Review Bomb

This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the phenomenon of review bomb, which occurs when an abnormally large amount of information is submitted to a rating system in a very short period of time by an overtly anonymous mass of accounts, with the overall goal of sabotaging the system's proper functioning. Because review bombs are frequently outbursts of social distress from gaming communities, gamification theories have proven useful for understanding the behavioral traits and conflict dynamics associated with such a phenomenon. A prominent case is analysed quantitatively. The methodology is discussed and proposed as a generalized framework for descriptive quantification of review bombs. As a result of the study, considerations for technological improvements in the collection of rating data in systems are proposed too.

Analisis Video Likes to Video Views Ratio Instagram Pada 7 Tim Esports Tersukses di Indonesia

Instagram was founded on October 6, 2010, by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger taken from the words instant and telegram. This merger means that Instagram is a social media that can display photos instantly and quickly. In Indonesia, the number of Instagram users until July 2021 is 91.77 million users. The largest users are in the 18-24 year age group, which is 36.4%. Instagram is the third most used social media platform, after YouTube and WhatsApp. The high number of active Instagram users in Indonesia makes Instagram not only a platform for delivering information. However, it has the potential to become a platform for the online game lover community in Indonesia, which has a fairly wide community. Currently, quite a lot of esports teams in Indonesia have Instagram accounts for online gaming communities, for example, the most successful esports team in Indonesia. The 7 Most Successful Esports Teams in Indonesia, including Onic Esports, PG. Barracx, Aerowolf, Bigetron Esports, Boom ID, RRQ, and Evos Esports. This study uses a quantitative exploratory method, which will calculate using the ratios on Instagram. The results of this study indicate that the RRQ esports team has better account credibility for Instagram account performance compared to other esports teams.

“THE CREATURE ITSELF IS NASTY, BUT NOTHING REALLY COMPARES TO THE BUILDING OF DREAD BEFORE YOU EVER GET TO IT”: ONLINE PLAYER AND DEVELOPER COMMENTARY ON FEMALE MONSTROSITY IN VIDEO GAMES

Gender representation in video games has long been a fraught topic of discussion within online gaming communities. In game scholarship, analysis of the usually harmful tropes and trends of female representation has resulted in countless studies demonstrating that video games are often a regressive medium in terms of representation, privileging heterosexual white male subjectivities and erasing, marginalizing, or even vilifying anyone outside of that specific demographic. These conversations and scholarly studies tend to focus on the representation of human women, especially as victimized damsels-in-distress. Considerably less work has been done to analyse the portrayal of villainous and monstrous nonhuman women in games, even though countless science fiction, fantasy, and horror games feature these kinds of characters. Many of these games utilize harmful tropes and design practices related to female villainy and monstrosity, thereby reinforcing misogynistic ideologies. With the understanding that gender representations in games can have deep cultural ramifications, especially as they intersect with representations of race, sexuality, queerness, body size, disability, mental illness, and age, this paper examines online player and developer discourse regarding female-coded monsters from a selection of commercially successful “AAA” video games. The intent of this project is to contribute to ongoing scholarship on monstrosity in games by looking at how developers explain and justify their design processes in online interviews and forum posts and how players/fans articulate their attitudes towards and reception of these monstrous creatures.

Les laboratoires des entreprises vidéoludiques installées au Québec et les partenariats avec l’université

Given the large production of video games in Quebec, the province has been able to develop an exceptional context of research partnerships between video game companies and university laboratories, each of which has developed an expertise specific to their field. In this article, the following question will first be asked: what kind of research is carried out in companies? The objective is not to make a systematic survey of the various forms of research carried out within all companies located in Quebec, but rather to identify the main realities experienced in gaming companies in order to answer a second question: what kind of research is not carried out those companies? The answer will be used to illustrate possible partnerships with researchers interested in gaming practices and in gaming communities, a research theme that is not often addressed by companies. Among the university gaming laboratories in Montreal, the example of the laboratory of the Université du Québec à Montréal will be briefly presented in order to situate researches that explicitly aims to understand identification, communication and social dynamics of gaming communities. The article concludes with an exposition of some of the future perspectives of research in this field, mainly related to the development of artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Exploring the learning potential of online gaming communities: An application of the Game Communities of Inquiry Scale

Online gaming is becoming increasingly social and interconnected. Millions of players learn from each other in game-related communities on platforms like Reddit and Twitch.tv. However, few studies have been conducted to examine socially constructed learning in such environments. The purpose of this study was to explore learning in game-related communities using the Game Community of Inquiry Scale (GCoIS). GCoIS is a validated instrument inspired by the community of inquiry framework and developed for measuring constructed learning in these outlets. Over 1000 participants completed an online questionnaire that included the GCoIS and additional variables (e.g. demographics, gaming habits, and gaming metacognition) for measuring possible associations. Results pointed to gender, age, online participation, and metacognition about gaming as significant predictors of GCoIS. Findings suggest that gaming communities can serve as opportunities for meaningful learning when novice members are welcomed and assisted by experts and support is given to older and female gamers.

Heroes and Hooligans: The Heterogeneity of Video Game Modders

Video games are hugely popular, generating more than twice the revenue of global movie and music industries combined. Whilst technically illegal and often carrying negative connotations, modding constitutes a moral grey area that is commonly accepted, often encouraged by proprietary owners and forum-centred gaming communities. Literature reflects a disparity between outsider and insider perceptions of modding, with a paucity of studies reflecting insider perspectives. Using Reddit forum data, this study contributes insight into perceptions of modding held by gamers and ‘modders’, as described in their words and their territory. Thematic analysis revealed four main themes relating to unfairness in the vendor community, modders as antagonists, differences between modders and modding as forms of self-defence. Conclusions include that modding appears to have both pro- and antisocial applications, but many people and organisations demonise modders as a homogeneous group, which may encourage antisocial behaviours.

Cyber-aggression towards women: Measurement and psychological predictors in gaming communities

Approximately 52% of young women report receiving threatening messages, sharing of their private photos by others without their consent, or sexual harassment online – examples of cyber-aggression towards women. A scale to measure endorsement of cyber-aggression towards women was developed to be inclusive of the many contemporary ways that women are targeted online. We examined sociopolitical ideologies (right-wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation) and perceived threats (based on the Dual Process Motivational Model of Ideology and Prejudice, as well as Integrated Threat Theory) as predictors of endorsement of cyber-aggression towards women in three studies (Pilot Study, n=46; Study 1, n=276; Study 2, n=6381). Study 1 and 2 participants were recruited from online video gaming communities; Study 2 comprised responses collected during or after a livestream of YouTubers doing the survey went viral. The YouTubers criticized feminism and alleged that female gamers had privilege in the gaming community. In all three studies, exploratory factor analyses suggested endorsement of cyber-aggression towards women is a unidimensional psychological construct and the scale demonstrated great internal reliability. In path analyses, social dominance orientation emerged as the most consistent predictor of endorsement of cyber-aggression towards women, mediated, in part, by perceived threats.

Reddit Gaming Communities During Times of Transition

We studied the Reddit communities for three game franchises at the time of a new release in each franchise to see what the members of the Reddit community for the now-older game would do in terms of their community involvement and membership. Specifically, we sought to determine if community members transitioned to the community for a new game, leaving behind their established community devoted to the now-older game. Our main finding was that most people did not move to the new community, but instead remained with their established community. We argue that nostalgia played an important role for community members, whom we frame as fans. Data came from Reddit communities for The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and the Civilization franchises, comprising data on over 10 million posts from five different year-long time periods, each centered on the release of a new game in each of those franchises.