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Addiction in Players or Massively Multiplayer Online Games? Investigation of Online Game Players' Excessive Gaming Experience
[journal article]
Abstract With the popularity of online games, the overuse of these games has raised concerns. The literature has mainly conceptualized players' psychosocial characteristics as risk factors for game addiction. However, many studies have confirmed that game structural characteristics play a more important role... view more
With the popularity of online games, the overuse of these games has raised concerns. The literature has mainly conceptualized players' psychosocial characteristics as risk factors for game addiction. However, many studies have confirmed that game structural characteristics play a more important role in players' experience. Similarly, this research investigates how interactive affordances of World of Warcraft motivate players to play the game excessively. We have used two qualitative methods of Think-aloud protocol and in-depth interviews with World of Warcraft players. We recruited 35 World of Warcraft players from Singapore Nanyang Technological University in May 2021. Twenty of them participated in the in-depth interview and 15 of them participated in Think-aloud protocol sessions. We found that strong social ties in persistent groups encourage excessive gaming and causes sleep deficits, bad eating habit and ignoring real-life duties. Intra-group competition for outperformance encourages excessive gaming because players receive powerful items if they spend more time on gaming. Rewards and contingent tasks that are designed in games to encourage playing the game with time encourage players to play the game excessively. Finally, after explaining about gaps in knowledge, we discuss how our findings contribute to the literature. Implications for future research and insights to game addicts are provided.... view less
Keywords
playing; computer game; online service; Internet; addiction; interactive media; psychosocial factors; social relations
Classification
Applied Psychology
Interactive, electronic Media
Free Keywords
game addiction; interactive affordances; massively multiplayer online games; online game players' excessive gaming experience
Document language
English
Publication Year
2021
Page/Pages
p. 115-136
Journal
Journal of Cyberspace Studies, 5 (2021) 2
ISSN
2588-5502
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed