Game platforms and the evolution of cheating practices: An exploratory study

Consalvo, Mia; Vazquez, Irene Serrano

doi:10.1386/jgvw.7.1.3_1

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…The aim of this ''discourse analysis'' 32 was mainly to collect the leading ''conversations''-that is, the core debating topics 32 (pp. [28][29]. The first analytic labels for framing the textual content were gameplay-that is, game rules and practices-and esthetics-that is, the symbolic and representational system.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a consequence, online discourses, user-generated content (UGC), and performances hosted are influenced, as well as their impact on game perceptions and understandings. The concept of ''platform'' was already used in Game Studies, 26,27 yet it was not applied to current online platforms related to gaming nor empirical researches (for an exception, see Consalvo and Vazquez 28 ), and the focus was mainly on technical/hardware aspects. Conversely, in this article, the interplay between users' activities/performing practices and ludic features is under the spotlight with the support of visualization techniques.…”

Section: Visualizing Gaming Service Platformsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Enjoying death among gamers, viewers, and users: A network visualization of Dark Souls 3’s trends on Twitch.tv and Steam platforms

Gandolfi

2017

Information Visualization

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In current Game Research, gaming service platforms such as PlayStation Network, Steam, and Twitch.tv represent a still poorly investigated topic. Despite the millions of monthly viewers and members, little efforts have been done to shed light on their dynamics and trends. This article aims to address such a lack by presenting the findings of an empirical inquiry guided by the key concepts of “platform” and “actor–network theory” with the support of a novel network visualization technique. Specifically, the role-playing game Dark Souls 3–related activity on Steam and Twitch.tv was collected for the first 20 days from the release (12 April–1 May 2016). Targeted data concerned several variables among which: most viewed streamers, streaming types, debating topics and reviews’ highlights on Steam (etc.) through screenshots, user-generated content, and text gathering. Data were processed and then visualized with the network-oriented software Gephi for uncovering associations and patterns in the targeted online environments. The action game The Division worked as an exploratory case study and counter-example for stressing the proposal. Although with some limitations, the visualization strategy adopted (four networks for each platform) proved to be effective in framing and communicating the results in a straightforward way. Finally, findings enlightened a phenomenon (i.e. gaming service platforms), that is, getting increasingly central in digital entertainment, and might inform further investigations with alternative designs and focuses.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Visualizing Gaming Service Platformsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enjoying death among gamers, viewers, and users: A network visualization of Dark Souls 3’s trends on Twitch.tv and Steam platforms

Gandolfi

2017

Information Visualization

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“…Factors from the monetary to the social make the distribution of loot a high-stakes and difficult to administer social dilemma (Debeauvais, Nardi, Lopes, Yee, & Ducheneaut, 2012; Friedline & Collister, 2012; Livingston, Gutwin, Mandryk, & Birk, 2014). Furthermore, “cheating” is endemic (Consalvo & Vazquez, 2015): the nature of valuable loot items is such that no player can be prevented from stealing them as soon as they drop, and the stolen item immediately becomes “bound” to its owner in a way that that player couldn’t give it to another even if they wanted to.…”

Section: The Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Emergent Cultural Differences in Online Communities’ Norms of Fairness

Strimling

Frey

2018

Games and Culture

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Unpredictable social dynamics can dominate social outcomes even in carefully designed societies like online multiplayer games. According to theories from economic game theory and evolutionary anthropology, communities that are otherwise identical can spontaneously develop emergent cultural differences. We demonstrate the emergence of norm diversity in comparable populations distributed across identical copies of a single multiplayer game world. We use 2006 data from several servers of World of Warcraft to analyze how social contracts about resource distribution converge within independent communities, while varying across them. We find wide-ranging diversity in the norms that communities consider standard, fair, and common, even where these norms are unenforcable and players face large incentives to deviate from them. By documenting how designed societies come to differ in undesigned ways, we present emergent cultural diversity as a distinguishing feature of human sociality and a major challenge for game designers.

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“…In such dynamics, which are socially grounded, online communities and environments are playing an increasingly important role. In-game violence (and playing itself) is more and more debated and consumed aside from the game (Gandolfi, 2018;Consalvo & Vazquez, 2015;Muriel & Crawford, 2018). Portals like YouTube, Reddit, Twitch.tv, and Discord are environments where individuals share in-game materials, discuss strategies and ideas, and strengthen connections and relations.…”

Section: For An Alternative Violencementioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond Evil and Good in Online Gaming. An Analysis of Violence in ‘Overwatch’ Between Demonization and Proactive Values

Gandolfi

Antonacci

2020

JVWR

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Many studies have addressed and explored the effects of video games with an emphasis on violence and aggressive behaviors. This article’s aim is to go beyond the simplistic difference between negative outcomes and their absence by suggesting the concept of “meaningful violence.” For exploring possible instances of such a phenomenon, a content analysis (Gee, 2012) of online materials (online comments, user-generated content) from leading gaming media environments (Reddit, YouTube) was directed targeting the popular video game Overwatch. The theoretical framework adopted drawn its cornerstones from Educational Sciences, Philosophy, and Media Studies, spanning key concepts such as “symbolic imaginary” (Durand, 1999, Wunenburger, 1995) and phenomenological-hermeneutic analysis (Gadamer, 2004). Results point to an alternative overview of gaming violence, which puts in-game aggressiveness and sacrifice in a new light beyond counter-posed viewpoints. Implications are noteworthy for both researchers and practitioners, who can harness positive and proactive processes behind apparently negative attitudes and superficial measurements of explicit content and disruptive actions.

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Game platforms and the evolution of cheating practices: An exploratory study

Cited by 5 publications

References 8 publications

Enjoying death among gamers, viewers, and users: A network visualization of Dark Souls 3’s trends on Twitch.tv and Steam platforms

Enjoying death among gamers, viewers, and users: A network visualization of Dark Souls 3’s trends on Twitch.tv and Steam platforms

Emergent Cultural Differences in Online Communities’ Norms of Fairness

Beyond Evil and Good in Online Gaming. An Analysis of Violence in ‘Overwatch’ Between Demonization and Proactive Values

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