Social Gaming

It was mentioned in the Monday lecture, that gaming is a completely antisocial activity. I agree that there are definitely antisocial gamers who spend large amounts of time on their own, but there are also people who spend the same amount of time on their own reading books or watching TV, which may also be considered antisocial.

There are also gamers who play for the purely social aspect of it. Gamers like myself like to go to an internet cafe several times a week with friends to play games such as Heroes of Newerth or Dota. These games are fast paced team games that involve a high degree of team work and conversation to ensure victory. It is not uncommon for people to be shouting at commands at each other or congratulating each other for a well played maneuver. The atmosphere is much like that of a sports field.

I agree that there are many gamers who are antisocial, but there are also many gamers out there who will game solely as a social activity.

James

Social Gaming (Not an Oxymoron)

The other day the point of Gaming as an Anti Social exercise was raised. As an avid gamer myself I decided to look at my own gaming habits and see how this related to me.

In this new tech culture it seems that everyone is connected to everyone else, wireless networks connect households to the greater Web and online community. My flat alone has 7 computers networked not to mention the Playstation and other gaming bits and bobs. We are constantly gaming together and it is in my experience that it brings us closer together as a small household, be it as entertainment, a source of friendly competition or a common ground for conversation.

Online gaming can be a social experience, sure there may not be the physical interaction but that is not to say there is no interaction at all.
First and foremost online gaming is a platform where instantly you are linked to others who have at the minimum, one common interest with yourself. As a stepping stone one can see gaming as a facilitator for new relationships.

For example I used to play World of Warcraft (WoW), which is categorized Massively Multiplayer Online game (MMO for short). I found myself using it not only for entertainment but to socialize, with in game chat I fount myself logging to have a chat and catch up with my Guild mates (a guild being like a player association working together for co-operative play) with the actual gaming being used as a background for this conversation. My flat mates can attest to me blabbering away into a headset talking bout the most ordinary of things and general banter in addition to game related talk. Even after quitting WoW I still regularly talk/chat to those friends I made whist gaming and regularly play other games with them.

I hardly think that games are anti social; in fact I consider games to be just another forum to meet people without the physical boarders that restrict us normally, as the Internet expands so does our interactions with the ever increasing pool of online gamers.