Game Face(book): The Intersection of Games and social Network Sites

A panel discussion with:
Cliff Lampe, Michigan State University
Kurt DeMaagd, Michigan State University
Nicole Ellison, Michigan State University
Jon Monberg, Michigan State University

The session began with an overview of how real-world social networks are set-up, and how they are exhibited in various places:

• U of Chicago school/play/playground/kitchen
• Chucky Cheese

AND it all leads to digital as well:

• Webkinz

Club Penguin is targeting 6 - 10 year-olds

Mob Wars...a lot of people are obsessed with Mob Wars. You participate in various crime activities.

Little Green Patch is easy, fun, social, and a game.

Does Facebook actually offer anything through these games.



Games gain from social networks, cuz that's where games occur.

Play facilitates trust and facilitates games.

Social Network Sites (SNS)

What do SNS's do well?

• Provide a structured space for sself-expression (the profile)
• Provides support for relationship-building
• But: little ability to segment groups (& thus control identify information)

Sites provide incentives to fill in the forms: (think LinkedIn: %complete)

Providing game users with more sophisticated tools for communicating identity and relationshiop information would make the experience more compelling, engaging, and rewarding.

Gaming the game

Nuke Attack: You use the recommendation system to manipulate the rating system to force item, person, product to lower rating. Reverse bandwagon. Pick a series of books as good, then recommend as bad. Love/Hate is love this book, hate this one, hurts the second.

Push Attack: Make item, person, product more highly rated. Atacks can be random, or average, bandwagon to push your product higher on the list.

These attacks require very little knowledge to manipulate that system. Just some basic public information.

We believe that:

• Games will succeed when they draw on social roles more deply, and more refectively.
• Providing game users with more sophisticated tools for communicating identity and realtionship information would maek the experience more compelling, engaging, and rewarding.
• play is an important aspect of human interactions, and occurs in social networks.
• people will game tools and mechanisms of interaction.

My thought: What is the social interaction between players outside of the game? Is it game related or other?

The discussion on focused on various topics. What is the nature of people's networks on social network sites? What is the relationship between the player and the avatar/pseudonym/username.

A very good comment about the "social networking" as a part of the game. You need to utilize the realtionships. There is an under utilization of the network as the mechanic. It has to do with who you place where, and when.

Thought: I wonder how the effect of "class" as a social network affects game play and/or player interactions in the game.

This is a HUGE topic that needs to be explored.