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Relationships in MMOGs

http://www.pnas.org/content/107/31/13636.full.pdf+html

In the introduction to the course, we learned about simple relationships between nodes, including positivity and negativity, and the balance of triadic relationships. We considered edges on a general level. For example, A and B are friends and have a positive relationship. However, we live in a complex world where advancements in technology have changed the way people interact in different networks. This paper looks at relationships on a deeper level, examining not just whether relationships are positive or negative, but also he behaviors exhibited by people in the relationships that contribute to their being positive or negative. Specifically, this paper focuses on networks that exist in an MMOG (massive multiplayer online game), thus applying theories to a more current medium.

For the purpose of analyzing and determining the type of relationships that existed between the participants of this experiment in an MMOG, these researchers needed to categorize the different behaviors of the participants in the game as positive or negative. They determined that acts of love, trading, cooperation, and friendship were positive, while enmity, punishment, and attacking were negative. The researchers found that the players who displayed positive behavior towards another player were reciprocated with positive behaviors from that player, free of any negative behaviors. Similarly, reciprocation was also found for negative behaviors in negative relationships.

The researchers also found that the balanced and unbalanced triads that we discussed in class existed in the MMOG. While the two types of balanced triads existed in bulk (a total of 65,848), there existed significantly fewer unbalanced triads (a total of 12,460). In line with our class discussion, the researchers explain in this paper that unbalanced relationships are a source of stress for the players. Therefore, players try to avoid unbalanced triads and reevaluate existing relationships to suspend their involvement in unbalanced triads.

While the researchers in this study categorized behaviors as positive or negative, they acknowledged that the relationships between the participants were more complex and multi-dimensional, often including both positive and negative aspects. In order to assess the multi-dimensionality of the relationships between players, the researchers analyzed the frequency of different types of behaviors from each participant in their relationships. For example, the researcher found that there was a high correlation between communicating with other participants and attacking or being attacked by other participants. They found that, in this game, players often identified themselves as the attacker when they were doing an attack, suggesting that the attack was not random and was a product of the relationship between those participants. They also found that players that communicated with more players had a tendency to be attacked more often. The researchers cross-examined many other interactions in order to better understand the behaviors specific to this MMOG.

While it is true that this paper examines many of the topics we have discussed in class in the context of new technological developments, MMOG’s provide players with a great deal of anonymity, due to features such as usernames and avatars, allowing them to feel less inhibited as they make their behavioral choices. However, online communities exist where this anonymity is less prevalent (e.g., Facebook), and I think it would be interesting to compare these results with an examination of a less anonymous online network.

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