarize empirical evidence regarding a range of interpersonal and intrapersonal MMO well-being outcomes for those older than 13.Results: Three databases identified 18 relevant English language studies, 13 quantitative, 4 qualitative and 1 mixed method published between January 2012 and August 2020. A narrative synthesis methodology was employed, whilst validated tools appraised risk of bias and study quality.Conclusions: A significant positive relationship between playing MMOs and social well-being was concluded, irrespective of one's age and/or their casual or immersed gaming patterns. This finding should be considered in the light of the limited: (a) game platforms investigated; (b) well-being constructs identified; and (c) research quality (i.e., modest). Nonetheless, conclusions are of relevance for game developers and health professionals, who should be cognizant of the significant MMOs-well-being association(s). Future research should focus on broadening the well-being constructs investigated, whilst enhancing the applied methodologies.

Server Allocation for Massively Multiplayer Online Cloud Games Using Evolutionary Optimization

In recent years, Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) are becoming popular, partially due to their sophisticated graphics and broad virtual world, and cloud gaming is demanded more than ever especially when entertaining with light and portable devices. This article considers the problem of server allocation for running MMOG on cloud, aiming to reduce the cost on cloud gaming service and meanwhile enhance the quality of service. The problem is formulated into minimizing an objective function involving the cost of server rental, the cost of data transfer and the network latency during the gaming time. A genetic algorithm is developed to solve the minimization problem for processing simultaneous server allocation for the players who log into the system at the same time while many existing players are playing the same game. Extensive experiments based on the player behavior in “World of Warcraft” are conducted to evaluate the proposed method and compare with the state-of-the-art as well. The experimental results show that the method gives a lower cost and a shorter network latency in most of the time.

Proposing a TAM-SDT-Based Model to Examine the User Acceptance of Massively Multiplayer Online Games

This study is focused on the massively multiplayer online games’ acceptance. In general, while specialized literature reveals that the online gaming industry has grown strongly in recent years, little evidence is identified on its user acceptance. In this manner, the present study is an attempt to fill this gap. Concretely, two aims are defined: (1) proposing an acceptance model to predict the continuance usage of massively multiplayer online games, and (2) knowing how this continuance usage encourages social well-being. The model proposed employing the structural equation modeling with partial least squares (PLS-SEM) methodology. This PLS-SEM model has been defined using a combination of the technology acceptance model (TAM) and the self-determination theory (SDT), comprising eight constructs: (1) autonomy and competence, (2) relatedness, (3) achievement and challenge, (4) flow experience, (5) perceived enjoyment, (6) social well-being, (7) perceived ease of use, and (8) continuance intention. The findings reveal that continuance intention impacts on social well-being. Moreover, the pivotal role of flow experience for continuance intention has been demonstrated. Additionally, continuance intention has been impacted by the perceived enjoyment, showing that it is a key construct for the acceptance of massively multiplayer online games. Thus, two contributions are highlighted. First, these results provide the gaming industry and software developer companies with considerations on gamers’ motivations in the online game design, in order to stimulate and incentivize its use. Second, the present study can be useful for academicians and practitioners to understand the online gamers’ emotions and well-being, showing some light over their psychology and mental health. Finally, limitations and future directions are exposed.

L2 Gamers' Use of Learning and Communication Strategies in Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOs)

The purpose of this chapter is twofold: (1) to review the benefits of digital game-based language learning (DGBLL), specifically massively multiplayer online games (MMOs), and (2) to present research investigating the design elements of MMOs that can be beneficial for second language acquisition (SLA). Data were gathered from volunteer ESL learners playing the MMO Guild Wars 2 over the course of four weeks. The findings from the research indicate that MMOs with design elements like Guild Wars 2 are beneficial to SLA primarily because they provide opportunities for interaction in the target language through participation in collaborative problem-solving gaming tasks. The results of the research presented in this chapter show (1) that the requirements of input and output for successful gaming allow for a type of interaction in which the focus on language form leads to modified-output, (2) that players have opportunities to negotiate input as a means of completing in-game tasks, and (3) that in-game tasks resemble well-designed classroom instructional tasks believed to be beneficial for SLA.