Photo Journal Entry 1: Social Collaboration in FFXIV

Screen Shot of FFXIV In Game Class Meeting

         Social collaboration is one of the aspects of MMORPGs that sets them apart from other types of online gaming. FFXIV puts the gamer in a position where working collaboratively with other players is required to advance within the games at certain points, such as during Dungeons or Trials. There is no option to enter these scenarios without a group whether it be with strangers or a pre-determined party and were it an option to do so the player would be unable to complete these parts of the game to move forward in their quests without others because they would be overwhelmed by the sheer number of enemies throughout the dungeon and the final boss battle. It creates a system in which the player must learn to rely on others within the game and must also become a reliable gamer in turn as well in order for the dungeons to be completed successfully.

        Before doing dungeons for class the few I had done were in groups of strangers and, aside from the two for class, all of the ones since then have also been in randomized groups. Overall most of the players I encountered were quick to step up when someone needed a moment to let their health or other stats reload. "Those players who continue to cause trouble in the player community often find themselves ostracized. Players sometimes keep lists of those they have found troublesome and very frequently such information is shared by work of mouth not only across guild chat channels, but on message forums and e-mail lists. Bad players can acquire a reputation that has serious effects on their ability to get groups, be invited into a guild, and by extension advance in the game," (Taylor 36). While negative experiences can and do frequently occur in these randomized groups they are not the majority of players because the game itself relies on a system in which collaboration is key to success.

        While a player could opt to do as Taylor pointed out and consistently cause trouble it would ultimately work against them over the course of long term gameplay. While playing one of the most useful resources I have is the network of classmates that I could consult via linkshell when I ran into any issues. At one point when I repeatedly had trouble getting lost or with the enemies in a quest I would get help from someone so I could progress in the story rather than giving in to the frustration. In order to build a lasting group to work with and seek out when facing something new or exceptionally difficult in the game a player needs to form a positive reputation or they will have difficulties gaining trust to join or form a group.

        MMORPGs rely on the gamers to be an integral part of the gameplay and its environment through the ways in which they transform it by becoming a piece of the dynamic in game world. Players have the ability to influence change in the world and form the way that the community in the game works together. The specific roles of players and their characters within the game are not directly defined by the creators of it and are developed over time. Entering the game as my own character allowed me to form my own set of beliefs for her, the way she acts, how she moves through the world, and the reputation she forms. Moji, like all other players in the game, is a unique creation of my own and by advancing through the world with her I am influencing the game and interacting with other gamers and becoming a part of this dynamic community. "This reliance on social networks, or communities, is an intentional aspect of the game design," (Taylor 38). Since most characters in the game are made up of individual gamers they also create the way the game is played. The social rules and expectations are formed not directly by the game itself but instead by the people who paved their way through the game and formed those expectations over time.

        The one necessity of the game is the community of players because they form the gameplay and the environment as well as the allies and sometimes obstacles throughout the game. Their interactive nature makes MMORPG success directly reliant on having that community to form the game and keep progressing collaboratively. "Community is relationship between players, whether it be friendly or adversarial, symbiotic or competitive. It's also a form of persistence, which is key to massively multiplayer games. Without community you simply have a bunch of independent players running around the same environment," (Aihoshi 2002). Without a group of players to form dungeon parties, free companies, and other collaborative pieces of the game these pieces of the game would crumble. If no parties were available to complete dungeons then people could not move through the quests of the game and would be trapped early on. By allowing the player to form their own place within the world and its community MMORPGs keep their players returning by giving them something to connect with and feel they have a direct investment in.