Jane at GGA asks whether social networking sites like Facebook could contribute something to console and computer games. We've thought about this here before, but Jane's succinct words put it so nicely, and may present a relevant argument too:
I want to play a game to have fun; therefore I want to play with people who are fun, and whose notions of fun align with mine. What's not fun to me: sore losers, angry players, stupid players, homophobic, racist, or misogynistic players, players who overindulge in smacktalk of the bordering-on-cruel variety, players who have no sense of manners. This holds pretty much true for me across all multiplayer games, from chess to Halo to WoW to online Scrabble.
So what's the solution? Well, play only with people you actually know in RL - that's pretty much been my solution so far... surely there are other players out there who are like me, or with whom I would have fun playing. So how do I find them using the criteria that are important *to me*?
She talks about the alternatives, like Friends of Friends networks. Would you be willing for anyone to see the people you regularly group with? The Sims Online played with this concept, allowing other people to see how you might be interconnected using a really nice graphical representation in the heads-up display. People love seeing how they fit into the social scene. Would this be something useful in places like WoW, Halo or on Xbox Live?
