Social Practices in Video Games and Their Influence on the Game Experience
Social Practices in Video Games and Their Influence on the Game Experience

Summary/Abstract: Video games have always been associated with a socialization function, implied by one of the player’s reasons of playing, the positive experience based on the interaction with the other players. They aim to be part of this eminently social world in which personal reputation is essential and they maintain the social interaction outside the games, as the games’ world offer them discution subjects and motivation to connect and relate. The specialty literature is scarce in what concerns the analysis of the way in which the players choose the clans or guilds to join for playing MMO’s (Massively Multiplayer Online games). In this context,the present research aims to understand, with the help of focus groups and in-depth interviews, how the playing experience is influenced by the players’social practices performed in relation with the game (inside and outside the game, before, during or after finalising a game session).

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