For the Gamers
Finally the blog post I really wanted to write. I was more motivated to write about Social Gaming than all the other topics. I being a gamer really felt connected to this topic and I disagree with anyone who says that social gaming is just keyboard warriors in their mumâs basement. For starters my mum doesnât have a basement. The countless hours that I have lost paying World of Warcraft, Halo, Counter Strike, Call of Duty. I might have finished my degree maybe 2-3 years ago. I took a break from my last studies before embarking on my Business degree 5 years ago. I will admit online study has taken away all my gaming time however gaming for 5 years doesnât get me much, other than achievements on my Xbox and PlayStation accounts. But I kind of get the same thing from Swinburne with my degree on some fancy paper and bonus, I also get crippling debt. Sad realisation right there.
I would say Iâm not an active gamer anymore, I would categorise myself as a casual gamer and Fortnite is perfect for that.
So, you might be asking where is the social aspect to all of this? Well, when I play, Iâm normally hooked up with a microphone, playing and talking with my friends, as we plot world domination. I have always played in groups with friends, I have even made friends with people from some of my games who I would consider lifelong friends now.
So why Fortnite? If somehow you have missed the storm that is Fortnite is a game that has over 200 million players worldwide (Stuart 2018). So, lets breakdown what is Fortnite?
1.      Itâs playable on most computers (Mac and PC), PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, IOS and Android devices, provided your device supports its minimum system requirements (Epic Games 2019).
2.      It allows cross platform play, so people with PlayStation can play with people on Xbox .
3.      Itâs quick battle royal games.
4.      Its updated regularly and is very quick to add pop culture reference in game.
Before we move on, the game play style battle royal is pretty much a fight to the death. 100 players start and last one standing takes all the glory (Epic Games 2019). Fortnite is a free to play game however Fortnite has made over $1 Billion in microtransactions (Kain, E 2018). Well that escalated quickly.
The increase number of social games means that users can interact with each other on multiple gaming platforms (Heider 1944). Good and bad interactions. Iâm not saying that its all great in game land, Fortnite too, is no stranger to players using racist slurs, sexist comments and just plain terrible language. Fortnite has been linking it to multiple cases of abuse and inappropriate language (Zhou, N 2018). However, it happens everywhere, Iâve never seem to mind nor do I let it get to me. My friends and I are there to have a good time, we have a quick game chat up and then log off and continue with our lives. Its just a place for us to hangout together without actually hanging out, because God forbid, I leave my mumâs basement.
To say that social gaming isnât social would be incorrect however I donât personally believe it satisfy physical human interaction. I play games because itâs fun and convenient however if my friends were to invite me out to play something, I would be there in a heartbeat. I enjoy playing with friends and I enjoy the games. You make it as social as you want to be.
I leave you with my favourite but banned xbox commercialÂ
 72andSunny 2019
References
72andSunny 2019, Xbox 360 ad - âStandoffâ, viewed 28 January, 2019, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0VOM7e5Hug>.
Epic Games 2019, Battle Pass Season 7, viewed 13 January, 2019, .
Heider, F . 1944. Social perception and phenomenal relations. Psychol. Rev. 51, 6, 358â374
Kain, E 2018, âFortnite: Battle Royale Has Made Over $1 Billion As It Completely Dominates Video Game Streamingâ, Forbes, 18 July, viewed 12 January 2019, .
Stuart, K 2018, Fortnite: a parentsâ guide to the most popular video game in schools, viewed 13 January, 2019, .
Thanks for the very interesting and personal reflection of your gaming experiences @memoirsofaunistudent. Never being a gamer, I appreciated your light-hearted yet very candid account into the gaming realm. Itâs perspectives like these that have made me view gaming more positively (not that Iâd admit that to my kids).
I really like and agree with your statement that with social gaming âyou make it as social as you want to beâ, and I feel this underpins boydâs (2012, p.74) view (back in our Week 1 readings), that when embracing the âalways-onâ digital network, most people find a comfortable way to fit these practices into everyday life without consequences.
As for your favourite Xbox ad â one word â WOW!  If youâve read my blog on social gaming, and I think in a (not so light-hearted) post I managed to reply to the discussion board in Week 10, you wouldnât be surprised to know that I am probably someone who would support the ban. Â
This statement in group G Week 10 presentation - Gaming prompts a response that influences feelings of reward and pleasure (CBS News 2018) â lead me to ask the question whether online/offline behavioural lines can be crossed to achieve similar neurological responses in both environments? In my blog, I  refer to Goffmanâs social theory that suggests we experience life through a series of âframesâ in which we present and perform different roles to different audiences. Also, we move between these different frames easily without even noticing (de Zwart & Humphreys 2014 p. 81).Â
Reports suggest that the two boys who went on a shooting spree in 1999 at Columbine High School, based their plans for the massacre on the game âDoomâ. Also, the perpetrator of the 2011 Norway bombing and shooting attacks, claimed to be on a 16-hour a day diet of violent video games such as World of Warcraft, Call of Duty and Modern Warfare 2 (Kassin et al, pp. 388-389 2014).
I guess Iâm talking extreme and rare atrocities here, and we are near the end of the unitâŚ.Iâd rather keep it light-hearted!









