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Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked


Mark E

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That was a nice find, Mark. I particularly like the cites. I thought this one was interesting and articulated some of my experiences very well:

 

7. Video game play is socially isolating.

 

Much video game play is social. Almost 60 percent of frequent gamers play with friends. Thirty-three percent play with siblings and 25 percent play with spouses or parents. Even games designed for single players are often played socially, with one person giving advice to another holding a joystick. A growing number of games are designed for multiple players ? for either cooperative play in the same space or online play with distributed players. Sociologist Talmadge Wright has logged many hours observing online communities interact with and react to violent video games, concluding that meta-gaming (conversation about game content) provides a context for thinking about rules and rule-breaking. In this way there are really two games taking place simultaneously: one, the explicit conflict and combat on the screen; the other, the implicit cooperation and comradeship between the players. Two players may be fighting to death on screen and growing closer as friends off screen. Social expectations are reaffirmed through the social contract governing play, even as they are symbolically cast aside within the transgressive fantasies represented onscreen.

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Originally posted by Big Daddy Bling Bling@Oct 26 2004, 05:44 PM

Social expectations are reaffirmed through the social contract governing play, even as they are symbolically cast aside within the transgressive fantasies represented onscreen.

 

Wow. This guy is a tad bit overanalytical.

I don't think so. The source is a sociologist named Talmadge Wright. It's his job to analyze social groups and I suspect that he wouldn't be well-regarded if he said something along the lines of "games are neat."

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