A Sociotechnical Conjecture about the Context and Development of Multiplayer Online Game Experiences

Abstract

The advent of multiplayer online games brings new actors into the development scene and redefines traditional roles and interactions. Anchored on studies of the role of context in human interaction we argue for a view of multiplayer online games as sociotechnical constructs, and of their “development” as an ongoing process of context engineering. By recognizing the new interplay of actors that extends from design time well into play time we attempt to transcend the technological determinism of approaches that focus on technological devices as determinants of the game experience. Using Actor-Network Theory constructs we propose an alternative perspective that takes context as the development object and technical artifacts, social and game rules, roles, playing and organizational strategies and practices as media designed to influence the emergence of the heterogeneous sociotechnical networks governing online game experiences. Finally, we outline challenges for the innovation of designer and player roles.