Sunday, April 19, 2009

Is Socializing Emerging From Online Gaming!

As technology evolved, the online games also went forward for the better. Single player games progressively gave company to two-player games, followed by multi-player games, rendering the environs with the element of virtual competition and fertile with potential of socializing.

Sites that offer free online games generally require the prospects to sign up with their own username, password and general details. This sign up practice allows the users to camouflage their true identity. It has been observed that players tend to submit false information about their gender to explore relationships or to be treated in a better manner in the virtual world.

Dedicated observations of the websites catering online games with over hundreds of thousands of subscribers reveal a striking pattern amongst signups. It has been rumored that male gamers generally sign up as female gamers so as to be treated in a better manner and hence escape competition from fellow male members.

The virtual world of online games has been found extensively male-dominated. Aggressive male players are suspected to behave better or differently in case they know that the competitor is a female. It is believed that the male contenders are lenient with the female gamers, rendering them a little laid back and less aggressive while playing. Thus the female disguise helps in brightening the chances of a win, or to put it in different words? escape competition. It is also rumored that female disguise in the virtual world secures the male gamer a better treatment.

Another striking feature that has been observed amongst the online gamers include social developments. It has been gathered that multi-player games can be very social. For example, in the shooter genre, players have been seen bonding with each other through clans or groups they form to fight another group. They fight as a group against another group! They socialize beyond the game and bond with each other as friends/mentors/well-wishers. They extend moral support to each other during hardships and even find each other jobs!

Another example of how online game communities evolve social environments is WW2 flight simulation called ?Air Warrior?. The players of this game have been found ardent social groups who even hold periodical get-together!

Besides, massive multi-player role-playing games have also found to be famous for the strength of their communities. In simpler terms, sometimes gamers assume the gender of the fellow player with his/ her username, while actually it could be a mere false play in order to explore a different experience. As a result, the players find themselves interested in their fellow players socially speaking and interact with each other in a friendlier manner. This sort of enriches the fun element in the online game involving many players.

On the other hand, when it comes to single player games, socializing depends upon the nature of the game, which may require special skills or understanding, for example, a game of chess.

To conclude, the Internet is proving to be a connecting point on a global scale, surpassing all individual differences related to caste, creed, religion and region. Websites catering flash or shockwave based online games to its thousands of subscribers, free of cost, are actually contributing to the cause of social harmony and wider social networks that defy boundaries of geography, economy, culture, degrees of education and family traditions. Communities are playing fields for social interaction. When gamers send messages to other gamers, they are free to exchange email addresses and meet beyond the game community. Communities have become an extension, a new medium of human touch.


About the Author:

Jonathan White, owner of SimplySearch4it - Free Online Games , Entertainment Portal


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