Player Guild Dynamics and Evolution in Massively Multiplayer Online Games

Abstract

In the latest versions of massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs), developers have purposefully made guilds part of game environments. Guilds represent a powerful method for giving players a sense of online community, but there is little quantitative data on guild dynamics. To address this topic, we took advantage of a feature found in one of today's most popular MMOGs (World of Warcraft) to collect in-game data: user interfaces that players can modify and refine. In addition to collecting data on in-game player activities, we used this feature to observe and investigate how players join and leave guilds. Data were analyzed for the purpose of identifying factors that propel game-world guild dynamics and evolution. After collecting data for 641,805 avatars on 62 Taiwanese World of Warcraft game servers between February 10 and April 10, 2006, we created five guild type categories (small, large, elite, newbie, and unstable) that have different meanings in terms of in-game group dynamics. By viewing players as the most important resource affecting guild life cycles, it is possible to analyze game worlds as ecosystems consisting of evolving guilds and to study how guild life cycles reflect game world characteristics.

An exploratory study of the association between online gaming addiction and enjoyment motivations for playing massively multiplayer online role-playing games

“…Some of the areas of investigation have included gamer demographics (e.g. Griffiths, et al, 2003;2004;, online gaming addiction (e.g., Hussain, Griffiths & Baguley, 2012;Spekman, et al, 2013), within-game group formation (e.g., Chen, Sun, & Hsieh, 2008;Ducheneaut, Yee, Nickell, & Moore, 2006;Odrowska & Massar, 2014), and within-game social interaction (e.g., Cole & Griffiths, 2007;Hussain & Griffiths, 2008).…”

A social scientific framework for social systems in online video games: Building a better looking for raid loot system in World of Warcraft

“…Thus, players in a game where death has consequences will have an aversion to death, but a surprisingly large number of players will enjoy killing others, not because they are necessarily psychopaths or serial killers in real life, but because the consequences and costs of killing someone in a virtual world are not the same as the real world. Another example from World of Warcraft includes guild dynamics and life cycles, which Chen et al (2008) describe as an intersection of game design and player motivations -the game designer's focus on raiding features had an impact on guild ecology leading to large, mismanaged groups that cause instability in the player environment. In response to this unexpected user behavior, the designers created opportunities for smaller groups that align more closely with observed in-game guild dynamics.…”

Enhancing Information Systems Auditing Knowledge with Role-Playing Game: An Experimental Investigation

“…Finally, division of labour is hierarchical structure of activities among actors in accumulation and transmission of knowledge. Online game guilds have a hierarchical leadership structure that enables players to complete missions in groups (Chen et al, 2008;Jang and Ryu, 2010). …”