GGWP (Good Game, Well Played): friend or foe? Exploring social relationships in multiplayer online games

• Main Authors: Lim, Zi Qing, Qistina Fikriyah Binte Roslan
• Other Authors: Md Saidul Islam
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2023
• Subjects: Social sciences::Sociology::Social behavior
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/169328
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Multiplayer online games (MOGs) are a popular video game genre that facilitates social interactions, both negative and positive. They have been around since the 2000s and yet, have not been studied extensively through the lens of sociology. As such, this paper is an exploratory study to examine social interactions in popular multiplayer online games and how such games have affected the way players perceive and form social bonds in-game. This is done through the use of theoretical frameworks: Symbolic Interactionism and Theory of Practice. Using qualitative research methods, we employed content analysis and in-depth interviews to analyse the data collected. Our results determined that the MOG sphere has created environments for unique social relationships to occur through shared gaming norms and habituses. Hence, allowing for constant meaning reconstruction, as gaming culture is positively correlated to the ever-evolving social milieu. Thus, this paper provides a basis for further research on the social aspects of MOGs, especially with regards to amicable relationships, an area that is less explored compared to negative interactions between players.