ENGH-122-P05: How Did Online Role Play Game Affect People?

Jianwei Zhou
Professor Mack and Skipper
ENGH-122-P05
03 April 2017
How did online role play game affect people?
Game helps people in any way, such as their social stress, their social activity and help people in their education. In today’s world, game does not have a good reputation. People labeled it as a fun and interesting software to entertain people, some people even labeled it as the root of crime because of those violence and bloody game is so famous, like GTA5. Like the saying “One rotten apple certainly spoils the whole barrel”, but what most people does not know is that game can actually help people in many ways, such as in their social life, help them make friends or even help people on their education. I have done many researches, most of the scholarly article are saying that game can affect people in many ways. “Current video game have evolved far beyond their roots. Video games were once simple and repetitive, involving monochromatic blocks for graphics and tasks such as moving a rectangular “paddle” in a vertical plane to intercept a moving “ball” (Pong, a forerunner of modern video games)” (Smyth, 717). It drags people from the real world into that imagination world to do those what they cannot do in the real world. It relaxes their mind that entertain them, by creating an environment that is enabling for their ability to interact with the outside world. The game does not only reduce the element of isolation by taking the gamers off the real world, it also connects them with other gamers in realm of global interconnectivity.
Online role play gaming can help people on their stress. According to my research, people rely on it more and more based on the percentage of the reality the game can do. The game helps people find the sense of belonging in the game. People find the sense of belonging in the game. Smyth mentioned in his article that “the most enjoyable and important aspects of the game are interpersonal in nature—helping others, making friends, and socializing in this virtual world” (718). Since the evolution of the game, it became more colorful and reality. Many people use gaming to achieve their social goal, such as what they cannot get in the real life. In the game, you basically can do whatever you want and do not have to care about the punishment you will get in real life. This makes people fall into it that they put themselves into the game and enjoy it. “The MMORPG group differed significantly from other groups after 1 month, reporting more hours spent playing, worse health, worse sleep quality, and greater interference in “real-life” socializing and academic work. In contrast, this group also reported greater enjoyment in playing, greater interest in continuing to play, and greater acquisition of new friendships. MMORPGs represent a different gaming experience with different consequences than other types of video games and appear to pose both unique risks and benefits from their use” (Smyth, 717).
People not only for entertain themselves in the game, but also making friends in the game. “The study showed that 42.8% of participants had met with online friends in real-life situations, again suggesting that online gaming is a social activity or facilitates social activity. Females were significantly more likely than males to meet online friends in real life. Meeting with other players was not limited to occurring only in the players’ local neighborhoods. An interesting finding regarding gender differences is that male players make more friends online, but females are more likely to meet with online friends. Females are also more likely to talk about sensitive issues with online friends, to be attracted to other players, and more to date others players in real life” (Cole and Griffiths, 582). This means people used the game as a tool to reach their social goal and make friends of it. The research has shown that almost half of the participant have met with their online friends. There is a gender difference that females are more likely to meet with their online friends than male. Based on the research, females are more emotional that they are more open to the online strangers and less protective.
Video games are not just a software that entertains people, it does more than what people thinks. Nowadays, when people think of video games, those words came to their mind, violence, bloody and crime (Cole, & Griffiths, 2007). This does not present for the rest of the video games. Since the revolution of technology, video games evolved in the same time.
What idea I didn’t get to is the detail example of how people changed their review by time. Human beings have an insatiable need to be connected with other persons. The significance of this element is associated with the fact that, where people are not in a position to connect with other persons, they tend to develop negative health challenges. As such, where persons are able to connect with others, they gainfully grow in their health status. People that do not have the element of connection may be exposed to social isolation, deficit in belonginess and lack of meaning and/ or purpose in their lives (Ongaro, 2013).
‘Disconnected individuals may see themselves as cut off from the social world despite the fact that they may have nonconflictual relationships with professional colleagues, personal friends, and family members. These individuals may report a lack of supportive relationships that can serve as effective buffers against the effects of stress. They may feel lost and alone, on both intrapersonal and interpersonal levels; that is, these individuals might experience a pervasive sense of disconnection from the internal self as well as from the external (social) world.’ (Townsend & McWhirter, 2017)
When these persons experience stress in their lives, they may not have a supportive system that they can lean on at the time. It is important that one has the supportive system which they can rely on when they are feeling stressed out. This could be someone they could share with or simply that stands by their side when they feel pressured in life (Cole, & Griffiths, 2007).
Games offer the users a chance to connect with the rest of the world at the comfort of their homes. They offer a way that the game us...