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The gamer experience: Investigating relationships between culture and usability in massively multiplayer online games

Authors:

Panagiotis Zaharias,

Anthony PapargyrisAuthors Info & Claims

Computers in Entertainment (CIE), Volume 7, Issue 2

Article No.: 26, Pages 1 - 24

https://doi.org/10.1145/1541895.1541906

Published: 24 June 2009 Publication History

Abstract

Massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) are persisted virtual worlds capable of supporting hundreds or thousands of gamers simultaneously. Although every MMOG environment has its own “culture,” gamers originate from different countries, speak different languages, and have different national cultural backgrounds. It is assumed that gamers' cultural diversity affects their online gaming experience and their perceptions of a game's usability; nevertheless knowledge is limited and relevant research is rare. This study aims for an empirical investigation between gamers' cultural dimensions and their perceptions of usability. A subjective measurement of usability is given in this study; usability is viewed in more holistic terms, beyond its functional dimensions, so as to capture social and affective dimensions as well, which are very important within the MMOG context. The findings of this exploratory study indicate that there are quantitative relationships between culture and the perception of usability of MMOGs. Such results have practical implications for the designers of MMOGs. A relevant discussion is also presented, along with future research dimensions.

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Cited By

Ravari YStrijbos LSpronck P(2022)Investigating the Relation Between Playing Style and National CultureIEEE Transactions on Games10.1109/TG.2020.302504214:1(36-45)Online publication date: Mar-2022
https://doi.org/10.1109/TG.2020.3025042
Moses J. SL. D. DM. NBabu MKrishna P(2017)A Survey on Strategies, Trends, Economics, and Prospects of Cloud-Based GamingEmerging Technologies and Applications for Cloud-Based Gaming10.4018/978-1-5225-0546-4.ch001(1-24)Online publication date: 2017
https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-0546-4.ch001
Chakraborty JNorcio AVan Der Veer JAndre CMiller ZRegelsberger A(2015)The Human–Computer Interaction of Cross-Cultural Gaming StrategyJournal of Educational Technology Systems10.1177/004723951558816343:4(371-388)Online publication date: 17-Jul-2015
https://doi.org/10.1177/0047239515588163
Show More Cited By

Index Terms

The gamer experience: Investigating relationships between culture and usability in massively multiplayer online games
1. Human-centered computing
  1. Human computer interaction (HCI)
    1. HCI design and evaluation methods

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Published In

cover image Computers in Entertainment

Computers in Entertainment Volume 7, Issue 2

SPECIAL ISSUE: Media Arts and Games (Part II)

June 2009

220 pages

EISSN:1544-3574

DOI:10.1145/1541895

Issue’s Table of Contents

Copyright © 2009 ACM.

Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

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Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 24 June 2009

Accepted: 01 January 2009

Revised: 01 October 2008

Received: 01 October 2008

Published in CIE Volume 7, Issue 2

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Cited By

Ravari YStrijbos LSpronck P(2022)Investigating the Relation Between Playing Style and National CultureIEEE Transactions on Games10.1109/TG.2020.302504214:1(36-45)Online publication date: Mar-2022
https://doi.org/10.1109/TG.2020.3025042
Moses J. SL. D. DM. NBabu MKrishna P(2017)A Survey on Strategies, Trends, Economics, and Prospects of Cloud-Based GamingEmerging Technologies and Applications for Cloud-Based Gaming10.4018/978-1-5225-0546-4.ch001(1-24)Online publication date: 2017
https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-5225-0546-4.ch001
Chakraborty JNorcio AVan Der Veer JAndre CMiller ZRegelsberger A(2015)The Human–Computer Interaction of Cross-Cultural Gaming StrategyJournal of Educational Technology Systems10.1177/004723951558816343:4(371-388)Online publication date: 17-Jul-2015
https://doi.org/10.1177/0047239515588163
Moattari MMoosavinasab EDabbaghmanesh MZarifSanaiey N(2014)Validating a Web-based Diabetes Education Program in continuing nursing education: knowledge and competency change and user perceptions on usability and qualityJournal of Diabetes & Metabolic Disorders10.1186/2251-6581-13-7013:1Online publication date: 24-Jun-2014
https://doi.org/10.1186/2251-6581-13-70
Christou GLai-Chong Law EZaphiris PAng C(2013)Challenges of designing for sociability to enhance player experience in Massively Multi-player Online Role-playing GamesBehaviour & Information Technology10.1080/0144929X.2012.75449732:7(724-734)Online publication date: Jul-2013
https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2012.754497
Yamakami T(2012)Gateway Analysis of Nine Success Factors in Mobile Social Games: Lessons from Mobile Social Game BusinessHuman Centric Technology and Service in Smart Space10.1007/978-94-007-5086-9_17(129-136)Online publication date: 2012
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5086-9_17
Yamakami T(2012)Digital Social Literacy: Literacy Demands for the Virtual-WorldNetworked Digital Technologies10.1007/978-3-642-30567-2_36(429-437)Online publication date: 2012
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-30567-2_36
Yamakami TSohn SUm KKo FKwack KLee JKou GNakamura KFong AMa PChen LHwang SCho KKawata S(2009)Star economy in the user generated contentProceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Interaction Sciences: Information Technology, Culture and Human10.1145/1655925.1655936(59-62)Online publication date: 24-Nov-2009
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/1655925.1655936

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