From text to talk: multiplayer games and voiceover IP

Abstract

The social experience of multiplayer gaming is mediated by the communications tools that are available to use. Until recently, these have been largely text-based, but with the advent of new voiceover IP tools like Roger Wilco and Xbox Live, voice-mediated communication is becoming increasingly common. We present three studies of multi- player gaming, where we analyse what happens in terms of the social experience when players are given the oppor- tunity of talking to each other rather than texting. To do this we use a conceptual framework called FFIPS, which stands for Form, language Functions, Identity, Presence, and Social protocols. Our findings show that voiceover IP for multiplayer gaming appears to be well-suited to sup- porting a distinctive and enjoyable social experience, both by providing high ‘presence’ (i.e., increased ener- gy, engagement and vividness), and by revealing informa- tion about players’ real identities.