Question

can someone answer these about minecraft, really I don' t mind which MMOG is used just not second life .... PLEASE do not use second life

General Social Issues

a.What is the purpose of the MMOG?

b.What kinds of conversations are supported?

c.How is awareness supported of the others in the MMOG?

d.What kinds of social protocols and conventions are used?

e.What kinds of awareness information are provided?

f.Does the mode of communication and interaction seem natural or awkard?

g.How do players coordinate their actions in the game?

2.Specific interaction design issues

a.What form of interactions and communication is supported, e.g. text/audio/video?

b.What other visualization are included? What information do they convey?

c.How do users switch between different modes of interactions, e.g. exploring and chatting? Is the switch seamless?

d.Are there any social phenomena that occur specific to the context of the MMOG wouldn’t happen in face-to-face settings?

3.Design Issues

a.What other features might you include in the MMOG to improve communication, coordination and collaboration?

Answer 1

1st Answer:

a).

I have chosen to visit Second Life, a social network that allows users to create personalized avatars and interact through audio and visual imagery, it allows the creation  of communities/Groups of likeminded or those with similar tastes and preferences, replication and enhancement of real and fictional locations, living out of fantasies/other lives in an online environment, which might prove physically much safer in some cases! Second Life has developed to include commerce and trade, recruitment and employee assessment, also added virtual classroom offerings.

"Second Life was designed as a social networking platform -- to encourage social interaction"

b).

The kinds of conversations supported are:

• One to one
• One to many
• Many to many
• Audio
• Text
• Video
• IM/chat

c).

Through a Viewer, a proprietary desktop application, which provides a visual representation of the user's location, and also through an accessible map. Every individual has an avatar, customizable according to taste. The Viewer is yet to be successfully "ported" to the growing community of tablet computers, although apps are visible to continue social contact to a limited degree.

d),

The kinds of social protocols and conventions that are used depend on the section of the BVW you are in, but there are many, varied and complex. The VW inhabitants have developed and matured, bringing either extension of their offline personalities in, or developing wholly new characters, communities and relevant geographics within the VW.

e).

Visual prompt and triggers, audio, in-world dialogue boxes, control panels, situational information such as telling you where you are located, and stopping you entering certain restricted areas/if you don't have an invite. The VW Viewer frames the world and offers a deep selection of information, history, and customizable details.

f).

The mode of communication seems fairly natural, once you get used to it, but obviously, you need to get used to it! if you are socially awkward in the real world, this MIGHT be a  way to overcome that, or it might be just the same!

2nd Answer:

a).

The form of interaction and communication supported are:

Text, audio, IM, also the VW enables the creation of art installations, customized venues for socializing among specific interest groups. The users obviously have the option of continuing their interactions outside the VW if they so wish, many have done so by creating additional web-based sites, posting to relevant blog communities, publishing art, music, and literature on specialist websites.

b).

Dress, and general physical appearance, not limited to human, allowing every user to make statements about themselves and their personal preferences visually, and through social choices such as where they spend time within the world. Representations of other users, images to offer membership of groups, invitations to tailored events, some of which cross over into the real world, and art installations. Some of the regions are based on cultural reference points, such as the Blade Runner Offworld Colony, whose name speaks for itself. By allowing the creation of such context/taste specific areas, rooms, lands, etc, such as gaming zones, fantasy, party, and adult areas. Second Life allows users to congregate among other users of their choice, in environments of their own choosing or indeed of their own design and construction

c).

Dialog boxes open can be minimized, and closed, but always available around the edges of the proprietary viewer application. The interface is Keyboard and mouse, which does have limitations, and makes me think of First Person Shooter PC games, possibly not the connection that the VW's designers were "aiming" for!

d).

I speculate that many individuals can choose to live lives that are not as they are in the real world, while there are still general social and good behavior rules there are segments of the VW where these rules change to suit the preferences of the visitors. Users can exhibit their art, publish and perform their music, share self-published literature, none of this might look interesting outside of their own online communities. Relationships can be based on the virtual avatars, and the characters created online, rather than those of the physical world!. The Viewer enables profile disclosure to any user within close enough proximity to click on an avatar, which initially encourages openness, but once familiar with this it's a simple matter to manipulate one's profile to one's own ends.

3rd Answer:

a).

The Viewer requires a certain level of performance specification from users pc's, which can cause problems, and I found the control system for moving my avatar quite slow to respond, although that might simply be because I have not had time to get used to the system.

I found myself wondering whether or not avatars I encountered might be greeting me and I was simply missing this social contact through not understanding the Viewer context better. This might be overcome by a proximity chat prompt.

The biggest glaring omission that I could find was a lack of video interface, a la Skype. If a user can initiate a chat/IM session, then the primary barriers to the video I can conceive of would be bandwidth and security concerns. Aesthetic considerations would be a design requirement with user feedback, and beyond that, I would imagine there are some behavior management concerns, but if users are conducting themselves in line with VW conventions then these would be a minor administrative blip around the first introduction, and maybe have some overhead in the ongoing management.