Purpose

This study investigates how game design, which divides players into static teams, can reinforce group polarisation. The authors study this phenomenon from the perspective of social identity in the context of team-based location-based games, with a focus on game slang.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors performed an exploratory data analysis on an original dataset of n = 242,852 messages from five communication channels to find differences in game slang adoption between three teams in the location-based augmented reality game Pokémon GO. A divisive word “jym” (i.e. a Finnish slang derivative of the word “gym”) was discovered, and players' attitudes towards the word were further probed with a survey (n = 185). Finally, selected participants (n = 25) were interviewed in person to discover any underlying reasons for the observed polarised attitudes.

Findings

The players' teams were correlated with attitudes towards “jym”. Face-to-face interviews revealed association of the word to a particular player subgroup and it being used with improper grammar as reasons for the observed negative attitudes. Conflict over (virtual) territorial resources reinforced the polarisation.

Practical implications

Game design with static teams and inter-team conflict influences players' social and linguistic identity, which subsequently may result in divisive stratification among otherwise cooperative or friendly player-base.

Originality/value

The presented multi-method study connecting linguistic and social stratification is a novel approach to gaining insight on human social interactions, polarisation and group behaviour in the context of location-based games.

中文翻译：

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基于位置的游戏玩家的群体极化：对游戏俚语的使用和态度分析

目的

这项研究调查了将玩家分成静态团队的游戏设计如何加强群体极化。作者在基于团队的基于位置的游戏背景下，从社会认同的角度研究了这一现象，重点是游戏俚语。

设计/方法/方法

作者对 来自五个通信渠道的n = 242,852 条消息的原始数据集进行了探索性数据分析，以找出基于位置的增强现实游戏 Pokémon GO 中三个团队在游戏俚语采用方面的差异。发现了一个分裂词“jym”（即“gym”一词的芬兰俚语派生词），并通过一项调查进一步探讨了玩家对该词的态度（n  = 185）。最后，选定的参与者 ( n  = 25) 接受了亲自采访，以发现观察到的两极分化态度的任何潜在原因。

发现

球员的球队与对“jym”的态度相关。面对面的采访揭示了这个词与特定玩家子群的关联，并且它被以不正确的语法使用，作为观察到的消极态度的原因。围绕（虚拟）领土资源的冲突加剧了两极分化。

实际影响

具有静态团队和团队间冲突的游戏设计会影响玩家的社会和语言身份，随后可能会导致其他合作或友好的玩家群体之间出现分裂分层。

原创性/价值

所提出的将语言和社会分层联系起来的多方法研究是一种在基于位置的游戏背景下深入了解人类社会互动、极化和群体行为的新方法。