Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds - Volume 12, Issue 2, 2020

EVE Online is a massively multiplayer online game that has gained notoriety for player organizations boasting thousands of active members. The complexity of these groups presents substantial challenges, and leaders have explored multiple approaches to organization and governance. They often employ structures and language drawn from historical social systems, family or nationality to create social order. Here we examine the use of feudalism in EVE – as a structure of power, an indicator of legitimacy and a mechanism of waging war. We demonstrate that even as leaders incorporate feudal language into their organizations, their application of these concepts is influenced by capitalism and individualism. We argue that the final social and economic system is neither truly feudal nor capitalist, but instead an accommodation between the two, shaped by player knowledge, experience and in-game needs. We conclude that such systems support legitimate structures of power, which encourage player participation and produce more sustainable player organizations.

This article seeks to explore the digital hunting games genre, in particular the theHunter franchise, using the interpretative framework based on Roger Caillois’ concepts of paidia and ludus. It is argued that both of these notions are represented in the gameplay, narrative structure and graphical user interface of the analysed titles, effectively working towards reconciliation of the possible ecocritical and hunting-focused readings. The article interprets the theHunter games by juxtaposing the divergent stances towards environmental awareness and hunting culture, in the form in which they are communicated both in the games and within the communities of players.

Studies found that using digital media can satisfy the needs for competence, autonomy and relatedness, contributing to well-being and enjoyment. Further, need satisfaction in daily life has been identified as a background factor that may influence the intensity of media usage, as well as the psychological outcomes connected to it. Considering both perspectives, the current analysis investigates the causes and consequences of playing in online gaming communities. Specifically, we examine persistent groups of players (‘clans’) formed in the context of the online first-person shooter game Counter-Strike. Based on an online survey among 585 clan players, structural equation modelling shows that need satisfaction in clans relates to increases in clan engagement, increases in positive affect and decreases in negative affect. Further, players with deficits in day-to-day need satisfaction show increased engagement in their clan, but also experience more negative affect and less need satisfaction in their clans.