Online multiplayer games [electronic resource] / William Sims Bainbridge
- Author:
- Bainbridge, William Sims
- Published:
- San Rafael, Calif. (1537 Fourth Street, San Rafael, CA 94901 USA) : Morgan & Claypool Publishers, [2010]
- Copyright Date:
- ©2010
- Physical Description:
- 1 electronic text (viii, 105 pages : illustrations) : digital file
- Access Online:
- ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu
- Series:
- Synthesis lectures on information concepts, retrieval, and services, 1947-9468 ; # 13
- Restrictions on Access:
- Abstract freely available; full-text restricted to subscribers or individual document purchasers.
- Contents:
- 1. Introduction: 1.1. Types of online multiplayer games; 1.2. Preserving game history; 1.3. Intellectual approaches to games; 1.4. Research topic areas -- 2. Historical-cultural origins: 2.1. A Tale in the Desert; 2.2. Dark Age of Camelot; 2.3. Age of Conan; 2.4. Lord of the Rings online; 2.5. StarWars Galaxies -- 3. Technical constraints: 3.1. Latency; 3.2. Sharding; 3.3. Graphics -- 4. Rolecoding and social control: 4.1. Systems of rules; 4.2. Deviant behavior; 4.3. Game masters and mentors; 4.4. Legal regime -- 5. Personality and motivation: 5.1. Psychological theories and typologies; 5.2. Game-based theories; 5.3. Theoretical debates; 5.4. Non-player character personality -- 6. Avatars and characters: 6.1. Building a bond with an avatar; 6.2. The quality of avatar relationships; 6.3. Secondary avatars; 6.4. Facing the end -- 7. Virtual professions and economies: 7.1. Work in StarWars Galaxies; 7.2. Production in World of Warcraft; 7.3. Division of labor in professions -- 8. Social relations inside games: 8.1. Emergent social organization; 8.2. Examples of guilds; 8.3. Quantitative research on guilds -- 9. Implications for external society: 9.1. The online game penumbra; 9.2. What people learn in online games; 9.3. Research opportunities -- Bibliography -- Author's biography.
- Summary:
- This lecture introduces fundamental principles of online multiplayer games, primarily massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), suitable for students and faculty interested both in designing games and in doing research on them. The general focus is human-centered computing, which includes many human-computer interaction issues and emphasizes social computing, but also, looks at how the design of socio-economic interactions extends our traditional notions of computer programming to cover human beings as well as machines. In addition, it demonstrates a range of social science research methodologies, both quantitative and qualitative, that could be used by students for term papers, or by their professors for publications. In addition to drawing upon a rich literature about these games, this lecture is based on thousands of hours of first-hand research experience inside many classic examples, including World of Warcraft, The Matrix Online, Anarchy Online,Tabula Rasa, Entropia Universe, Dark Age of Camelot, Age of Conan, Lord of the Rings Online, Tale in the Desert, EVE Online, Star Wars Galaxies, Pirates of the Burning Sea, and the non-game virtual world Second Life. Among the topics covered are historical-cultural origins of leading games, technical constraints that shape the experience, rolecoding and social control, player personality and motivation, relationships with avatars and characters, virtual professions and economies, social relations inside games, and the implications for the external society.
- Subject(s):
- ISBN:
- 9781608451432 (electronic bk.)
9781608451425 (pbk.) - Related Titles:
- Synthesis digital library of engineering and computer science
- Note:
- Part of: Synthesis digital library of engineering and computer science.
Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on January 11, 2010).
Series from website. - Bibliography Note:
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 91-104).
- Other Forms:
- Also available in print.
- Technical Details:
- Mode of access: World Wide Web.
System requirements: Adobe Acrobat reader. - Indexed By:
- Compendex
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