1GyAp2x

Gaming 217After Kalipea got into the game, she would go over to her friend’s house sothey could play together, a practice that is not uncommon for players whoare friends outside the game and live near each other. Kalipea describedplaying with her friend:Yep. I played with her. At first we hung out a lot because she was showing me howto work around stuff. Like we both lived in the same city at the time, and I wouldgo to her house and even like bring my computer over there and we’d have like allnightgaming sessions, just playing and hanging out. And we’d go to like the twentyfour-hourgrocery store and get all this food and sit in front of the computers and eatjunk food.Within the game, players form groups, chat with one another via privatemessages or in-game mail, and join linkshells. The game is built to be social;from leveling to questing to crafting, people need one another to progressthrough the game. Scott, a twenty-five-year-old white male in WashingtonState, describes the necessity of playing with other people:Because you have to rely on so many, you’re just . . . you’re so limited on what you cando solo that you have to rely on other people. And if you have to rely on other peopleyou might as well do it with people you like. And I think that’s . . . it’s just a very interconnectedplay, ’cause you have to have people you know.Players who prefer casual, individual play, and players who do not get alongwith others are weeded out of the game early since lengthy parties are necessaryfor play and reputations (and thus party invites) are dependent on aplayer’s ability to interact successfully with party members. Communities arealso a major determinant in what players do in the game, how they play, andwhat they desire in the game. Players learn from one another where to go inorder to level, what gear to wear, and their roles within parties during levelingor killing a monster. And players who fail to align their social interactions,play style, gear, and roles to the community norms risk being cast out of aparty, removed from a linkshell, or ostracized or mocked by the communityat large.Players need one another to succeed in the game, but they play with oneanother because that is what they enjoy. People often log in to the gamelooking forward to hanging out with their friends. Chat fills the lengthydowntime while players look for a party to play with, between monster fights,while waiting for monsters to spawn, and during lengthy fights. Even whenthe game’s activities are no longer fun, people often continue playing becauseof their friends. Wurlpin, a twenty-six-year-old white male in San Diego whohad played the game for two years, described the relationships:You will play with these guys eight, nine, ten hours in a day sometimes, all weekand in wee hours of the morning so they kind of become your family so to speak, oryour group of friends that you hang out with. It is your way of hanging out with them,