The significance of technology and technological devices in the modern western society is steadily expanding, and affecting how the consumers of these products interact with one another. Both through these devices, but also how they interact without them the importance of studying these forms of interaction is therefore of rising significance. This thesis explores the world of online-gaming in order to map out how the players use, and are affected by the virtual aspects of the platform they use to create and reproduce their social bonds with one another. By analysing the relationship between the virtual and the actual it is possible to shed light on the potentials as well as the limits of online communication. The thesis purpose is to add to a deeper understanding within the anthropological discipline for interpersonal interaction within the frames of virtual spaces. The research has been conducted through a qualitative ethnographic field study with a guild of players who interact through the game World of Warcraft. This thesis will show that there is a strong interaction between the virtual worlds and the actual world. Thus it is possible for events that occurred in either space to affect the player.

Video games have become a new platform for social interaction. I review the sociality of video games and the relationship between virtual- and real-world behaviors. I review and address the pros and cons of methods of measuring social behavior. Finally, I present two studies drawn from internet populations. In Study 1 (N = 250), I develop a scale, The Sociality in Multiplayer Online Games Scale (SMOG), which measures the frequency of social gaming behaviors in team-based, multiplayer online games. I hypothesized these to align on dominance and affiliation dimensions of social interaction (Kiesler, 1982). In Study 2 (N = 104), I conduct a confirmatory factor analysis, which supports a two-factor structure—Destructive and Constructive social behavior, resulting in the SMOG-6. I examine construct validity using measures of dominance and affiliation. Controlling for age, gender, and frequency of game-play, both factors predict dominance. SMOG-Destructive negatively, and SMOG-Constructive positively, predicted affiliation.

Introduction: the playing of massively multiplayer online role - playing games (MMORPG) has been connected with computer technologies for few years. Despite the fact that the addiction on online role playing game is not officially in MKN - 10, it takes after gaming disorder following place within behavioral addictions. Aim: the main aim of the work was to describe the perception of subjective experience of gamers playing online games. Research questions regarded types of experience of gamers, incidence of addiction behavior, gamers differences in experience with and without addiction symptoms. Final question concerned gamers ability to be aware of addiction behavior. Methods and sample: the intentional sampling was used to obtain participants, including snow ball method through informants. Subsequently semistructured interviews were carried out. All participants filled out the record sheet showing sociodemographic data and questionairre of online gaming addiction. The research group consist of 9 participants, their mean gaming time was 15 hours per week, the participants ranged in age from 17 to 40 years. Results: from the interviews taken a few themes emerged. Subjective gamer's experience were positive and negative, positive dominated by most of gamers. In context of experience, the majority...

Game industry is increasing and developing its possibilities by creating new trends, making it more attractive for users and offering way more than just a spending-time activity.  This bachelor thesis presents a brief study about games which are designed and based on real geographical places. This study argues the question about playing games created after real cities and if this can attract gamers to the real destination which a particular game is based on. The aim of this paper is to see if there is a link between tourism and game industry. The methods used for this study are qualitative, in form of interviews, as well as quantitative. The quantitative study is performed with a survey answered by players, and what effect that has on the user experience, both in the game, but also in visiting real destinations. To find out this particular issue, questions about user experience were asked in aim to find out what provokes the desire to visit the physical location. By analyzing collected data, it has come to a conclusion that players are positively affected by the fact that the game they are playing is based on real geographical places.  This conclusion is based on players answers which are reflected by the fact that game felt more real, but also that players took different decision for visiting places during their stay at the destination, which they probably would not do if they did not play those particular games. / Spelbranschen expanderar allt mer från år till år och skapar nya trender. Speciellt nu när spel erbjuder så mycket mer än bara tidsfördriv blir spelandet allt mer attraktivt.  Denna kandidatuppsats presenterar en undersökning av spel som är utformade efter en verklig plats, och om de på så sätt lockar spelaren att besöka den riktiga platsen. Syftet är att se om det finns en koppling mellan turismnäringen och spelbranschen. De metoder som används är både kvalitativa, i form av intervjuer, samt kvantitativa. Den kvantitativa studien genomförs med en enkätundersökning riktad till spelare, och vilka effekter det får på användarens upple-velse, både i spelet men även vid ett eventuellt besök på den verkliga platsen. För att ta reda på detta ställs frågor som rör användarens upplevelse av platsen som spelet är utformat i, och i vilken mån det framkallar en vilja att besöka den fysiska platsen.  Genom analys av den insamlade datan har man kommit till en slutsats som visar att spelaren påverkas i positiv mening av att spelvärlden existerar i verkligheten. Detta visar sig både ge-nom att spelet upplevs mer verkligt, men också att spelaren tar andra beslut på destinationen, än den hade gjort om hen inte spelat.

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As digital games have become increasingly significant in the entertainment media landscape, the terms “casual” and “hardcore” have become the primary ways to describe gaming audiences, genres, and gameplay. However, these terms are saturated with outdated stereotypes involving gender, age, and class. Focusing on industrial discourse, this thesis examines this dichotomy, emphasizing areas of discontinuity and overlap to question why these terms have become so ubiquitous in gaming discourse and what functions they fulfill for a variety of groups including the industry, advertisers, and audience members. Ultimately, I suggest that these terms need to be replaced in order to move beyond restrictive stereotypes, proposing a new framework for digital games that takes into consideration user motivation, personal investment, and historical specificity.

The Swedish national regulations and advice that the Covid-19 pandemic has entailed have resulted in individuals staying at home to a greater extent. This has led to individuals not having physical social interactions to the same extent as before the pandemic. These limitations have meant that digital technology has become an important role in today's society where individuals in virtual groups and virtual communities have had their social needs met online rather than in real life. This is a qualitative survey in which results are based on six semi-structured interviews and 192 questionnaire responses. The respondents consist of adults living in Sweden. Results show that participation in gaming-based voice-mediated online communities helps individuals to fullfil their social needs as well as reduce feelings of loneliness and depression. The availability of such communities enables them to replace social contact when it is otherwise impractical to meet in real life, for example during the Covid-19 pandemic or when the individuals are geographically separated. Individuals in gaming-based voice-mediated online communities have often been attached to other members for a long time, the interactions are not limited to gaming and they can integrate individuals in these communities to their offline-life. They also have greater control over when and for how long they participate along with flexibility which allows the participants to decide how involved in the conversation they wish to be at any given time. Through internet-based communication individuals can selectively and strategically present themselves, which in a positive way distorts the perception between the individuals and result in more intimate and intensive conversations.

Spel är en av de största underhållningsbranscherna, vilket ger utvecklare möjlighet till stor lönsamhet. Syftet med denna studie är att identifiera faktorerna för varför spelare känner behov avatt göra köp av virtuella produkter i onlinespel och hur det kommer att påverka spelupplevelsen.Detta hjälper spelutvecklare att skapa en bättre affärsmodell med mer optimerade produktergenom att ge spelarna vad de önskar. Denna studie kommer att använda en kvalitativ forskningsdesign eftersom det gör det lättare att ta del av olika spelares åsikter. Resultatet från studien visar att emotionella och funktionella faktorer har störst inverkan på beslut att köpa virtuella produkter i onlinespel, och att spelupplevelsen gynnas så länge inte produkter påverkadespelmekanismer. / Games are one of the biggest entertainment industries, which provides an opportunity for developers to generate a lot of money. The aim for this study is to identify the factors why playersfeel the need to make in-game purchases of virtual products in online games and how this willaffect the gaming experience. This will help game developers create a better business modelwith more optimized products by giving players what they desire. This study will be using aqualitative research design since it will make it easier to take part in different players' opinions.The results from the study show that emotional and functional factors have the greatest impacton decisions to buy virtual products in online games, and that the gaming experience benefitsas long as products do not affect gaming mechanisms.