Analysis of “Renegade Gaming: Practices Surrounding Social Use of the Nintendo DS Handheld Gaming System”
Comments Made Elsewhere:
Summary:
Analysis of gamer habits when given portability and wifi capabilities. (1) Renegade gaming where they are able to game anywhere (stairwells, office, etc.). (2) There are aspects of the portable unit and its games that work against this adhoc, pick-up game with random strangers. (3) Players make “spheres” or become antisocial.
Studied gamers through semi-structured interviews and at gaming events. Broke results into four themes: (1) gaming contexts, (2) gaming goals, (3) multiplayer game coordination, (4) in-game experience.
(1) Portable gaming reduces the physical boundaries for multiplayer gaming, so it can occur almost anywhere, even in normal inappropriate places (e.g. work). However, a gamer will consider if his gaming will disrupt others, is socially appropriate, and what his personal image is.
(2) Want to be able to trash talk and play someone of equal skill level.
(3) How to coordinate a pick-up game? No one really just walks up to someone and asks to play a DS game apparently. Others advertise that they’ll be at a location or what games they have to encourage random game play. Can you leave or enter a game in mid-play? How does this affect others?
(4) DS’s feel less social because the screen is small. People can’t look over your shoulder. Naturally, people seem to arrange themselves in any which way with these portable devices.
Conclusion: have DS’s advertise themselves and allow external displays to be hooked up to provide a bird’s eye view
Discussion:
I want to do “research” with a Nintendo DS. Sign me up!
Nice little paper on qualitative research done around social gaming. Kind of just common sense written out formally in my opinion.