Information Models in Multiplayer Gaming: Teaching New Players the Complex In-game Economy of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Date
2020
Authors
Jordan, Charles
Supervisor
Matthews, Justin
Item type
Thesis
Degree name
Master of Communication Studies
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Publisher
Auckland University of Technology
Abstract

An important aspect within multiplayer online games are the unwritten rules of play. Often unknown and unobserved from the outside, these rules make up the foundation in which online play takes place. With more and more new players entering these virtual worlds, opportunities for negative team behaviours are present when these new players do not abide by these rules of play. This may dissuade new players from joining these game communities, and it may also cause undue stress to new players trying to learn these rules of play. However, can this process of learning the unwritten rules be fast-tracked by the use of information models? In this area of academia, minimal research has been focused on the use of external information sources within the online gaming world. This exegesis therefore explores the theory surrounding virtual teams and the use of information models. The literature discussed is used as a basis for which this research can be supported. The first section regards the theoretical foundation in which this prototype has been created and also the process of data acquisition for the information model. The second section follows the practice space in which the prototype was designed and developed. Finally, the exegesis concludes that there is potential for the prototype created to aid new players in learning the unwritten rules of play.

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Keywords
Virtual Teams , Multiplayer Gaming , Virtual Leadership , Online Disinhibition , Virtual Worlds , CSGO , Counter-Strike: Global Offensive , MMORPG , FPS , Virtual Communication
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