article

Computing, Social Activity, and Entertainment: A Field Study of a Game MUD

Authors:

Jack Muramatsu,

Mark S. AckermanAuthors Info & Claims

Computer Supported Cooperative Work, Volume 7, Issue 1-2

Pages 87 - 122

https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008636204963

Published: 01 January 1998 Publication History

Abstract

Are game and entertainment systems different than work-oriented systems? What drives the user‘s experience in a collaborative game? To answer these questions, we performed a participant-observation study of a combat MUD, a game similar to Dungeons and Dragons. Our interest is in how this social world is arranged and managed (rather than, for example, in how participants form or display individual identities). The study explores the social arrangements and activities that give meaning and structure to the participants. We found that conflict and cooperation were the dominant social activities on this MUD, much more so than sociability. The game‘s management played a critical function in maintaining and promoting these activities. Moreover, novelty and entertainment were important for the design of both the system features and the sociality itself.

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Computing, Social Activity, and Entertainment: A Field Study of a Game MUD

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Published In

cover image Computer Supported Cooperative Work

Computer Supported Cooperative Work Volume 7, Issue 1-2

Special issue on interaction and collaboration in MUDs

Jan.1, 1998

154 pages

ISSN:0925-9724

Editor:
Kjeld Schmidt
Technical Univ. of Denmark, Lyngby

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Copyright © Copyright © 1998 Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Publisher

Kluwer Academic Publishers

United States

Publication History

Published: 01 January 1998

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Freeman GWohn D(2018)Understanding eSports Team Formation and CoordinationComputer Supported Cooperative Work10.1007/s10606-017-9299-427:3-6(1019-1050)Online publication date: 1-Dec-2018
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