SOCIAL ROLES OF PLAYERS IN MMORPG GUILDS A social network analytic perspective

被引:32
作者
Ang, Chee Siang [1 ]
Zaphiris, Panayiotis [2 ]
机构
[1] Univ Kent, Sch Engn & Digital Arts, Canterbury CT2 7NZ, Kent, England
[2] Cyprus Univ Technol, Dept Multimedia & Graph Arts, Limassol, Cyprus
关键词
MMORPG; SNA; social roles; virtual community; AGREEMENT;
D O I
10.1080/13691180903266952
中图分类号
G2 [信息与知识传播];
学科分类号
05 ; 0503 ;
摘要
In this study, we investigated the social roles that emerged from the users' behaviour and interaction (as opposed to pre-defined formal roles) within a virtual community of massively multiplayer online role playing game. Adopting the social network analysis perspective, we identified and analysed three major social roles with distinct interaction styles and network properties. It was found that core members of the community were players who contributed to the community expansion by providing help and fostering group cohesiveness through friendly social interaction. On the other hand, some periphery members were freeloaders whose sole purpose of joining the guild was only to utilize the guild resource.
引用
收藏
页码:592 / 614
页数:23
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