Research on Internet Gaming

[Nogrick]

I'm writing a research paper for one of my classes over the sub culture of the internet gamers. If you guys could help me out, just answer the following questions.

1. How long have you been playing video games?

2. When did you start playing games over the internet?

3. Is there a certain game that turned you on to internet gaming? If so, what is it, and what made it so interesting?

4. What type of game is your favorite? What makes it your favorite genre?

5. Have you ever entered any competitions? If so, did you do well?

6. What is it that you like about the games you play? Examples: graphics, game play, community, easy to get into, etc.

7. Have you ever made friends through these games? Where from? How long have you known them?

8. What kind of skills have you acquired from playing these games?

9. Are these games just a waste of time for you, or are they something more?

10. Do you look forward to gaming in the future? Are you a gamer for life? What makes you feel this way?


Any feedback would be much appreciated. Thanks a bunch.

[Terin]

1. 1988 (couldn't afford a Nintendo til then..)

2. Warcraft 2 (probably like, 96?)

3. Diablo 2. multiplayer online, and a RPG. it was the best of both worlds.

4. I really like Role Playing Games. In my mind, I look at a videogame like a visual Choose-your-own-adventure book, and the longer it is, the better. If a game can suck me up like a book and take me on a roller coaster of emotion, I'll leave a happy camper. However, it's understandable that this can be too much at times, so the occasional fighter/dance sim/slashNhack/FPS is good too.

5. Nope, there aren't many RPG competitions, and I'm not THAT good at fighters.

6. storyline. A great game has every element, but a good storyline, IMHO, is the only thing that can keep you into a game. This is also coming from probably one of the few people that found GTA 3 and Vice City just OK.

7. Actually, my friend Lee and I met in the dayroom, he was playing Virtua Fighter 4, and I sat down and whooped his butt til he played the monk, then he had this cheap combo that I couldn't find.)

8. good hand eye coordination, a better understanding of different stereotypes, and above all, SAVE OFTEN.

9. I enjoy videogames for the same reason I enjoy movies, music, and books. They are entertaining, and every once in awhile, you learn from them.

10. I'll probably be a gamer for life, unless the gaming industry totally focus's as a whole on one aspect of gaming (lately it's been less on gameplay/storyline, and more towards graphics.) But hey, where the big 3 have been screwing up, the GBA has been perfecting

Hope this helps, Nogrick
-T

[Shino]

Here you go Noggy!

[Nogrick]

Any schladies wanna get in on this. I would love to have a woman's opinion.

[BWS-1]

1. How long have you been playing video games? Since 1987

2. When did you start playing games over the internet? 1999

3. Is there a certain game that turned you on to internet gaming? If so, what is it, and what made it so interesting? PSO, I really like the community aspect of the game, so many good players I've met, and people I even Role played with ... it was just awesome

4. What type of game is your favorite? What makes it your favorite genre? MMORPG or Space Shooters (think Freelancer, it's some sort of open-ended RPG ... sorta) The huge world, the open-ended story, the cooperation

5. Have you ever entered any competitions? If so, did you do well? Never

6. What is it that you like about the games you play? Examples: graphics, game play, community, easy to get into, etc. The features, let say, for me to find a racing game good, you must at least have the basic features odl racing games had (cool replays, weather day/night options) and if it doesn't then it sucks. You don't make a sequel half as packed as the original, otherwise it'll be crap in a box.

7. Have you ever made friends through these games? Where from? How long have you known them? I've made friends from Germany, UK, Switzerland, USA, Brasil.. err I think that's about it. I'm still in contact with at least one friend from all those countries and have known them for 2 to 4 years now

8. What kind of skills have you acquired from playing these games? Communication skills, problem solving skills, it develops my imagination a lot too.

9. Are these games just a waste of time for you, or are they something more? They are part of the things I use to learn more about the world and people, and about myself

10. Do you look forward to gaming in the future? Are you a gamer for life? What makes you feel this way? I am curious about the futur of gaming, but I don't plan on getting more into it as I am right now, in fact, I might end up losing interest a bit, but I will never sompletly stop.

[Aindriahhn]

1. How long have you been playing video games?

13 years

2. When did you start playing games over the internet?

Four (5) years ago

3. Is there a certain game that turned you on to internet gaming? If so, what is it, and what made it so interesting?

Counterstrike, I enjoyed playing against people, it made the game more interesting, their behaviour is much more random than the AI.

4. What type of game is your favorite? What makes it your favorite genre?

I like almost anything, except sports. I like games like Myst, though anything with a strong plot and a could balance between action, problem solving, and mystery is great.

5. Have you ever entered any competitions? If so, did you do well?

No, I've never entered into competitions.

6. What is it that you like about the games you play? Examples: graphics, game play, community, easy to get into, etc.

Game play is fundamental.

7. Have you ever made friends through these games? Where from? How long have you known them?

Not really.

8. What kind of skills have you acquired from playing these games?

I think they have helped my critical thinking skills, spatial sense, hand to eye coordination and reaction time.

9. Are these games just a waste of time for you, or are they something more?

I suppose it's just another form of entertainment, something a little more engrossing that TV, and a little more envolving than most literature, especially modern.

10. Do you look forward to gaming in the future? Are you a gamer for life? What makes you feel this way?

I don't know if I'll play games forever.

I hope that someone it the industry will realize the artistic and literary capabilities of what really is a universally appealing and highly creative medium.

[RuneLateralus]

1. 18 years (at the tender age of 3...ah...Atari 2600...)

2. About 5 years ago when my cousin got me in with StarCraft.

3. PSO was the first time I really became dedicated to online gaming as well as FFXI...unfortunately, do lack of funds and now current interest, I have put a stop to those.

4. For online, I like FPS's (mainly the UT series and Halo), plus the recent Pandora Tomarrow features a nice addicting online mode. RPGs are good, but I find myself losing interest fast due to the fact I can't really find the time that some friends do, so I end up so far behind. Not to mention the times I want to be a loner (especially in MMORPGs) don't help out either. For offline though, it really varies. I am mostly under "if I can't kill it, I won't play it" attitude, so sports are usually out of the question. I love stealth games (Tenchu on PS2, Splinter Cell), FPS, action, RPGs (all forms), adventure games (The Longest Journey especially), and fighting games.

5. I entered a Soul Caliber tournament at my school one time. I lost in the first round in a good round of matches, but I lost the guy who won...so that made feel somewhat better (after seeing how bad some of the other players were).

6. Good way to pass the time and kill stress.

7. Yes. In fact, if it wasn't for PSO, I would not be here at all. The first friends I made of PSO I know for about 2 years now.

8. Influences in my imagination, ability to work together, learning from mistakes (I accidently shoot friends alot when starting out games like UT and SC: PT).

9. Primarily a time waster. I really don't have the oppurtunity to go out too much, so it helps pass the time and online games help fill a small, but satisfying social contact I need. But also, I use them as study guides as O am studying computer animation. I look at them in terms of design of areas (like looking what is in there and how they fill the space), the cinematic designs and tricks, and trying to identify the modelling/texturing techniques they used for the characters and objects.

10. Definitely. I am looking foward to Halo 2, Half-Life 2, Fable, Sudeki, True Fantasy Online, Dreamfall, Doom III, and the such are really keeping me interested. Games have been a part of my life for such a long time, I doubt they would be so easy to leave.

[Nogrick]

Just a tidbit of info for you all. Did you know that the US used Doom to train soldier reaction timing?

[shane]

1. I've played video games since 1982, ripe age of 2, rep-ruh-zentin' with the Atari 2600!!! woo woo!!! \m/

2. I jumped headlong into Everquest 3 years ago, so my first REAL net gaming experience was in 2001.

3. Everquest. By far one of the most solid games out there. Not even Ultima Online has the stability, the efficiency or the depth to drag you in like this digital version of crack-cocaine. I played for 8 months then quit cold turkey.

4.Real Time Strategy Sims, or Open Ended role playing games. (ie. GangLand, Diablo, / Freelancer, Privateer) It's the fact that everytime you sit down to play, you are constantly having to rearrange your strategies and plans based on random circumstances. Privateer was a GODSEND back in the day, anyone who was a fan of Privateer, go play Freelancer.

5. Nah, no competitions. They're too serious. Zero fun.

6. Any game that can rope me in mentally, or emotionally gets my attention. I do get tired of the same old games, too many of one genre or style burns me out. I like to use my noggin playing games, but not in a chess-like manner. Half-Life was a good mix of story and action, as well as Metroid Prime, Zelda Wind Waker.

7. With Everquest, I befriended a dude named "Kabaro" from Sweeden, and we always would team up and adventure together online, but otherwise.... never really got into meeting EQ people. I usually play online with friends that I know, and set up with prior to logging on.
8. Resource management, leadership skills, problem solving skills, and of course, hand-eye coordination.

9. It's not priority, but playing video games is important in the fact that it's a point of relief; It gives me an outlet away from real life, away from drama. It allows me to vent my frustrations in a way that otherwise voicing or reacting physically would have turned out in a much less constructive way.

10. I'm a gamer for life. Until I decide that I just don't have the patience, or I just don't like video games, I'll buy, download, and play video games as long as I can. I love watching a good movie, but I love interacting with a well-told story even more. The marriage between movies and video games will one day be as seamless as music and movies.

[Terin]

w00t shane, w00t.
-T