Doing It Again
Reading, Week 18
Doing It Again
Adam
Elder B00136577
Co-op
Multiplayer/Storylines In Gaming/How They Affect People
In
this chapter we will talk about the effect of co-op multiplayer and storylines on
the people of today.
Mental Health and Social Aspects of Co-op:
Social interaction in gaming was
something that I knew about but never really looked into ever. Social
interaction is important for everyone, for the company, and for mental health.
Doing something that you enjoy such as playing video games is great and doing
with others that have the same interests as you make it even better it's
because of this similar interest that people can form friendships. There
was a study that was conducted in 2017 by the 'Edge Hill University of York'
found that MMO engagement led to a stronger sense of social identity and
because of this they feel like their part of a society or a group this gives
people a stronger affiliation with their people and in turn, "gave higher
self-esteem and lowered levels of loneliness". To me, this is amazing and
shows how much gaming in multiplayer settings can affect people for the good. Gaming
with friends can also relieve stress or anxiety, having a bit of craic with
your friends can help with taking your mind off things, this definitely helped
me. Escape is one of the biggest aims of gaming so I feel like it would help a
lot of people too.
Online Leadership and Teamwork:
Gaming can provide a rich environment
for younger people to interact and build relationships. When people can work
together and succeed relationships or friendships are created. There can also
be conflict if the team performs poorly. But at the end of the day teams work
together and its through that teamwork they are learning and bouncing off of
each other. Conflict is a normal thing in teams and isn’t always a bad thing
players can learn to respect each other and build from that argument.
Communication is important, players voicing their side of the story or how they
feel about things in the team setting can lead to better communication or
having more open conversations. Being part of a team can do wonders for the
people in the team, it gives them a sense of belonging. Studies have shown that
people who are a part of a society or team have increased self-esteem, I
believe this is the case because they feel like they’re a part of something and
have found their people. Having a good leader is a game changer while having a
leader who doesn’t care about the team or anyone on it can lead to arguments
fights and the teams downfall.
Two Players in a Story:
Having a game with two players can be
really enjoyable and bring people together. There are now loads of Co-op games
that are based around a good multiplayer story. Multiplayer campaigns are good
because it takes you through a fun and cool experience with you and a friend,
it feels like you went through a journey where you both learn and feel like you
experienced something great. Statistics show that multiplayer games are more
popular than single player games in recent years I think this is mainly because
of the companionship that the two player story games give. When making or
playing a co-op story game that it's important for both players to have an
equal importance, this is so crucial for a two player story game and really the
make or break of the game, since one player isn’t getting engaged enough, they
will lose interest and it will start to feel like a single player game with
another player just being there. This goes with everything in the game for a
co-op story game to be effective both players should be important, they should
both be rewarded in game and how the game makes them feel, they should get
their own time with their character, this would be good for both players
experience because they have freedom with their own character and learn for
themselves as well as having the other player to share the game with.
Violence/Verbal abuse in Co-op Gaming:
Gaming has come on a lot in recent
years and with games offering a more immersive experience with the game relying
on the player to make more decisions impacts how the game is played. In an
article on “Good Violence, Bad Violence” it was stated that “Games can be
useful for encouraging ethical reflection in their players”. People like
Sicart, Gibson, Zagal and Flanagan all agreed that “games can sometimes
represent states of affairs as good or bad”. Some examples of games that
bring this moral value into light would be the grand theft auto franchise, in
this game players can choose to kill or not to kill, but at the end of the day
killing is necessary for making money and progressing through the game. Where
the choice comes in is killing for fun in GTA, where its not needed but the
player just wants to do it. This is an interesting line as players who do this
aren’t necessarily violent but for someone who doesn’t understand would think
the person is of poor morals. Competition in gaming. In many online
multiplayer games the player is taught to form strategy or skill to be better
than the other player and when one player is more skilful the other that means
that that player wins. Often times in multiplayer games players aren’t always
happy with the game, whether that’s the other players making them feel a
certain way or the way they are performing in the game itself. These situations
are known as raging, the morals of the person really determines how they react.
In many cases the person who is agitated verbally abuses the other player in
voice chat or people in the same home as them when playing local Co-op. Some
games that make people feel this way would be Call of Duty, Fortnite or any
other “Competitive” Multiplayer game I believe this is because there are higher
stakes. Its because of this players can get bullied or become bullies in these
online spaces.
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