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Sociable killers: understanding social relationships in an online first-person shooter game

Published: 19 March 2011 Publication History

Abstract

Online video games can be seen as medium for the formation and maintenance of social relationships. In this paper, we explore what social relationships mean under the context of online First-Person Shooter (FPS) games, how these relationships influence game experience, and how players manage them. We combine qualitative interview and quantitative game log data, and find that despite the gap between the non-persistent game world and potentially persistent social relationships, a diversity of social relationships emerge and they play a central role in the enjoyment of online FPS games. We report the forms, development, and impact of such relationships, and discuss our findings in light of design implications and comparison with other game genres.

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    cover image ACM Conferences
    CSCW '11: Proceedings of the ACM 2011 conference on Computer supported cooperative work
    March 2011
    764 pages
    ISBN:9781450305563
    DOI:10.1145/1958824
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    Published: 19 March 2011

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    1. first-person shooter games
    2. online games
    3. social relationship

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    March 19 - 23, 2011
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    • (2023)Social gamingComputers in Human Behavior10.1016/j.chb.2023.107851147:COnline publication date: 1-Oct-2023
    • (2021)#StayHome Playing LoL - Analyzing Players’ Activity and Social Bonds in League of Legends During Covid-19 LockdownsProceedings of the 16th International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games10.1145/3472538.3472551(1-12)Online publication date: 3-Aug-2021
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