Social Spaces

1. Social Spaces or How Players Play Games

2. Types of Play Space Non-Players • Salen & Zimmerman (2003) talk about the ‘magic circle’ • Inside the magic circle, the rules of the game apply • Outside it, normal social conventions apply • Consider this idea in the following game of tig/tag Players Game of tig/tag. What ‘rules’ and ‘conventions’ do the players agree to play by?

3. What could happen when those inside the circle (who have agreed to the conventions of the game) meet those outside the circle (who have not)? Players Non-Player

4. Computer Games and the Magic Circle • Who is where in relation to the magic circle in these images?

5. What the mother sees The child The rest of the world

6. What the mother doesn’t see

7. Multiplayer Gaming • Multiplayer Games can be online or offline • They can be co-operative or competitive (or involve elements of both) • One figure puts the total number of people who play any kind of computer or console game at 4.7 billion worldwide [source=wikianswers] • In 2008, there were 1.5 billion unique registered user accounts for online games (or games with online capacity) [source: T=Machine]

8. Online Multiplayer Gaming • Watch the following video about a boy whose parents have just cancelled his World of Warcraftaccount (without which he can no longer play the game) • Why do you think they might have cancelled the account? • Why do you think he reacts in the way he does?

9. One Possible Answer • A MySpace study asked social networking users between the ages of 14 and 21 (aka "Generation Y") questions about their interactions both on social networks and in their real life, too. Some 36% of the respondents said they found it easier to talk about themselves online than in the real world... This group also felt that their online friends knew more about them, and so, in a sense, were closer than offline friends because they all knew what was going on in each other's lives.

10. One Possible Answer • Outside of the social networking sites, the survey respondents overwhelmingly felt ill-at-ease in social groups. A whopping 72% said they felt "left out" and didn't think they fit into any particular group. More than four-fifths (82%) said they moved between four or more different groups of friends in an effort to find acceptance.

11. Offline Multiplayer Gaming • ‘Almost 60 % of frequent gamers play with friends, 33% play with siblings and 25% play with spouses or parents.’ [source: The Video Game Revolution]

12. Advantages to Offline Gaming • Solo Player, working alone to complete the game: stereotype of the ‘Hardcore’ Gamer • Action takes place on the screen: in the world of the game • Very little interaction between player and real world. • Multiple players, working co-operatively or competitively • Action takes place on the screen, but also between players in the play space • More obviously social

13. Summary • Players agree to a different set of rules within the ‘magic circle’ • Social Spaces can be ‘on-screen’ (like World of Warcraft) or ‘off-screen’ (like Wii Sports Resort) • Some players value their online social groups more than their ‘real world’ social groups • How do your experiences of playing WSR fit in with these ideas?