Cyril pointed me on this research project: Project Massive carried out at Carnegie Mellon University:
Previously, Project Massive has investigated player communication and organization in PC based, Massively Multiplayer games. While this work continues, the inquiry has been expanded to address the impact of online play on the players' real life activities, perceptions, and experiences. No longer is the study limited to PC based MMOs. A number of online genres including first-person shooters and real-time strategy games have been added. Further, both console and PC player populations are included in the sample. Below are just a few of the topics that Project Massive is currently concerned with:
- Role of Player Motivation in Usage Outcomes
- Genre and Platform Differences
- Engagement, Commitment, and Habit Formation
- Displacement of Real Life Activities
With the help of our thousands of respondents, this research will support the future design of better, more rewarding games for all of us. This research is not commercially sponsored in any way. Results and analysis of the continuing survey are published at ProjectMassive.com and are freely available for public use.
There is a pertinent research paper about it, presented at CHI 2004: Project massive:Â a study of online gaming communities by A. Fleming Seay, William J. Jerome, Kevin Sang Lee and Robert E. Kraut:
Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs) continue to be a popular and lucrative sector of the gaming market. Project Massive was created to assess MMOG players' social experiences both inside and outside of their gaming environments and the impact of these activities on their everyday lives. The focus of Project Massive has been on the persistent player groups or "guilds" that form in MMOGs. The survey has been completed online by 1836 players, who reported on their play patterns, commitment to their player organizations, and personality traits like sociability, extraversion and depression. Here we report our cross-sectional findings and describe our future longitudinal work as we track players and their guilds across the evolving landscape of the MMOG product space.
Why do I blog this? I need this kind of material/studies for a project about online communities creation and evolution.