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A-brief-look-at-the-impact-of-role-play-games-on-social-networking
Here I intend to examine how role playing games, in particular online role playing games, alters the social networks formed by those who play them. I will look at older pen and paper role play games (RPGs) such as Dungeons and Dragons (DnD) as well as newer games based on computers, such as Might and Magic and World of Warcraft.
A role play game is any game where the players assume a role other from that which they occupy in normal life. It is usually marked by some sort of special and unrealistic characteristic, such as a capacity for magical spells or cybernetic implants, neither of which is regularly available in ordinary life. There are many varieties of role play game, but the most popular and well known are those that descend from Dungeons and Dragons, so these are the ones I will be concerned with here.
Dungeons and Dragons (DnD) is a game that almost everyone has heard of, although relatively few have played it, and belongs to a category of games known as pen and paper role play games because all that is required to play it is a pen and paper. It is the inspiration for such computer games as Might and Magic and Baldur’s Gate, as well as leading later to online play- the massively multiplayer online role play games (MMORPGs), which have grown increasingly popular and well known in recent years.
Pen and paper RPGs generally involve a small group of players, generally 4-7, gathering regularly to play. Because these games involve long term character progression, it makes it difficult to introduce new players to an ongoing campaign and so a group, once formed, rarely changes until it disbands. On the other hand, the close cooperation required of players in the game will serve to bring them closer together and form a strong sense of teamwork. This means that DnD players are usually much closer to each other then is usual for a group of friends, and so it can be very easy for one person to expand their network of contacts to include those of their friends. However, because at heart the purpose of the game remains playing out an entirely different character it is not unusual to find that it is used as a form of escapism, and the players prefer not to discuss their life outside. This serves to make them even more isolated because they build no contacts during the game, thus effectively wasting time that could have been used in another more inclusive hobby. In the end it depends on the characters of the players, and seems to have no impact other then to bring like-minded people together. So if the group is very social, it will greatly aid the expansion of their social networks. If it is introverted, then it will do nothing for them.
Computer games are an entirely different matter. Single player games such as Might and Magic may e dismissed out of hand, as they are no different then any other games and the impact of games as a whole is not under discussion. However, MMORPGs are a completely different matter. There are many forms of MMORPG, but without exception they allow or, more usually, encourage players to form player-run organisations. Usually called clans, or sometimes guilds, these organisations allow players to band together to aid each other and to compete with the other groups. Most of the players of these games use them as a form of escapism, fleeing from the drudgery of normal life to a place where their efforts are rewarded. In RPGs, everything you take visibly contributes to your growth as a player, and your status can instantly be seen by the items you use and your skills in combat. Once in the game, though, it is highly interactive and the anonymity provided by the internet encourages interaction on an equal level. It is easy to form friends, although such friendships are extremely fluid and liable to shift without warning. Clan members, however, usually form close bonds of mutual support, willingly lending a hand to another member or leaping to their defence.
Membership in a clan will sometimes extend into real life, but usually not as because of the anonymity of the internet it is impossible to know if someone you meet is a fellow player, much less in your clan, and in any case clans will encompass players from across the world. From a networking aspect, it is rare for one player to be introduced to another because there is usually no reason to although large numbers of players will be contacted in the course of normal interactions. So networks built will typically be very large, but extend to only a single level, and not apply to life outside the game.
So online games can provide a great aid to the formation of social networks, although these networks are usually quite distinct from those formed outside the internet. However, these two worlds will often overlap, as online and offline friends will be contacting the player with using the same email address or messaging account.
Pen and paper games have little effect on social networking, and are effectively no different then any other social club, but online games are something else. As more and more activities are carried out online, the dividing line between reality and cyberspace grows more diffuse and faded. So it should not appear unusual that networking is being carried along with the other activities into the online world. In conclusion, pen and paper games do nothing for networking that any other club does not, yet online role play games can have a tremendous impact enable a much larger pool of contacts to form within an entirely different society.
Written by Joshua Swanson, PHP programmer and sometime philosopher. You can read more of my stuff here, or check out my free MMORPG Qrealm
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