Abstract
Learning both communication and social skills is an important aspect of personal development. These kinds of abilities are one of the primary skills taught to students in school from early childhood into their college education. This paper aims to explore how these skills are developed in the unexpected setting of multiplayer video games. Exploring ideas of digital space and shared practice, this paper demystifies the educational benefits of playing games that aren’t designed to be educational. Multiple studies confirm the importance of communication within video game context. Using survey data and interview questions, we can begin to understand the complicated social patterns found in online gaming communities. With the rapid growth of the internet as well as video game technology, we can expect multiplayer video games to continue to influence how many learn to communicate.
Introduction
As our relationship with technology grows stronger, many fear the loss of physical relationships with others. For example, in 2018, Leora Lawton, lecturer in demography and sociology and executive director of the Berkeley Population Center at the University of California, Berkeley, shared these reasons digital life is likely to be mostly harmful: “The long-term effects of children growing up with screen time are not well understood but early signs are not encouraging: poor attention spans, anxiety, depression and lack of in-person social connections are some of the correlations already seen” (Anderson, para. 5). She is only one of many who worry about the future of social development. Especially during this pandemic, we have been relying on digital means to interact with others and maintain social relationships. It seems the only safe way to meet up with friends and make new friends is in digital spaces. Within this realm, many people have been turning to online games and communities as a way to feel less alone during this time of physical isolation. Many people grew up in a time where communication skills were developed primarily through physical interactions. Because of the current shift in styles of communication, many of these individuals struggle to navigate the rapid growth of digital communication as a primary means of socialization. While losing social skills and communication abilities is a frightening prospect, video games and social media are not causes. In fact, online gaming can lead to the development of the communication skills required to have functional relationships and even provide an environment for developing ways in which to learn and can lead to improved in-person social development.
Online Communities
One way that many people build relationships with others is through being part of a community. Before technology connected far places, communities were frequently formed among people in close proximity to each other. These communities included groups such as book clubs, intramural sports teams, and even watch parties. Because the individuals in these communities had common interests, it was a good way to practice communication and build relationships. However, these communities have drastically limited membership due to physical distance and if no one else in your area shared your interest, then you were out this opportunity to socialize. I believe the rise in online alternatives is just the next step in building more inclusive and specialized communities.
Some people argue that online communities do not exist because of the diversity of groups in these “so-called” communities. I believe it is normal for there to be many sub-groups in a single large community both online and off. Consider a group of sports fans, within this group there are individuals who really like baseball, and even within this group there are people who support the Seattle Mariners, and moving even more specific, there are fans of specific players.This nesting of communities is just as applicable in online settings as it is in physical ones and it is part of a community structure. The fan club for a specific player that spans the entirety of the internet is guaranteed to be larger than a fanclub advertised to people in a specific area. So, these internet communities merely allow for interactions between-sub groups and for an increased amount of membership in more niche communities.
The sandbox video game, Minecraft is the most-sold video game of all time and has a massive community of players that can be divided infinitely into smaller sub-communities. There are speed-runners who see how fast they can beat the game, builders who make incredible structures from the in-game blocks, streamers who share their gameplay, and even modders who change the very code of the game with quite interesting results. All of these players are part of the greater Minecraft community, but also part of the smaller community that is even more specific to their interests. And all of these players interact with various other subgroups to create a vibrant and thriving online community. This game, among many others, has such a devoted following that many physical clubs are created to play in this digital space. Even the University of Washington has a Minecraft Club.
Finding people with similar interests and ideals to your own is one of the ways that most people develop relationships and find people they want to befriend. A study conducted by information scientists at the University of Washington Seattle (2017) found that, “The popularity of Minecraft among children of all abilities provides a compelling, motivating environment for parents and clinicians to support their mutual goal of building the children’s social skills and relationships” (Zolyomi, p. 9). Technology and the emergence of online games has made it easier than ever to become a part of an online community where social skills can be developed and friendships can be made.
Figure 1: A castle structure built in Minecraft. (Microsoft 2022)
Online Spaces
Before the internet was so accessible, most groups shared geographical locations and meeting places. The internet bypasses this constraint and allows people from almost anywhere to connect as a group. In her piece for the Debating Communities and Networks IX Conference, Heather Westphal (2018) explains why virtual communities thrive. She explains that, “The internet has enabled communication about topics and interests, that in small direct communities for example in small towns or isolated neighborhoods, people may not have the opportunity to express their interest in these topics or issues with others of the same interest” (Westphal, para. 6). It’s no wonder space is so frequently used as a metaphor online. Chat rooms, meeting rooms, and even servers are considered spaces. And these spaces are used in a very similar way to physical ones. People come together to socialize, share ideas, form relationships, and support one another.
Figure 2: Exile’s Reach in World of Warcraft (Activision Blizzard 2022)
Space in video games becomes even more literal in multiplayer games. This includes games with multiplayer servers such as Minecraft, massive open-world rpg games such as World of Warcraft, and even first person team-based shooter games such as Overwatch, Valorant, or PubG. These games tend to emulate physical spaces. You get to control where you move, and how you interact with others in a digital environment. This makes the online gaming community a great place to practice and learn how to communicate with others.
Furthering the idea of digital space is the development of virtual reality. When playing games in virtual reality a user must don a headset that completely blocks vision to the outside world. The headset contains screens shaped like the lenses of glasses and headphones. These help to immerse the individual in the digital world of the game they are playing. Suddenly, video games have become a lot more connected to reality. Instead of using a joystick or mouse to look around the digital landscape, you turn your head and observe things in your peripheral vision just like you do in the physical world. Instead of hearing sound from your computer or television speakers, it’s directly in your ears and often directional, meaning it sounds like it came from a specific place in the game environment. Additionally, with the help of specialized controllers, in most VR experiences, you must move your arms and hands in real life in order to do so in game. This creates an experience that is a blurred mix of reality and the virtual world.
This unique mix of physical interaction and the virtual world is already inspiring scientists from the Department of Instructional Technology at the Tennessee Technological University. The scientists developed social scenarios and had participants with learning disorders interact with these simulated scenarios through virtual reality. They found that the participants were able to better adapt to social norms in real life after practicing in VR. According to researchers Dr. Beach and Jeremy Wendt (2014), “Both participants said they felt less stress when engaging in conversation after practicing in the simulator” (Beach p. 6). This is just one example of how virtual reality can be used as a tool to help teach communication and social skills and improve accessibility to situations where these skills can be developed. And this study was done with the virtual reality technology of 2014. This technology has only gotten better and now offers even more realistic interaction. I imagine there is much more research to be done on how virtual spaces can be used to develop social skills.
Shared Practice
Each online gaming community has its own set hierarchy, set of rules, and ways to communicate. This is true for physical communities as well and learning these implicit and explicit norms are integral for effectively communicating in different social environments. In a paper written by several researchers at the University of Greenwich, styles of communication in gaming are explored. These computing and information systems researchers (2018) say, “There is an abundance of reasons why a person will choose to utilise the conversational frameworks available, however, when considering a game where players must work together in order to reach a common goal, it is up for interpretation to determine which method works most efficiently” (Spyridonis, p. 1). This shows that speech patterns between different gaming communities can vary drastically.
For a while, text abbreviations such as LOL (laugh out loud), OMG (oh my god), and TTYL (talk to you later), were examples of speech that was only understood by the groups that frequently utilized text as a main means of communication. Then emojis became a second language to most texters and internet users. Now that almost everyone uses text and/or the internet, these abbreviations and emojis are widely understood. Now, however, there has been a massive increase in community specific jokes and language. These can be tied to the platform, shared interests, similar lifestyles, and specific games. For example, among the Twitch gaming community, the phrase “pog” or “poggers” is frequently used to mean that something good happened while in game. You would exclaim this word if you finally beat a level or won a battle royale style game. This is an important word in the gamer dictionary, though it would not be the most professional to say “pog” during a job interview. Many people are part of more than one group and therefore have to learn several different ways of communicating in order to be a valued member of the community. It is common for people to adopt different mannerisms depending on which group they are interacting with. This minor form of code-switching is an incredibly useful skill to develop. This becomes obvious when you consider how you interact with your friends vs how you might interact with an employer.
Figure 3: Screenshot from the Overwatch website describing how communication is key to successful gameplay. (Activison Blizzard 2022)
In Figure 3, step 2 shows exactly why communication is so valuable in the gaming context. In team games, you can hone your game skills all you want, but even if you have impeccable aim, you won’t have guaranteed success unless you are able to communicate with the rest of your team. This means that multiplayer games often require players to build relationships and communication skills with their peers in order to progress. According to an article published by videogames.org (2021), “Many video games often result in better outcomes if players work together, encouraging players to be social” (“Be Social, Make Friends, and Play Video Games,” para. 4). The player is often learning and developing these social skills without even realizing that is what is happening.
Many online communities also implement some kind of power structure. This could be in the form of someone hosting a game server, someone organizing some kind of tournament, or a captain of an esports team. To reach these positions of power, most of these individuals had to become fluent in their communities’ form of communication. As leaders of their groups, they get to help dictate standards and rules for the group. This introduces gamers to structures of hierarchy common in the workforce and in other physical organizations and can aid in the development of leadership skills and critical thinking. It offers dedicated members of a community a way to practice communicating as a leader in a low risk and friendly environment with people they share interests with.
Shared Support
Another huge benefit of communities and their sub-groups is support. This support comes in many forms. In an interview with a member of an Overwatch esports team, the player, Jafner, explained that the support gained from his team makes the gaming experience much more enjoyable. Just as your writing might be critically peer-reviewed in a writing course, in gaming communities, peer-review is commonplace. Jafner explained that he and his team meet weekly to watch replays of their games and discuss what is good, what needs work, and how to improve their overall gameplay. The ability to review others’ work and offer suggestions to help improve it in a polite yet informative way is a skill that is important for collaboration in any situation. Iterative improvement is one of the main focuses of video games and using peer-review as a way to do this is an important skill that is taught to reluctant students in school all the time, though now they have the opportunity to develop this skill in an environment where it matters to them. In this way, multiplayer gaming allows players to learn and practice how to give and get support from others in an environment where they are engaged with the content and can witness the results.
Interpersonal Relationships
Making friends online is easier than ever thanks to our growing digital communication network. In an article he wrote for BBC, Bryan Lufkin (2020) insists that, “Although more people staring at a screen may seem like an unhealthy habit, it could be key in nurturing our bonds with others” (Lufkin, para. 19). It can be much easier for many people to make friends online for a multitude of reasons. For one, accessibility. It is much easier to log onto a website or begin to play a game than it is to physically go to someplace to mingle. This safety and accessibility is important for people who live in isolated locations, people that have mobility disabilities, or in times like now, when meeting up with people in person just isn’t safe.
Another reason it is easier to make friends in an already established gaming community, is having a shared interest. Shared interest is an easy way to start a conversation and a relationship with another person which makes the gaming community a useful place to practice and develop this skill.
Primary Research
In order to gain more information about how teammates interact socially, I produced a survey and offered it to several members of the UGC League. This is an amateur esports league consisting of over 100 teams of amateur players. Unfortunately, I was only able to obtain 10 responses because of the lack of time my survey was available for. Some basic information was gathered. Most participants were between the ages of 16-21 and all had been actively playing video games for more than 2 years. Additionally, all spent more than 10 hours weekly playing video games. This shows that the general participant in this survey was an older teen / young adult who is familiar with the gaming community and spends a significant amount of time playing video games.
These individuals were asked a series of questions about how they communicate in game and how communication affected their game play. All said that they preferred to play games with teammates and people they know because this made communication easier and the game more fun. All also claimed to have made many friends while gaming online. Anywhere from a “small handful” to over 60. When asked how they communicate in game, many describe various communication structures that their team had developed such as shot calling. All participants explained that they feel like they play the game better when communicating with their team. One participant explains the advantage of team communication as the following: “It allows me to think about the action a tad bit more, making it more focused and less instinct.” And lastly, all participants responded that they are more comfortable playing video games than being at school or at work.
These results demonstrate how team based video games promote the development of communication skills. These abilities are expected to be learned in school or at the workplace, but these environments are often associated with stress and discomfort for an individual. Having an online space where individuals are more comfortable makes it easier for a player to communicate with others and facilitates a drive to build relationships and skills in order to progress in games. This online space makes learning fun. The skills learned in these spaces can make individuals feel more comfortable communicating with people in-person due to the interpersonal skills developed in game.
Conclusion
Being part of an online gaming community offers many ways for a player to practice communication skills. A player can learn how to share ideas, conform to a group standard, collaborate, and even build relationships all by playing a videogame with others. These skills translate easily into physical communication and are an important part of contributing to and interacting with society as a whole. Rather than the end of your social life, online gaming is a safe way to develop the skills required to make social connections and learn how to communicate with others.
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