Relationships in MMORPGs

Xx_BeLLa_xX - Harshlands wrote: »

Majority of people playing PWI do it for the in game relationships they have.

I see people that are totally addiction to the social side of PWI, people that take the in game wedding like it was a real thing, people that if they see they in game wife embrace an other male toon even if it's for chi will divorce and call her a s***.

People trust way too fast in PWI, more than a normal person would do irl, I think a lot of people playing PWI are people that have no relationships irl so they do it online and they are so scare to lose it that they will do stupid things to prove their trust in each other (like sharing info).

Someone told me one day that everyone playing PWI have some psychological issues, which is true, there's no one totally sane with a normal life and relationship that would play PWI everyday for years.

In my experience PWI was definately a game where focusing on the social interaction and relationships was enjoyable. I had several online-only relationships in my year of obsessive playing, and I met my current boyfriend through it.

There are extreme sides to every continuum, and the seriousness with which people see their online relationships is no exception. There is a health balance which needs to be maintained between online and offline, and unfortunately it's all too easy to become entrenched in the online side of it.

I had offline relationships to balance the online ones, so I wouldn't go so far as to say those who have relationships in PWI don't have any irl ones, or that they have psychological problems. People form real attachments online, and wanting to cultivate those attachments and relationships does take a lot of time and effort sometimes, leading to extended playtime.

The point my research is trying to prove is that online gaming has a positive side to it (the formation of meaningful relationships), past the usual online addiction studies. Any relationship, online or offline, can be positive or negative. It boils down to how you treat it, and being aware when something is problematic.

Socqar - Lost City wrote: »

That's a non-sense assumption if I may correct you. I'm perfectly normal, engineer and consultant by an international firma. Got irl Girlfriend who plays Pwi with me.

We both enjoy the game together, do our dailies at night (as we don't live together yet we can't stick to each other all the time...) and pvp and pve for the fun.

There's though some ppl having serious relationship issues playing, I've seen that behaviour of breaking long-time friendships for embracing another's toon O.o having impresive drama over wedding ppl and things like that... Won't deny it, but not everyone in here is nuts b:surrender

About trust... I've seen people buy 1000$+ worth items to gain the right to marry someone in game, that's absolute crazyness imho, but I don't have 1000$ to waste that fast anyway... perhaps if I earned 100k$ a month I wouldn't consider that as odd as it seems now.

Playing any game as a couple's activity is fantastic imo, because there is always a connection or something to talk about/do together. The problems arise when it's the only thing connecting those two people.

You're right in saying that problematic relationships exist, but the thing is problematic relationships exist offline too. When hasn't there existed individuals who spend tens of thousands of dollars in gifts just to sleep with someone? Relationships are what people make them, and they serve a million and one purposes. The happy functional ones are great and they are plentiful, same with the dysfunctional ones. The online social world is a mirror of the offline social world imo, and while they exist in separate realms the similarities are endless.

Socqar - Lost City wrote: »

But don't spend them in a ***Wings of Ancesion cape LOL :P Good comparison though, been there, but instead of thousands was a couple dozen bucks... cheap kid those days :O

Haha too true, but I suppose it all depends on people's priorities. When you think about it, that cape is longer lasting that a few expensive dinners though!

OPKossy wrote: »

A thread about this topic that doesn't make me want to bang my head against a wall.... well that's rare for these forums.

Gone through with the survey and wish you best of luck.

Haha that's a compliment if I ever heard one. Thanks for filling it out, and for the luck!

oVenusArmanio wrote: »

MMOs can be studied using the anthropological method the same as any other society... It's funny because a lot principles from the fields like political science, anthropology, sociology, and psychology can easily be observed online. The internet and online games are just a social grouping, it's the medium that's different. To quote McLuhan "The medium is the message," after all. The medium has a large impact on us.

You're exactly right, it's a parallel of the physical world in a lot of ways. A really well rounded game has everything from jobs (not everyone is going to be a blacksmith, we all outsource to those that are more skilled for a price), to a fully functioning economy that fluctuates, to an environment that changes as people interact with it.

In terms of relationships, we can see everything from flirting and courtship (chatting, presents etc), to dating (spending time together, doing quests or activities together), to marriage, to even consummation (if you consider cyber-sex as that consummation).

oVenusArmanio wrote: »

I think it is easy to forget that people are people. And think of our interactions with others as just pixels, when looking at online societies. But the truth of the matter is, while the existence of this view does color and shape our interactions with one another, people will still be people at the end of the day. Some will take it way too far, ofc. But meaningful, healthy relationships can and do form online as well regardless of the existence of prejudice against them. Not that i'm mitigating the importance of how messages are perceived, received, and utilized.

It's exactly why I think relationships are viable in an online setting, because at the end of the day people are people. They put real feelings an emotions into their attachments, because it's a basic human need to connect to others in some way. Yes, online is different from offline in plenty of ways; people are different, situations are different. But when you take an offline relationship where two people live apart, and compare it to when they live together there are still differences. It's a different thing to live together than just date, the same way it's different when you have an online to offline relationship.

oVenusArmanio wrote: »

So I'd be interested in seeing the result of your research. ^^

You have an excellent perspective overall and one that I would love more people to have. All the more reason research needs to be done!

I will have results in late March, and my thesis will be complete in late April. I'll happily post some general results, and I can be contacted if anyone is interested in learning more. Thanks for the support!

Zheii - Archosaur wrote: »

I've taken part in the survey and I hope your study goes well!

In my personal opinion "Dating someone through a game" has to have some sort of rl connection, and becomes more of a long distance relationship than anything else.

I would never be able to commit to someone who I only knew and could talk to through a game and some pixels.

But that's just me, I see so many random couples that only have connection through a game and they all seem happy enough... Anyways, best of luck! xox

It's one of those "Whatever works for each person situations" I think. I always found I made better connections online than with people in person, but I think it depends heavily on the individual. Without the availability of a physical connection, there is a much stronger onus on the emotional and psychological bond - something I've always found really intriguing.

LadyOya - Raging Tide wrote: »

I have completed the survey.

All the best with your research.

Will you post the results here? I think it would be interesting to see that as I have always thought that performing this type of research on an online game would be interesting.

Take care.

Thanks for participating! I will happily post the results here sometime in April. I'm not just doing the research for personal benefit; I want there to exist empirical evidence about online relationships. Whether the results are positive or negative, it is still important to understand what goes on and what people think about it.

HanyIstok - Morai wrote: »

i filled it, interesting thing, and yes, i want to know the results too

Thank you! I look forward to the results, and I'm glad so many others do too.



All the best everyone! Please continue to participate, and I know we will all benefit from the results in different ways.

Narcillatrix - Dreamweaver wrote: »

Ohhh thesis
As someone who flailed around in stress with their thesis a couple short years ago I jumped at the chance to help!

Very interesting topic, took the survey, and I look forward to seeing all of the results!

Mine nearly caused me a mental breakdown, simply because my university's ethics board took 3 months to approve my study (when it normally takes only 1 month maximum). I was getting to the point where I wouldn't even have a chance to collect data, which would have meant I'd automatically fail... Thanks to a lot of awesome people things are looking great!