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En el marc ampli de les teories audiovisuals, aquesta tesi doctoral aborda les relacions entre identitat, narració i videojocs des de la perspectiva de l'antropologia cultural, de les teories narratològiques en cinema i literatura i de la ludologia. Es proposa la figura teòrica del jugador implicat per explicar el tipus de relació entre el jugador i el seu personatge, en relació amb la construcció d'un relat identitari. En aquest sentit, es relaciona la idea de marcs d'experiència amb la de nivells narratius i narradors. El model teòric i metodològic resultant s'aplica a l'estudi de cas de dos videojocs: Silent Hill 2, un survival horror monousuari, i Espai8, un joc de rol en línia massiu i multiusuari. / En el marco amplio de las teorias audiovisuales, esta tesis doctoral aborda las relaciones entre identidad, narración y videojuego desde la perspectiva de la antropología cultural, de las teorías narratológicas en cine y literatura y de la ludología. Se propone la figura teórica del jugador implicado para explicar el tipo de relación entre el jugador y su personaje, en relación con la construcción de un relato identitario. En este sentido, se relaciona la idea de marcos de experiencia con la de niveles narrativos y narradores. El modelo teórico y metodológico resultante se aplica al estudio de caso de dos videojuegos: Silent Hill 2, un survival horror monousuario y Espai8, un juego de rol en línea masivo y multijugador. / In the wide framework of audiovisual theories, this PhD. thesis undertakes the relation between identity, narrative and videogames from the point of view of cultural anthropology, of narratological theories in cinema and literature and of ludology. We propound the theoretical figure of the implied player connected with the construction of a discourse of the self-identity. In this sense, we connect the idea of frames of experience with the idea of narrative levels and narrators. The resulting theoretical and methodological model it’s applied to the study case of two video games: Silent Hill 2, a singleplayer survival horror, and Espai8, a massively multiplayer online rol-playing game.

This thesis explores economic aspects of virtual worlds by focusing on a specific massively multiplayer online role-playing game, RuneScape. In particular, it examines the similarities and differences between the virtual economics and real world economics, the economic understanding of RuneScape players and the possibility of using virtual worlds as a laboratory for testing economic behavior and theory. This thesis uses a versatile methodology that includes texts, direct observation, self-reports, and other reports to investigate the research questions. Virtual economics in general and RuneScape in specific are understudied so far and this study fills a gap in the literature. The unique contributions of this thesis are: a comprehensive survey that reveals player perceptions of economics, a new equation useful for modeling money supply, and a new use of faucet-drain economy in massively multiplayer online games. The results indicate that virtual economics of RuneScape partially reflects real world economics, player perceptions of virtual and real world economy are surprisingly complex, and virtual worlds can be used to study real world economics. Game developers, players, economists, educators, researchers, and individuals who are interested in massively multiplayer online games and economy in general can benefit from this study.

The purpose of this study is to examine the player’s experiences and perspective of the massively multiplayer online role playing game World of Warcraft. This study wants to find out the effects on the players psychological and social well-being through interviewing 10 World of Warcraft players between the ages of 18-32. This has been done through a thematic analysis. The reason behind this study is because a lot of scientific studies and the media has portrayed World of Warcraft players in a negative light where they are described as lone wolfs. This study wants to find out how the players themselves talk about the game and how it has affected their lives. The findings of this study have shown that players describe World of Warcraft as a meaningful occupation where it has given them better confidence, self-awareness, language skills, social skills but also build a social network inside the game. The social interactions that the players have with their friends have given them a platform to be open about their lives but also problems that affect them in the real world. The conclusion of this study is that the picture that a lot of the scientific studies and the media are portraying is a dishonest one. They judge players as single group where they do not look at the bigger picture or through the perspective of the World of Warcraft player.

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the gaming behaviors of married individuals and couples who play Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game(s) (MMORPGs) including gaming addiction, time spent gaming, satisfaction in gaming participation, gaming interaction (between joint gaming spouses), and socio-demographic variables and the subsequent marital satisfaction levels of both individuals in the couple. Hypotheses were generally supported, excluding the hours spent gaming. 685 couples were separated and analyzed according to whether both individuals in the marriage gamed or just one individual gamed (couple-gaming type). Couples in which only one individual gamed (individual-gamer couples) had significantly lower marital satisfaction than all other groups and couples in which both gamed about the same amount of time (equal-gamers) held the highest marital satisfaction of the groups. Prediction models of marital satisfaction were determined for each couple-gaming type. The strongest predictions present in most of the models for marital satisfaction were the frequency that the couple retired to bed at the same time and the frequency that the couple quarreled specifically about gaming. Much MMORPG research has been presented on youth and adults, however to date there is no research on married gamers. Recent research on the video game habits of emerging adults called for further in depth investigation of the implications of video game use in the family formation stage of life.

The aim of this study was to identify if digital games could be used as a method to study Cosmopolitan Democracy. Using a mixed methods approach, players of the Final Fantasy XIV (FFXIV) community were asked to answer a questionnaire concerning the importance of age, gender and nationality of other players, in order to see if their values aligned with those of Cosmopolitan Democracy. The questionnaire also investigated the use of the Auto-Translate feature in FFXIV to examine its usefulness as a lingua franca to bridge gaps in language equality. Furthermore a literature review on the use of digital games in education and ideologies was conducted. The results showed that the values of the FFXIV community do align with those of Cosmopolitan Democracy, that Auto-Translate successfully acts as a lingua franca, and that games have a history of teaching players about differing ideologies. The conclusions advocated the creation of a game based on Cosmopolitan Democracy, allowing for players to experience the democratic model and for researchers to gather data on its functionality.

The thesis concerns factors that affect the intensity of MMORPG playing and the gaming addiction symptoms. In the theoretical part, I discuss approaches to the excessive and problematic gaming. I argue for the shift of perspective from gaming addiction disorder toward self-regulation, time perspective, activity theory and habitual regulation. Two inventory-based studies were conducted in order to empirically verify the effect of proposed variables on MMORPG usage. First, the significant role of Time Perspective (TP), measured by Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI), has been confirmed. Second, the habitual regulation had been identified to significantly affect the usage. The habits related to usage were measured by the new psychometrical tool - Cues Sensitivity Scale (CSS). TP and habits influence the usage together - the effect of TP is partially mediated through Cues Sensitivity as well as through the players' deliberate regulation of playing time. All measured variables showed stability in time (measured after three years in subset of respondents). Data was analyzed with statistical methods, mainly with Partial-Least-Squares Path- Modelling (PLS-PM). The part of the data - respondents' strategies of playing time regulation - were analyzed qualitatively.

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