Demographic differences in accumulated types of capital in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games




Henry Korkeila, Jonna Koivisto, Juho Hamari

International Academic Mindtrek Conference

New York, NY

2020

AcademicMindtrek '20: Proceedings of the 23rd International Academic Mindtrek Conference

23

978-1-4503-7774-4

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1145/3377290.3377302

https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/44224125




This paper examines how the demographic
attributes and extra-game habits of players of a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing
Game (MMORPG) predict the accumulated capital of their avatars. An online
survey (N=905) was conducted amidst the players of Final Fantasy XIV (FFXIV).
Four types of capital were measured to map out the concrete and intangible
resources of the avatars; social, economic, cultural and symbolic. The results
show that weekly time spent playing the game is the strongest predictor of
avatar capital and was associated with all types of capital. Time subscribed to
the game was associated with cultural, economic, symbolic and bonding social
capital. Social capital was found to be highest amongst both young and female
players. Forum activity was associated with symbolic capital.


Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 22:22