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GAMING 101
Project Massive's A. Fleming Seay Schools us on the Science of MMOs
A. Fleming Seay knows what you're thinking.
Not because he's psychic; rather, as the result of Project Massive (www.projectmassive.com), a thus-far three-year study dedicated to tracking the behavioral and social impact of massively multiplayer gaming on the average citizen.
A PhD student at Carnegie Mellon University's Human-Computer Interaction Institute, he's previously conducted three waves of surveys polling the online community to track its desires, habits, wants and needs. While over 4000 people have contributed data so far, the Wave 4 feedback form is currently online and guaranteed to attract even more. Stop by and sign up today.
But first, check out our exclusive interview with the mastermind behind the undertaking, who shares his insights on the ever-changing world of MMO enthusiasts:
LQGaming Services:: Why, of all things to study, choose to focus on massively multiplayer online gaming trends?
A. Fleming Seay: My interest is primarily driven by a belief that multi-person experiences are the future of interactive entertainment and a desire to participate in the creation of that future. Project Massive has given me the opportunity to learn quite a bit about the current market; who plays, why, how they communicate, etc. I've also been able to look at issues like the operation of player organizations and the effects of play on the individual. Some of it is straight social science, some is more market oriented.
Another factor is my continuing distaste for the alarmist coverage of "addiction" to online games. These claims are not based in science, but rather hinge on truly tragic anecdotes and grand generalizations. The pain people feel from lost jobs and damaged relationships are real, no question. To lay responsibility for these events solely at the feet of developers without doing the hard work of researching the phenomena is simply irresponsible. Suggesting that products within the MMORPG genre are developed with the specific intent to ensnare users into addiction in service of a developer's bottom line is silly. Can you really liken Sony Online Entertainment to Phillip Morris? Do you think memos from management to the dev teams about increasing the "long-term appeal" of the crafting system are ever going to surface? Substance abuse models can only get you so far.
"The pain people feel from lost jobs and damaged relationships is real, no question. To lay responsibility for these events solely at the feet of MMO developers without doing the hard work of researching the phenomena is simply irresponsible."
MMOs in their current incarnation are Skinner boxes operating under a variable schedule of reinforcement. If you interact with them on a steady basis, you will get rewarded (new shiny loot, server fame, sense of accomplishment, etc). Sure, developers tweak the reinforcement schedule to keep you interested, but that doesn't mean they are trying to compete with real-world needs and functioning. It is an unfortunate reality that sometimes some people allow their interest in the game to displace their pursuit of real world goals and needs. How this happens, to whom, and what we can do about it are the things we should be looking at. Jumping up and down and wagging fingers at the industry doesn't help anyone, but it's such an easy story to do that we see it get done over and over again.
LQGaming Services:: What makes you uniquely qualified to look at this data and make conclusions based upon it?
AFS: I wouldn't say that I am "uniquely" qualified. However, I do have the appropriate background and interest. My undergraduate degree is in Behavioral Psychology with a Computer Science minor from Florida State. I have an M.S. in Experimental Psychology from Georgia Tech but left the PhD program there to come to Carnegie Mellon where I have gotten another Masters and am completing a PhD in Human Computer Interaction in January. My work is being supervised by two of the pre-eminent authorities on social psychology and online communities, Robert Kraut and Sara Keisler, and a very highly regarded game designer and former IGDA chair, Jesse Schell. In addition, I have been gaming actively on just about any platform you can name since the Atari 2600 days. I've interned at Microsoft Game Studios, regularly attend GDC, and have published my work at a number of academic conferences. Am I the most qualified guy in the world? No. Nor am I some guy with a web survey, a stats package, and an agenda. Not everyone will agree with what I have to say, but I am inclined to believe that many will find this stuff interesting and will respect the seriousness and rigor of my approach.
LQGaming Services:: What's the most surprising data your findings have so far revealed?
AFS: I'm not sure what's been most surprising, but I can tell you what's most important so far. Rather than dealing directly with the value laden concept of "addiction," I have adopted an approach that assesses the degree to which gaming has caused noticeable problems and conflict in a gamer's life.
I call this "problematic use," gaming at times and in amounts that places real strain on the normal conduct of life and relationships. It turns out that usage issues profound enough to cause a player to report that gaming is causing problems in their real life are not very common at all. When high levels of "problematic use" are reported, they are strongly associated with the person and their environment (e.g. pre-existing depression, feelings of loneliness, etc) and have little to do with the design of the games they choose to play.
My respondents who play Xbox Live, RTS games, and even Super Monkey Ball report no reliably higher incidence of problematic use than MMO players. That pokes a rather substantial hole in the "MMOs are designed to addict" argument. Further, let's not confuse "addictive gameplay" with "addiction to EverQuest," for example. These phenomena are widely disparate, but happily confused in media coverage.
Finally, self-regulation, the individual's ability to monitor, analyze and adjust their own behavior is essential in managing consumption of food, alcohol, and even entertainment media. My findings clearly show that people who keep casual track of how much they play, compare their play to internal and external standards, and use play as a reward are far less likely to feel "addicted" or to become "addicted" over time.
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