Social Games

Digital games embedded in social network sites are one of the driving forces behind the expansion of digital gamer populations. Previous studies have observed different usage patterns between users in different ethnic groups and countries, suggesting that culture orientations may affect how people play and interact through social network games. This study examined how people’s culture orientations affect usage patterns with measures of vertical and horizontal individualism–collectivism. The findings indicate that culture does not directly affect usage patterns. Instead, the effects on usage patterns are mediated by people’s expected outcomes of playing social network games. Vertical culture orientations predicted social expected outcomes. Individualism predicted status expected outcomes, but in different directions on the dimensions of vertical or horizontalness. Vertical collectivism was the only culture orientation that indirectly predicted buying in-game products with real money. Implications for game designers and markers are discussed

Tesis doctoral Cum Laude - Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona.

Esta tesis trata precisamente sobre cómo interactúan diferentes factores. Se estructura en tres partes diferenciadas. En la primera parte de la tesis, se establece el marco teórico
y metodología. En la segunda parte se profundiza en el estudio comparado de dos empresas pioneras: Zynga y EA Playfish. La tercera parte trata sobre el contenido paralelo desarrollado por los jugadores a partir de los juegos y la aplicación de las técnicas de investigación. Las metodologías aplicadas son varias, destacando principalmente la netnografía.

The hugely successful franchise Angry Birds by Finnish company Rovio is synonymous with the new and growing market of app-based games played on smartphones and tablets. These are often referred to as ‘casual games’, highlighting their design which rewards short bursts of play, usually on mobile media devices, rather than the sustained attention and dedicated hardware required for larger PC or console games. Significantly, there is enormous competition within the mobile games, while the usually very low cost (free, or just one or two dollars) makes a huge ranges of choices available to the average consumer. Moreover, these choices are usually framed by just one standardised interface, such as the Google Play store for Android powered devices, or the Apple App store for iOS devices. Within this plethora of options, I will argue that in addition to being well designed and enjoyable to play, successful mobile games are consciously situated within a social network market.

The concepts of ‘social network markets’ reframes the creative industries not so much as the generators of intellectual property outputs, but as complex markets in which the circulation and value of media is as much about taste, recommendations and other networked social affordances (Potts, Cunningham, Hartley, & Ormerod, 2008). For mobile games, one of the most effective methods of reaching potential players, then, is through the social attentions and activity of other players. Rovio have very deliberate in the wide-spread engagement with players across a range of social media platforms, promoting competitive play via Twitter and Facebook, highlighting user engagement such as showcasing Angry Birds themed cakes, and generally promoting fan engagement on many levels, encouraging the ‘spreadability’ of Angry Birds amongst social networks (Jenkins, Ford, & Green, 2013). In line with recognising the importance of engagement with the franchise, Rovio have also taken a very positive approach of unauthorised merchandising and knock-offs, especially in China and South-East Asia. In line with Montgomery and Potts’ (2008) argument that a weaker intellectual property approach will foster a more innovative creative industries in China, rather than attempting to litigate of lock down unauthorised material, Rovio have stated they see this as building awareness of Angry Birds and are working to harness this new, socially-driven market (Dredge, 2012). As Rovio now license everything from Angry Birds plush toys to theme parks, social network markets can be perpetuated even by unauthorised material, which builds awareness and interest in the official games and merchandising in the long run. Far from a standalone example, this paper argues that not only is Rovio consciously situating Angry Birds within a social network market model, but that such a model can drive other mobile games success in the future.

By developing the concept of ludic shopping, this paper explores how the centring of gameplay around the (symbolic) purchase of virtual goods has transformed social network games into a blending of consumerism and playfulness. Although ludic shopping points out the capitalistic logic of consumption embedded on social network games, this concept brings also a positive view about consumption as part of players’ identity construction. I drawn on the player types defined by game theorists Richard Bartle and Espen Aarseth to examine the main forms of enjoyment offered by social network games, and to present a new conceptual dimension linked to consumerism. Through a critical analysis of both game mechanics and players’ motivations, I argue that symbolic consumerism is a central experience for players of social network games.

“Pet Society” es un “juego social” desarrollado en la red social: Facebook. Creado por Playfish en 2008 (empresa caracterizada por su innovación y creatividad), en 2009 Playfish es adquirida por Electronic Arts. Tiene el honor de ser el primer juego en alcanzar el 1 millón de fans en Facebook. Esta tesina se centra en diversos factores de la producción: diseño, interacción y usuario; para poder entender este éxito entre los jugadores desde un enfoque social. Centrándose en cómo se presentan los contenidos por parte de la empresa y cómo los usuarios se apropian de estos contenidos, creando los suyos propios.

Studies show that video games have an enormous relevance in world societies and cultures today. In March 2010, one game alone, Farmville, achieved 83 million active monthly users--over one-percent of the world population. In an attempt to better understand this phenomenon, this paper studies a fundamental part of Farmville: its communication channels. Research shows that a large portion of new users entered the game because of friends ‟ invites and notifications. Only three channels exist within the game to send these messages: sending presents, helping friends, and posting news to the Facebook Wall. Using the communication model proposed by Wilber Schramm, this text analyses each of these channels in detail.

While social games such as Zynga’s FarmVille are often positioned as poor gaming experiences or as disguised financial and data-extraction processes (Bogost, 2010; Rossi, 2009), this article considers social games as part of a wider regime of social interaction and creative identity work. By definition, social games are located within extensive online social networks. Gameplay is thus situated within a number of overlapping contexts: the game, the broader social network and the material conditions of access, including different devices (mobile or desktop) and different locations. Moreover, given widely discussed differences between social game players and console- and PC-based game players (Wohn, 2011: 199), and game-play mechanics, these broader contexts further a reading of social gameplay as part of the diverse millieux of everyday life. The article argues that social games are spaces of creative expression, social dynamics and identity co-creation that cannot be understood without considering their broader contexts.

This paper explores some of the ways in which social games –  games played with others through social network sites such as Facebook - are situated within the everyday. It argues that social games are more than just games; they perform a range of interactive and integrative functions across and within people’s lives and therefore need to be investigated as such. Social games enable spaces for and practices of creative expression, and identity management. They also form a mechanism through which relations can be enacted and maintained across and outside of the game environment. This argument requires the researcher to consider the panoply of ways in which people integrate social games within their lives and everyday practices. Part of a larger project, this paper explores some findings from an exploratory survey of Australian game players about their management and integration of game play within the everyday with a particular focus on gender.

O artigo tem por finalidade compreender como as dinâmicas sociais de competição, conflito e cooperação existente nos social network games operam no processo de constituição identitária dos sujeitos no ciberespaço. A partir da participação do usuário no processo lúdico desses jogos, pensa-se que estas dinâmicas podem favorecer a visualização de processos identitários do indivíduo da atualidade. Para isso, parte-se de uma análise netnográfica focada no game Farmville do Facebook (centrando-se em uma observação participante e em 37 entrevistas semi-estruturadas). Os resultados iniciais apontam para uma compreensão de que o processo de constituição identitária dos sujeitos no universo virtual tem ligação com o coletivo do jogo e com as funcionalidades e valores sociais provenientes das dinâmicas propostas pelo social network game Farmville.

We consider the potential contribution of economics to an interdisciplinary research partnership between sociology and neuroscience ('social neuroscience'). We correct a misunderstanding in previous literature over the understanding of humans as 'social animals', which has in turn led to misidentification of the potential relevance of game theory and the economics of networks to the social neuroscience project. Specifically, it has been suggested that these can be used to model mindreading. We argue that mindreading is at best a derivative and special basis for social coordination, whereas the general and pervasive phenomenon on which it depends is mindshaping. We then outline the foundations of Conditional Game Theory as a mathematical model of mindshaping, which extends game theory without displacing its classic solution concepts, and which exploits economists' experience in modeling networks.

O trabalho parte de que é possível observar-se facetas identitárias do sujeito a partir das escolhas manifestadas pela aquisição de bens virtuais no ciberespaço. Busca-se compreender a dinâmica do Colecionismo de bens virtuais e as suas significações sociais e identitárias construídas pelo usuário de social network games. Para isso, realizou-se um questionário com perguntas abertas em jogadores e uma observação participante em jogos que permitem fazer coleções. Observou-se que apesar da perda da “materialidade” dos objetos, coleções virtuais apresentam sentidos atrelados a simbolismos e a semelhanças com coleções físicas. Elas ainda parecem atribuir status, prazer e reputação ao seu proprietário, apontando o como e o quê colecionar como possíveis indícios de manifestação da identidade do sujeito nestes jogos sociais virtuais.

This paper investigates how the merging of social interaction and gameplay can enhance learning practices. By drawing on the theory of situated learning (Lave and Wenger, 1991), and by using social network games as case studies, I reflect on the potential of multi-player collaborative play to promote learning. I argue that the simple game mechanics and the collaboration-based gameplay of social network games transform them into a unique space for promoting not only the simulation of real-world experiences and the active engagement with problem solving, but also the building of a social environment that is highly beneficial for learning. To develop this argument, I look firstly at the main approaches adopted in studies of games and learning, summarising the forms of individual learning that are usually related to videogame play. Then, I explain how social network games have shifted the emphasis from individual to social learning, and why the theory of situated learning can be fruitful in analysing serious social play. As the final step, I use the Facebook games EcoCity and Trash Tycoon to discuss social network games from the perspective of situated learning, offering a new understanding of the role of social interaction and collaboration in serious play.  Although this investigation is primarily theoretical, the analysis of those games shows that, by playing them, individuals can effectively learn about sustainable development and environmental issues.

Аргамакова А.А., Уппит О.В. "Игры, в которые играет город". The Digital Scholar: Philosopher's Lab. №4. 2018. С. 106-115.
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Предпосылки для экспансии игр в социальном контексте включают в себя: (1) Неизбежный прогресс технологий и платформ виртуальной реальности; (2) Тренды цифровизации жизни общества и становления умных городов, сопряженные с внедрением информационных технологий в различные сферы социума, электронное управление процессами и взаимодействиями через технические устройства; (3) Эксперименты в направлении геймификации социальных интеракций и городских пространств; (4) Развитие теории и практики социальных игр, связанное с появлением новых стратегий для планирования и организации общественного порядка; (5) Футурологическое воображение, определяющее траектории движения общества и человека через генерацию вероятных сценариев будущего и их интеллектуального проигрывания.

Modeling the spread of infectious diseases and social responses is one method that can help public health policy makers improve the control of epidemic outbreaks and make better decisions about vaccination costs, the number of mandatory vaccinations, or investment in media efforts to inform the public of disease threats. Incubation period—the period when an individual has been exposed to a disease and could be infectious but is not yet aware of it—is one factor that can affect an epidemic outbreak, and considering it when modeling outbreaks can improve model accuracy. A change in outbreak activity can occur from the time a person becomes infected until they become aware of infection when they can transmit the disease but their social group considers them a susceptible individual and not an infectious one. This study evaluates the effect of this delay between the time of infection of an individual and the time of diagnosis of the infection (incubation period) in an epidemic outbreak....

Pet Society offers a fantasy world of simulation through gameplay and environment as well as game characters. The design of each character is able to arouse its fans curiosity and addictive feeling to improve their pet character to the maximum level. This is a qualitative research conducted through the application of cultural theory that includes internal and external factors on character design and its visual transformation. Proximity analysis on character's visual elements and meaning, conducted to interpret the reflection of the game designer ideas as well as pet lover's ideology. The research shows that every pet character in this game is a form of representation of the player from the real world to the virtual world. Those pet's visual form diversity becomes the essence of player diversed character creation.

A presente tese parte do reconhecimento de que os social network games oferecem espaços para que os seus participantes exercitem a reflexão de suas identidades. Neles, sujeitos identificam-se e moldam seus perfis para serem reconhecidos e interagirem com os demais jogadores. O objetivo centra-se em compreender como são configuradas estas identidades do gamer nos seus jogos. A discussão teórica incluiu a problematização dos conceitos-chaves de identidade e de jogos online, questões relacionadas à visualização das identidades no Ciberespaço e a forma adquirida nos jogos online e mediações culturais, midiáticas, competências tecnológicas e relacionadas aos jogos. Os social network games foram contextualizados a partir de aspectos históricos, situação atual, ambientes suportes, possibilidades e dinâmicas sociais. A pesquisa empírica parte de uma construção de tipos de games em termos das possibilidades para a construção identitária, que inclui os jogos de Construção de Mundos, que estimulam a personalização do ambiente e os de Participação em Mundos, que estimulam a competição com atores da rede social. Optou-se pela realização da metodologia netnográfica desenvolvida em um jogo dentro de cada uma destas categorias: o Farmville e o SongPop (respectivamente), além de entrevistas com uma amostra de jogadores. Os resultados apontam a existência de elementos no jogo capazes de oferecerem lugares para o desenvolvimento de apropriações sociais (avatar, bens virtuais, interações sociais e território virtual), indicadoras de facetas identitárias destes sujeitos. Por meio deles, percebeu-se a existência de matrizes identitárias nos social network games (aleatórias, competitivas, representativas e valorativas) capazes de direcionar o modo de construção individual e coletivo destes indivíduos antes mesmo de terem contato com estes lugares de apropriação nos jogos. As implicações deste estudo revelam a existência de uma dupla via de afetação oriunda não apenas da estrutura dos jogos, mas, principalmente, dos espaços criativos que os sujeitos encontram para manifestarem suas identidades. Por meio deles, os social gamers não apenas revelam traços de si, como também parecem incorporar novas facetas identitárias oriundas destas construções no game ao seu self, o que sugere um importante papel destes ambientes lúdicos e virtuais na constituição identitária do sujeito atual.

Intrinsic motivation is hard to attain when designing games for educational purposes in non-formal learning settings. The approach I take in my research is to use a co-design technique to understand what motivates and entertains children while they work together in the creation of a social game aiming to teach younger children how to respond to an emergency. The technique has been assessed through a series of workshops which results I am currently analyzing in order to find issues that could lead to the implementation of a system to be used in the co-design technique. The idea is to ease the execution of the technique by introducing technologies intuitive to use for children. Moreover, I am interested in obtaining more information about children's social interactions that help me to solve the question of how a social game should be designed so children engage in the playing activity and can successfully learn from it.

Social network games (SNG) are an extremely popular and rapidly growing application of social network sites (SNS). But are SNGs really social? A survey based on a social cognitive theory approach to uses and gratifications revealed that people are motivated to play the game to create common ground, reciprocate, cope, and pass time.

People play SNGs to create common ground for future social interaction rather than seeking direct social interaction in the game. Customization was strongly correlated with social motivations; in particular, use of avatar customization was different from use of space customization. Reciprocity was facilitated more by the design of the game than social motives.

Modeling the spread of infectious diseases and social responses is one method that can help public health policy makers improve the control of epidemic outbreaks and make better decisions about vaccination costs, the number of mandatory vaccinations, or investment in media efforts to inform the public of disease threats. Incubation period—the period when an individual has been exposed to a disease and could be infectious but is not yet aware of it—is one factor that can affect an epidemic outbreak, and considering it when modeling outbreaks can improve model accuracy. A change in outbreak activity can occur from the time a person becomes infected until they become aware of infection when they can transmit the disease but their social group considers them a susceptible individual and not an infectious one. This study evaluates the effect of this delay between the time of infection of an individual and the time of diagnosis of the infection (incubation period) in an epidemic outbreak....

This study explores emerging play patterns around the object-based but technologically-enhanced practices of toy tourism. This popular type of toy play featuring game-like elements entails movement across platforms: physical spaces and digital environments. Through a case study that explored toys traveling as Travel Bugs in the context of geocaching, the aim of this paper is to clarify the creative, game-oriented play and perceived value of practitioners of toy tourism. Our study consisted of 66 survey responses from geocachers traveling with Travel Bugs all over the world and enabled us to gain a detailed understanding of the experienced values related to traveling toys in the context of geocaching. As a result, we present a conceptual framework in which the relations between the mobile, social and hybrid dimensions of the play value of toy tourism are modelled.

Modern professional networking relies on social media. To take advantage of this fact, we present CHI PLAYGUE, a conference game designed to facilitate interaction among strangers and encourage social networking to create a community. The game integrates digital technology (mobile devices and large displays) within the space of the conference venue, combined with a mixed-reality narrative and people's social interactions to facilitate the emergence of social dynamics. By providing a platform for large-scale, playful interaction, the game creates an experience that fosters the development of mutually beneficial, personal, and professional relationships among players.

This chapter provides an overview of the Japanese video game industry (published in Wolf's _Video Games Around the World_). Sections include Sections in this chapter include:
• Challenges to Studying Computer Games in Japan
• Who Plays Computer Games?
• Japan’s Early Game Industry: SEGA, Namco, Taito, and Nintendo
• Home Consoles and Handheld Devices: A Nation That Plays Games
o Nintendo
o SEGA
o Sony
• Game Centers, Game Parlors, and the Performance of Gaming
• Social Gaming in Japan: DeNA, Gree, and Mixi
• Censorship and Rating Systems
• “Our Game Industry Is Finished”: The Present and Future State of Computer Games in Japan

In past decades, the notion of information filtering was primarily associated with censorship and repressive, non-democratic countries and regimes. However, in the twenty-first century, filtration has become a widespread and increasingly normalised part of daily life. From email filters—designating some messages important, some less important, and others not worth reading at all (spam)—to social networks—with Facebook and Twitter harnessing social ties to curate, sort and share media—through to the biggest filtering agents, the search engines—whose self-professed aims include sorting, and thus implicitly filtering, all our information—filters are inescapable in a digital culture. However, as filtering becomes ubiquitous and normalised, are citizens en masse becoming too accepting or, worse, largely ignorant, of the power these filters hold?

Modeling the spread of infectious diseases and social responses is one method that can help public health policy makers improve the control of epidemic outbreaks and make better decisions about vaccination costs, the number of mandatory vaccinations, or investment in media efferts to inform the public of disease threats. Incubation period—the period when an individual has been exposed to a disease and could be infectious but is not yet aware of it—is one factor that can affect an epidemic outbreak, and considering it when modeling outbreaks can improve model accuracy.
A change in outbreak activity can occur from the time a person becomes infected until they become aware of infection when they can transmit the disease but their social group considers them a susceptible individual and not an infectious one. This study evaluates the effect of this delay between the time of infection of an individual and the time of diagnosis of the infection (incubation period) in an epidemic outbreak. This study investigates the social dynamics of vaccination and transmission in such epidemic outbreaks, using a model of the public goods game.

In the recent years social networks have given a rise to the game genre of social games, which currently enjoys an exponential growth among millions of users. In 2010 Facebook and the largest social game producer Zynga were on the edge of a potential split in their relations. The situation was overcome, but it marked a crucial moment in the policy of the social network towards social game producers and third parties. This paper explores the political economy between Facebook and Zynga by drawing a network of relations using the method of Actor-Network Theory. Social games will be examined from the perceptive of two-sided platforms that have matured into a potential competitor of the hosting platform of Facebook. By following the trail of the money in this network, the article will analyse the economic logic that underpins the decision of Facebook and Zynga to prolong their partnership. The paper argues that currently, there is an emerging new type of relation between the social network and the social games which is regulated by a specific business model. This tie creates an economic symbiosis, designed to benefit primary the social network but it also has an economic value to the social games developers as well as to other third parties. Based on this research, the article will suggest a model that illustrates this market logic which can be a valuable source in the future analysis of the economy of social games.

O artigo foca a compreensão dos significados da aquisição de bens virtuais por usuários de social games. Conjuntamente, busca estimular a reflexão sobre os usos e as identificações que motivam os jogadores à compra destes bens. Com base em autores que trabalham com a produção e as simbologias de bens integrados às práticas de consumo da sociedade, o trabalho apresenta dados de uma observação participante por sete meses em dez social games e de questionários aplicados em 140 jogadores. Por fim, propõe-se uma classificação de bens virtuais em social games baseada nos dados adquiridos e na dinâmica social do jogo. Os resultados apontam para a circulação de significações atribuídas aos bens virtuais a partir de contextos pré-estabelecidos pelos social games e pelas origens culturais de seus jogadores, atuando possivelmente na edificação e/ou manifestação identitária dos sujeitos no ciberespaço.

Many successful social and casual games use techniques in their design that help sustain players’ interest over time. The success of these games amongst players who consider themselves ‘non-gamers’ has resulted in the development of applications that attempt to use these same techniques to encourage behavior change in the real world. Most of these applications gamify their sites by adopting a system of points, badges, and leveling up. In this paper, we take a different approach. In collaboration with Igniteplay – a company created to develop a product to encourage users to adopt a healthy life style through online social media – we investigated the connection between social game and media design mechanics and user motivation. This investigation led to several concrete techniques that we are currently testing and revising in the hope that such techniques will enhance participant retention. In this paper, we discuss these techniques and outline future directions.