Anders Tychsen
ABSTRACT
Communication is a vital component of multi-player game play, constituting a large part of the player interaction in most game formats. In this article, the structure and intensity of the verbal communication between players in three different types of multiplayer role-playing games are analyzed. Data is drawn from a series of empirical experiments covering: A) Console gaming; B) Multiple players in a conventional LAN-setup, and: C) non-digital tabletop gaming. The results indicate that there are distinct differences in the overall communication pattern between the three game setups. When players share a single screen they communicate more than when each person has their own monitor, indicating a direct effect of the representation of the game medium on player communication. Additionally, in the digital games, speech intensity varies as a function of the game content: Players communicate the most during non-stressful game segments, and the least during intensive combat scenes, although the latter does require extensive coordination. The implication of this result is that analysis of player communication has the potential to be used as symptoms of boredom or excitement.
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Index Terms
Game format effects on communication in multi-player games
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