UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES-DILIMAN

P2P: Player to Player

A Study About Video Game Player Interactions
Igal Jada San Andres Anthropology 161: Introduction to Folklore

This research paper is about video game players interactions both in online and offline settings and what these interactions say about them and the world they inhabit. Page 1 of 16

INTRODUCTION I guess I could say that I grew up with video games. As a child, my sister and I would often go to our cousins house to watch him play on his PlayStation 1. Occasionally, he would let us play too. Multi-player games like Marvel vs. Capcom, Resident Evil, Monster Rancher, Bloody Roar, and Spyro the Dragon were some of the titles we played with him. Then, as time passed, we moved on to computer-based games such as The Sims and Battle Realms. Often, we would get scolded by our parents for staying up too late at our cousins. But we could not help it, really. Playing games, especially when played with someone you know and trust, is an enjoyable way to pass the time. Now, I still play the same video games on my laptop The Sims and Battle Realms. Other game titles like Ace Attorney, 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors, Professor Layton, and the Pokmon games for the Nintendo consoles also came to be part of the roster. Other notso-famous titles like Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, Recettear: An Item Shops Tale, and Style Savvy are also some of the games that I play. I suppose it was this love for games that drove me to choose this particular topic. Similar to what was said in this class, my Communication Research professor told us to do research on subjects that interest us, regardless of other factors. That being said, I have been for some time now in contact with some video game players online. Truth be told, that is where I usually spend my time these days because I find that I am able to find a better sense of belonging online. Because of that, I thought it would be interesting to apply what I have learned in this Anthropology class and delve deeper into the world of player interactions. Another contributing factor is my recent interest in one particular branch of communication research: fan studies (a.k.a the academic fan or acafan, for short). Video game studies comprise a

part of said research realm. As said above, having been part of multiple fandoms for some time, I am interested in learning more about how fans communicate their ideas to each other and how their actions in the fan community impact the world around them. As such, since my criteria for choosing are purely for interest purposes, I hope that through this study I would be able to learn more about why gamers interact and what this says about how they see the world.

PROFILING THE GAMER To gain respondents for this research paper, I advertised on the social networking website Tumblr about my need for respondents [1][2]. Thirty-two individuals from all over the world initially volunteered for the project but only 24 completed the questionnaire. The profiles of the 8 who failed to answer were not included in the final list 3. The mean age of the respondents is 17.79. There were 17 females and 7 males for this study. Questionnaires were sent to the respondents via the submission box feature of Tumblr. Eighteen of them used the same website to send their answers, while five others used e-mail. The list of questions is as follows: 1. Where do you interact4 with other video game players? (Online, via a gaming community or a social network site? Offline, e.g. your circle of friends, video game club, etc.) 2. Why do you interact with other video game players?

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http://wiseavenger.tumblr.com/post/18881516029/hi-im-doing-a-research-paper-about-video-game-players http://askyoungfran.tumblr.com/post/19472295771/i-hope-you-can-forgive-me-for-this 3 See Appendix I 4 In the questionnaire, the term interaction was not given a specific definition, and the respondents were free to infuse their own meaning. Although the term would generally be ascribed to conversations, more and more companies have made it possible for player interaction to go beyond the usual text-based chat. X-Box Live, for example, is a feature of the X-Box 360 that connects players all over the world through the Internet. Players can then compete against other players (especially for games under the Fighting genre like Marvel vs. Capcom 3), view statistics and achievements, add friends, form parties, etcetera.

3. What are your usual topics of conversation? 4. What kinds of stories do you exchange with each other? 5. When you tell another video game player about your gaming experience, what details do you include? 6. Do you suggest games for other players to play? If your answer is yes, how do you go about doing it? What details do you include? 7. Do you give hints, locations of Easter eggs5, etc., to those who are playing a game you have played before? Why, or why not? 8. Do you blog about a game before, during, and after playing it? If your answer is yes what details do you include in your post? If your answer is no, why not? 9. Do you read about other peoples video game experiences? Why, or why not? 10. In your opinion, how important do you think it is to interact with other players? 11. Is there a particular video game player you look up to? If your answer is yes, who is it and why do you look up to him/her? 12. Do I have your permission to quote from your blog posts (if any) about your gaming experiences? 13. Would you prefer to remain anonymous in the study? Along with the questions above, respondents were also asked about their favorite games 6.

Easter eggs are intentionally hidden messages, events, glitches, or items that usually have no bearing on the actual game. Some examples are the bathing scene in Riviera: The Promised Land, the easter egg in Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor, and the ability to clone in some Pokmon games. 6 See Appendix II

THE GAMERS STORY Brian Taylor, in the July 2010 issue of GamePro, wrote: When recounting a games narrative, you have two tales to tell: the story of the game, and the story of playing the game. Inside and the outside.7 As the quote above states, players generally have two stories to tell, and these stories will be presented and then analyzed in the following section. Based on the interviews8, the respondents interact with other gamers both online and offline. The latter usually occurs around their circle of friends or family members. Some respondents, like Respondents 10 and 159, also attend video game conventions. The Internet, however, is a more frequent venue of interaction for most gamers. R-710 said: Usually on social networking sites, or if I'm playing a MMORPG11 I may interact with others there. I
don't usually have offline interactions except for probably one person. My friends aren't really into video games so most of my networking is online. The usual reasons for preference for online over offline interactions are because their offline friends are not interested in games, they have different tastes in games, or their timetables dont match. R-9 shared: There's one girl in my class who I'm friends with; she plays video games to an obsession level, like me. Although while we still like to talk, our tastes in games differ, (she's into more indie gaming, I prefer the mostly mainstream stuff) so it's not like we're gaming friends.

Meanwhile, R-22 said: I have a few college friends that are girl gamers too, so I'll talk between lessons or before lessons, but sadly my college's timetables are laid out in such a way

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Taylor, B. Playing Game Stories Some of the transcripts were edited for minor spelling errors, but otherwise, they will be presented as is. 9 From here on, respondents will be referred to as R-(respective respondent number). See Appendix 1 for respondent numbers. 10 Respondents will be referred to as R-(respective respondent number). See Appendix I for respondent numbers. 11 Massively multiplayer online role-playing game

that my gamer friends don't have free time when I do. So that doesn't happen as often as I would like it to be.
The usual venues for online interaction are Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, deviantArt, Youtube, X-Box Live, MSN, and Skype. Some respondents also go to gaming forums like IGN.com and GameFAQs. R-2 shared: Talking to others about games depends on what game it is. If its console/handheld games, I talk to friends about it in person, via Facebook, or over the phone. For online games such as Farmville or other flash-based games, a lot of the conversation takes place via wall posts from the games themselves.

Because most of the games they play only allow for one player (such as Ace Attorney and Pokmon), the stories they exchange with each other usually have something to do with the storyline and the characters. Tips on how to defeat certain bosses and levels are also shared. R-8 said: Usually we discuss about who are our favorite characters and why, and is there some special moments in the game that might have widened our horizons or made some other way a deep impression. As for providing hints and locations of Easter eggs, most respondents only divulge this information when asked or if their friends are stuck on a certain part of the game. R-5: Yeah, I give people hints/help when they need. This is usually if there is something I had trouble with myself, and I wanna help them with their experience so they dont go through the frustration I did. R-6: Only if they ask for it, otherwise it will spoil the fun. R-15: If a friend is struggling, Ill usually help them out but mainly I just enjoy watching people play badly.

R-18: Ill only give hints if someone asks, its not fair to the other person to give away what is fun about discovering a game by yourself!.. I feel like its akin to movies, you dont want someone to ruin any scenes or plot holes before youve seen the movie yourself. Meanwhile, strategies for future gameplay are often the topic of conversation for games under the Fighting genre. R-23 said: If its a fighting game, I almost always give tips to my friends who try to play against me in them. Among my circle of friends, Im considered the best at fighting games, so I try to help my friends get better at them by telling them what to look out for or how to do certain things. Although most of the respondents are more apt to share stories during and after playing, a few of them, like R-8, also often write about the experience before the actual play. Before Im playing it, I mostly whine about how the game is not coming on time (if I have ordered it) or how excited I am. It depends on what Im going to play. Posts done during gameplay are often reactions to certain parts of the game (e.g. making fun of in-game conversations or reactions about the games artwork). I liveblog12 about games that make me emotional, R-15 said. I have made many posts about how angry I am at the game, either because I cant do it or if I really dont like a character. I also quite frequently post about how sad games make me. Some of the respondents, though, do not practice sharing stories this way because they do not want to spoil those who have not played it yet, they cannot be bothered to do it, or they feel like their followers would not care about their game progress. Some, like R-23, do not have personal blogs, and therefore have no venue for writing about their gaming experiences.
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Liveblogging is blogging about something while doing it to show their progress for that certain activity. For example, some gamers liveblog about the game they are currently playing. Screenshots of certain scenes plus a short write-up or comment about said screenshots are often the content of liveblogs.

Post-game reactions and excitement for the next game (if it is a series) are often the topics covered by their blog posts. Jokes about certain characters in the games are also shared. Fanproduced media like fan art and fan fiction are also exchanged. Story-sharing is also an avenue to brag about achievements. R-1 said she shares whatever makes me seem like a good player! R-13, R-17, and R-22 also include how long it took them to finish a game, along with the achievements they gained. Suggestions for other games to play are also shared. Some gamers, especially with friends, also exchange stories about their everyday lives. R-9 shared: Since we're all from different parts of the world, we talk about where we're from, what we do, and just joke around, when we're just playing a game in the background together. Just because we're gaming friends, doesn't mean games all we talk about.

IMPORTANCE OF THE STORY The respondents were also asked how important interaction with other players is for them. Here are some of their answers: R-3: Coming from someone who doesnt interact much with other players, I wouldnt say its really important but its always nice to have people who share your interests and who knows you could always become friends. R-5: I think the interaction is half the fun. Either if it is a multiplayer game, or playing with a friend by my side in a single player game. It makes the experience way more enjoyable to have someone to discuss the game with. And as said, you can always find someone to help you/give you tips. R-7: I think it's pretty important, though not necessary to interact with others. I personally find that I enjoy games more if I play with others or if I can talk to someone about it, as there is a

sense of belonging to be had. There is also the fact that I wouldn't have played a whole lot of games that I own today if I hadn't discussed it with others or found out from other players. R-10: Its very important, of course. We should always share our gaming experiences, because gaming is not only for fun, sometimes we end up learning some life lessons, like in Ace Attorney for example. R-12: To me it is very important. Gaming is a big hobby of mine which I share with a close group of friends of mine. But apart from my own experience, I think without interaction, gaming loses half of its fun. R-14: When I was growing up, it was a lot more community based. No GameFAQs to help you get through that one puzzle, so you had to trust your friends. Now? Its still important, but not nearly as much as it used to be. R-20: I think it's important to be able to talk to other players about very emotional gaming experiences (seriously, my friends still talk about Altair's segments in Assassin's Creed Revelations) or ones with bleak or bittersweet endings (LA Noire and Red Dead Redemption), but I don't think it's necessary for very emotionless games like first-person shooters and racing games. I guess that it's kind of like a therapy- for many games, you often get very emotionally attached to characters - much like books and films, except that you are the character on some level, because you've actively influenced the plot and interacted with people in the world of the game. So I'm going to go for a very unhelpful 'it depends on the game' here. R-23: I could live without it. In an offline setting, Im fine with it and often see myself trash talking in a competitive setting. In an online setting, I almost never interact with others. Over Xbox Live, players are given the option to communicate via mic in multiplayer games or create parties where people can talk. I never use mic at all.

R-24: That pretty much depends on the game. Especially if it has multiplayer. Wi-Fi made it easier to connect with other gamers just so you can interact with them.

ANALYSIS Based on the respondents answers, the sharing of video game stories with other people have at least three functions: to give and receive help, to understand the game better, and to meet people who would understand them. For the first (and practical) function, sharing stories with other players to dish out tips gives a kind of mentoring feel in the community. Gamers who have a better grasp of the controls in Fighting games, for example, would be able to teach amateur players how to play better, especially since this kind of genre thrives on competition, especially if one is using the X-box Live feature for games like Marvel vs. Capcom 3. In the questionnaire, the respondents were asked if they looked up to any one gamer. Those who answered said that they looked up to players who were nice, give advice, and who finished a game they had difficulty playing. R-20 said: I have respect for players who can clear games that are incredibly difficult for me (urgh Prototype especially) very easily. On the other hand, R-5 shared that his friends come to me if there is a game they have trouble getting past a certain area. In this case, R-5 serves as a mentor to his friends who are having difficulties. These friends, in turn, may also share R-5s tips to their respective networks; in this scenario, they are no longer just students, but also mentors in themselves. Just like in the video games that they play, their status elevates from that of an apprentice to a master. Next, interaction with other players contributes to helping others understand the game better. Many of the respondents stated that they post about their reactions during and after playing video

games. Most of the time, other players comment on their posts and a lively discussion about ones favorite character, scene, weapon, etc., ensues (which sometimes turns into heated arguments). As an example, R-9 said, you might play Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and absolutely despise Lucrezia Borgia, because she really is just a bitch. But you might be able to see her from a different point of view when you meet a gamer whose favorite character in AC is Lucrezia. They might tell you that they sympathize with her because she was basically raped and abused by her family by a very young age, but still grew up to be a powerful woman who is actually quite badass, and they admire her triumph over adversity. So then this person's view on Lucrezia is different, since they've seen her in a different light, thanks to the other gamer. This function can also be seen in the exchange of fan art, fan fiction, and other fan-made media over the Internet. Good fan fiction writers who can delve into the mind of certain game characters can help improve a players appreciation of those characters. Role players and ask bloggers13 also fill this role. The proliferation of fan-made media in the Internet gives fans the chance to experience a game that they have long finished playing again. This serves as an extension of the gameplay experience. Interaction, in this vein, is not just about swapping techniques, strategies, and what-not but about enriching ones gaming experiences. Lastly, players are able to share a sense of belonging within the gaming community, especially in an online setting. Offline, where they are aware that no one would understand their

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Ask blogs are dedicated to one or more characters and their main function is to answer questions sent in by fans. It can be considered an off-shoot of role playing.

ravings about a certain game, they turn to the online gaming community for support. Some are even fortunate enough to be close friends with gamers like themselves. This is not a surprising find, since most studies conducted about computer-mediated communication point to the fact that some people find it easier to talk to other people online than offline. The Internet makes it easier for us to find others all over the world who share similar interests and who would actually like to talk about said interests. Also, the reduction of social context cues makes it easier for shy individuals to talk to other people 14. Thus, layers find acceptance in a community that understands and places great value on their interests. They feel comfortable disclosing information not just about games but also about themselves because of the feeling of belongingness. That being said, the online gaming community they belong in is not just a venue for sharing in-game and offline gaming experiences; it is also a social hub for its members.

CONCLUSION While some respondents do not consider interaction with other players to be important, the general consensus leans to the opposite. First and foremost, interactions with other gamers enable one to learn tips and discover new things about a game they are about to play, are playing, or finished playing. This gives the gaming community a sort of mentoring approach helping the newbies get the hang of the gaming activity. Also, player interaction, especially in an online setting, goes beyond just sharing stories about gaming experiences and tips and tricks. It has also become an avenue for making friends

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Brunet, P. and Schmidt, L. (2007)

and being understood. For most players, the world of the Internet serves as a reprieve from the harsh offline setting. It is where they find acceptance among people who share their interests. It also helps broaden a players insight about a certain game or character. Reading about other peoples inputs and insights about a certain topic helps them to appreciate that gaming environment better. It gives them a better perspective and, perhaps, also helps them to examine things more critically. Thus, the learning aspect of video games is not only limited to the in-game experiences (such as in games like Professor Layton and Hotel Dusk: Room 215), but also in the interactions with other players. Personally, though, doing this research paper has made me appreciate my conversations with other gamers online. I was able to see the things I usually took for granted like the times when my interactions with them surpassed the topics of games but also entered the realm of the personal. I suppose I can say that, for me as well, my online gaming family has evolved from a games-only relationship into a friendship that can equal (even surpass) offline ones.

REFERENCES Brunet, P. and Schmidt, L. (2007). Is shyness context specific? Relation between shyness and online self-disclosure with and without a live webcam in young adults. Journal of Research in Personality, 41 (6), 938-945. Taylor, B. (2010 July) Playing Game Stories. GamePro, pp. 22.

APPENDIX I This is a table of the respondents profiles. Some of them were not comfortable revealing certain information about themselves so those parts were labeled with - to honor their request.
Respondent Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Age 13 22 17 14 20 17 17 16 16 18 16 14 19 18 15 15 25 15 18 22 Sex F F F F M F F F F M M F F F F M F F F F M -

APPENDIX II This table shows a ranked list of the respondents favorite games. The games were arranged by series. For example, Street Fighter 4 would be included under Street Fighter, Ace Attorney Investigations under Ace Attorney, Pokmon Soul Silver under Pokmon, Rune Factory under Harvest Moon, etc. The genres were also included to indicate what kinds of games the respondents enjoy. Majority of the games listed are played singly. Fighting games can be played in both singleand multi-player modes.
Game (by series) Ace Attorney Pokmon The Legend of Zelda Professor Layton Final Fantasy Mario games Assassins Creed Chrono Trigger Mega Man Okami Sonic Animal Crossing Dragon Quest Fire Emblem Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective Harvest Moon (including Rune Factory) Kingdom Hearts Kyle Hyde series Marvel vs. Capcom Portal Resident Evil Street Fighter 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors Ace Combat Batman Number of favorites 20 11 6 6 5 4 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 Genre Adventure Role-playing game (RPG) Action, Adventure, RPG Puzzle, Adventure Fantasy, RPG Platform Action, Adventure, Open World, Stealth RPG Action, Platform Action, Adventure Platform Life Simulation RPG Strategy, RPG Adventure Simulation, RPG Action, RPG Adventure Fighting Puzzle-platform Survival horror Fighting Adventure, Thriller Arcade Action, Adventure

Catherine Dead or Alive Devil Survivor God of War Gregory Horror Show Halo Kirby L.A. Noire Metal Gear Solid Persona Pikmin Radiant Historia Rhythm Heaven Skyrim SoulCalibur Tales (series) Tekken The King of Fighters Tokimeki Memorial Trace Memory Trauma Center

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Puzzle-platform, Survival horror, Adventure Fighting Tactical role-playing Action, Adventure Survival horror First-person shooter Fantasy, Platform Open World, Third-person shooter, Action, Adventure, Neo Noir Stealth, Action RPG Real-time strategy RPG Rhythm Action, RPG, Open World Fighting Fantasy, RPG Fighting Fighting Dating simulation Adventure Simulation, Visual novel