Title: Social interaction in games

Authors: Jaakko Stenros, Janne Paavilainen, Frans Mayra

Addresses: University of Tampere, Kanslerinrinne 1, FIN-33014, Finland. ' University of Tampere, Kanslerinrinne 1, FIN-33014, Finland. ' University of Tampere, Kanslerinrinne 1, FIN-33014, Finland

Abstract: Due to the popularity of social media networks and the games played on those platforms interest in the so-called social games has piqued. This article looks at those games in the context of general social aspects of game play. By approaching game play as an activity, it is possible to distinguish between different kinds of social interaction: the sociability players engage in around the game and the social play contained and mediated by the game. In charting the social space of playing, this article shows the inherent social aspects of single-player games – and the solitary aspects of social games.

Keywords: social play; sociability; social interaction; online gaming; single player games; online multiplayer games; massive single player online games; gaming capital; performance; social games.

DOI: 10.1504/IJART.2011.041486

International Journal of Arts and Technology, 2011 Vol.4 No.3, pp.342 - 358

Published online: 11 Jan 2015 *

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