Gamers are the obvious group. They are usually into both online and offline games and are all about pwning noobs. I'm a fairly competitive person, so I understand the pwnage ideal and desire. I could, at least, identify with Anda simply killing the noobs because of the sheer idea that they are pathetic. For the gamers I know, their online persona becomes a part of their offline world. For some, it's even become a sort of addiction that they simply cope with. Their fingers will practice killer key combinations while they're talking to you and there isn't a game in sight. This group is the more high-end and demanding group. They are the next step to the MTV generation who want instant gratification and demand that instant gratification from whatever hardware and internet connection they happen to be on. Their WOW timings must be perfect in order for them to be having a good day because ultimate carnage is just a must have. These are also the people who have repeatedly told me that most of the VWs such as SL are boring because they are too clumsy and slow. Plus, you can't lay waste to people with such cool toys as BFGs.
The other group is the rest of us who are not plugged into carnage glorification and just have fun playing with our "slow" community. Most of the people I know who are in Second Life or some other VW are not at all interested into gaming and were not previously spending any time online except to chat with a few distant friends. It's an incredibly varied group of people and the numbers are growing at a decent rate.
The question in the end is will the numbers of people from the non-gamer community who are joining the VWs sustain it's self, or will the attrition give a boom-bust scenario? Will all of these people who are joining the VWs now continue to use the community as an outlet? How will the VWs keep their attention? The gaming community has no problem keeping the attention of the gamers because they are always coming out with more games. How will the VW keep the attention of the people who are currently being experimental and trying it out?
3 comments:
You also have to remember that there are more classifications of people beyond those two. For example, there are the people that use programs like second life to do nothing other than to make money by selling gold, items, and characters (like in the story). Sure there are the gamers that are die hard fighting fans, and there are gamers who use it for interaction purposes, but there are also a classification of people that use it for both purposes. So it is a little bit harder to classify people into groups based upon what they play for, since (like the people in the world) everyone is different. Thus people have different reasons to play.
Sure, I believe there must be more than 2 groups.
However, Brandon's post reminds me of the "Diffusion of Innovations" and "Uses and Gratifications". In terms of the new media development, there is always the discussion related to these two theories (or more). Here, I think Brandon has brought out a good thinking point (or say research question): Why these non-gamer go to the VW? What drives them to be in-world?
Take myself for example, I go on SL simply because of this class. It doesn't mean that I have no care about the new media, but I thought there is no in-world attraction for me. Even now, I'm still trying hard to find something I can do in the SL, something I'm interested in and would be willing to spend few hours with.
So, if these questions could be answered through some qualitative/quantitative research, that would be really helpful for further in-world development.
Don't you think so?
I agree with the first commenter in that there are more than just two categories. I find myself somewhere in between those two. I enjoy gaming a lot, and really get into them. Just recently have I discovered the joys of online gaming with other people. Though I don't make it my life as some people do. Those who spend hours each day leveling their characters in WoW or Everquest, or play for days without sleeping and consume enough caffeine to kill a horse. I enjoy being able to just pick up a game and be immersed in it, but also be able to drop it anytime if need be.
I think that's why I'm finding it difficult to get into Second Life. There seems to be no instant gratification. To really get anything out of SL, you have to spend lots of time making something to sell, or spending money to buy things (land, etc.). It really seems to be a virtual model of real life. For people like me, where games are an escape into a fantasy land, SL loses that aspect since the fantasy land is just a mock version of real life. I think once I get out of this mindset that SL is a game, I can begin to enjoy SL more.
-Brandon K
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