The Effect

On Academia

The popularity of MMORPGs has received great attention from psychologists, computer scientists, sociologists – all of whom want to study how this genre of online games has affected the people in their particular area of expertise.  MMORPGs emulate real-life social structures and relationships.  Human characteristics such as trustworthiness, selfishness, attraction, popularity and attraction are all important components of an MMORPG.  As a result, they add to the appeal of creating relationships in-game. Researchers, academics and people from all disciplines are very interested in understanding more about the social learning aspects from playing video games like MMORPGs.  It is interesting to observe how players use what they learn in game and apply it to their daily social lives. Moreover, it is fascinating to learn the similarities of applying learned social interactions from within the game to the outside world and real life. (Shi & Huang, 2004).

On Players

MMORPG is essentially a network of people from around the world or play in a collaborative environment.  They adopt social inter-networks and are able to meet a lot of new people.  They are able to find their new companions by a series of variety of resources: friend’s lists, communities and reputations. In addition, MMORPGs create meaningful relationships, emotional experiences, real-life leadership skills and social interaction like none other.  These virtual environments provide people with motivation to achieve and create social interactions.  Missions of players engage in these activities daily and appeal to all age groups.

On the Appeal of the Game

People who play MMORPGs often form clans or guilds to benefit from the combined efforts of multiple players and skills.  They work together, cooperate and help each other to accomplish tasks that would otherwise be unattainable.  There are many social constructs within this type of hierarchical system and players tend to take on leadership positions.  The guild can become extremely close and many tend to form close relationships.  As a result, it adds to the appeal of the game and people tend to play more and longer as a result. (Chen, 2005).

The act of playing online computer games has evolved into an interactive social experience.  In MMORPGs, hundreds of thousands of players converge online to participate in a myriad of social activities.   Contrary to popular belief, playing online computer games does not encourage solidarity, but rather fosters complicated networks of social relationships.  As a result, the interactions created in-game form online communities that possess hierarchical systems that include such social conventions as reputations.  Therefore, these experiences can greatly attribute to the appeal and permanence of the game. (Ducheneaut & Moore, 2004).