Gamers that play video games that involve playing with or against other human players are often exposed to meeting new people. These video games include massively multiplayer online role-playing games and first person shooting games, especially those that play over the Internet which allow gamers to connect to other gamers all over the world.
The trend of socializing through video is set to increase as consoles are adding network play functionalities, such as the introduction of Xbox Live for the Microsoft Xbox. Of course, the computer is a perfect platform for social gaming as most people have access to a computer that is connected to the internet. Many single player games, such as Half-Life 2, are now including a multiplayer aspect, while some games, such as World of Warcraft, forgo the single player aspect altogether and are developed exclusively for online play.
One of the most obvious examples is the very popular game EverQuest. In this game, a key part of completing the objective is to communicate with other online players for social contact and trading information. This is to let the players in the game come together as a community. Because of the necessity of communicating with other players to play the game, many different forms of discussion have been created, inside the game and outside, online and offline. For example, a popular EverQuest community comes together online at the website Allakhazam’s Magical Realm. In this website, there are chat rooms, postings, artwork, and guides that are created by gamers for other gamers. Because of this, one can say that the game is more than just a game; it is actually the root of an enormous community that not only play the game together, but share with and help each other.
In addition, there has been a new method of playing networked games in which gamers, situated physically close to each other, connect their personal computers up in a local area network and play a common game, such as Unreal Tournament. This gathering, called a LAN party, has been rapidly increasing in popularity. Gamers enjoy LAN parties because they actually meet other gamers that they are playing with, in flesh, as opposed to playing over the Internet where it would be impossible to put a face on your online team-mates or enemies. While most LAN parties are meant for a only a small group no larger than 50 gamers , there has been an increasing trend in which massive LAN parties, such as QuakeCon, attract several thousands of players that may travel across countries and the world just for a weekend of non-stop gaming. Thus, it may even be considered an international event. LAN parties are even evolving, reaching out to include not only gaming, but also meeting new friends, trying out new names, and showing off one’s computer equipment. At a LAN party, the peer pressure makes a gamer not only concentrate on playing well, but also bring a nice computer to show off to other gamers. LAN parties have become so popular that game makers and computer hardware companies have begun to sponsor these events which actually are very good advertising.
Incredibly, some of these online acquaintances have developed such close relationships that they have arranged to meet each other in real life. Believe it or not, a couple of these relationships have developed romantically through games such as Everquest, Second Life, and City of Heroes and happily result in marriages. Some or all of the courtship, dating, and proposal process may take place inside the game. A global director of community relations at Sony Online Entertainment has reported at least 20 of such marriages, which frequently involve both real-life ceremonies and online in-game ceremonies.