Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Numerous studies have demonstrated a third-person perception, but many aspects of the origins and consequences of this remain unaddressed. In this study, we use the topic of video game effects to assess how differences in an individual’s use of a medium and between positive and negative effects shape the third-person effect. Although games are subject to clear third-person perceptions and subsequent support for censorship, these patterns are greatly diminished for heavy players and positive effects.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The video game play of individuals, in particular those who game alone, is rarely studied outside of effects based research or autoethnographic explorations. Rather than focus on gaming groups and gaming fans, this study situates the analysis of video game play with the individual, solitary player. There were three main goals in this project. The first was to see how video game play fit within the lives and media diets of those who do not identify as hardcore video game fans. The second was to find the differences and similarities between the hardcore/causal and social/solitary gaming divides. The final goal was to interrogate the interrelated issues of identity and identification in video game play. While a small scale pilot study, the methodology discussed herein should be useful in future research on video game audiences and identification.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Players of video games are often stereotyped as 'nerds' in social isolation. However, a lot of gaming is social in nature, for example in the case of multiplayer games, or on-line gaming on the Internet. We studied gaming at a LAN event where people link their computers to a Local Area Network in order to play against each other. Thus far, this kind of gaming in a social context has not received much attention from researchers. Our study aimed to reveal why the participants liked LAN gaming, and, more specifically, why they preferred the violent games that are commonplace at LAN events. We deliberately choose to interview both male and female participants, although women are a minority at LAN events. We conducted open interviews with six male and six female LAN gamers. The interviews were interpreted using a grounded theory framework. Our interpretation showed the participants were motivated by both competitive and social motives. They were also attracted to the violent content of the games, often labeling it as a kind of dark humor. Our conclusion that there were hardly any differences between male and female gamers warrants further research about the relevance of gender with respect to the reception of video games.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Gender role theory was used to examine differences among male and female players of a large online game. Several hypotheses regarding the importance of gender and relationships were tested by combining a large survey dataset with unobtrusive behavioral data from a year of play. Consistent with expectations, males played for achievement-oriented reasons and were more aggressive, especially within romantic relationships where both partners played. Female players in such relationships had higher general life happiness than their male counterparts. Female players were more likely to play for social reasons. Contrary to popular stereotypes and current hypotheses, it was the female players who played the most. Female players were also healthier than male players or females in the general population. The several findings have implications for gender theory and communication-oriented methods in games and online research—most notably for the use of self-reported time spent, which was systematically incorrect and different by gender.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The Sims is the best selling PC game ever. Its success contradicts the common stereotype about video games and its players. The Sims is a noncompetitive game with hardly any violence that attracts a far larger audience than the proverbial male adolescent. We investigated the player base of The Sims2, the most recent edition of The Sims that was released in 2004. The explorative study we report here is the first large-scale survey among players of The Sims2 (N = 760). Our results show that the common assertions about the large representation of women among Sims-gamers are true: 84% of our participants were female. We employed a uses and gratifications perspective to investigate why our participants liked to play The Sims2. Pastime was the most important motive, social interaction the least important. The gender differences we found were that men scored higher than women on the motives fantasy, challenge and social interaction. We also found that age was an important factor. Younger players expressed a stronger sense of empathy and identification with game characters than older players, and they scored higher on parasocial interaction.