GW2 Project Survey

[superstarnova]

For those of you who had seen my previous thread, this is an extension of my Guild Wars 2 community study. Given the change of rules ANet has implemented in server transfers, my ability to join players in game has been limited. So I have changed my strategy and want to hear from you guys what sort of experiences you have playing with other people in Guild Wars 2. I am a student at the University of Victoria, and I am looking for the patterns and trends in online relationships, specifically in the Guild Wars 2 realm.

So I'm going to post a list of questions to get a discussion going, and I hope people will be willing to share their experiences. For those of you who want to squawk at my credibility, please refer to this previous thread: http://www.guildwars2forum.com/threa...ersity-Project

This is not an interview, this is a completely informal discussion. While I will be using this data to find some trends in the Guild Wars 2 community, there will be no use of usernames, real names, personal details, ages, genders, locations, and any other irrelevant information. All I want to know is how people make friends in our specific online community, and if you want to call me a scammer, DON'T POST. It's that simple. You guys tell me what you want me to know. I genuinely love to hear other people's experience with this game, because it is something close to my heart.

Questions:

What is your impression of the player community of Guild Wars 2?

Do you feel that the mechanics of Guild Wars 2 contributes to the strong community?

How has the community changed since Guild Wars 1?

How often do you interact online with other people?

Are the people you interact with online people you know in real life?

If YES, know IRL:
Does online interaction strengthen your relationship?
Do you talk about your lives outside of the game while playing?

If NO, do not know IRL:
Do you consider people online as "friends" or otherwise?
How do these relationships generally form?
How much personal information do you share with them? Personal identity, personal history, day to day life, etc?
How much do they tend to share with you?
Are these online relationships stronger, or weaker than real life ones?
How do they differ from physical relationships?

[robinsiebler]

Since you have already interviewed me, I won't add anything here, but if you have any further questions, please feel free to PM or whisper me in game.

This message was brought to you by a Kitten with a Keyboard

[Raejiin]

Hmmm, I smell a Sociology major. Reason is, I had to conduct a very similar survey

[robinsiebler]

Hmmm, I smell a Sociology major. Reason is, I had to conduct a very similar survey

I guess y'all need to bathe more?

This message was brought to you by a Clean Kitten!

[Katzyn]

What is your impression of the player community of Guild Wars 2?

Generally, I like it's a good community - people on Ehmry Bay seem to like chatting and helping others, though it can get a bit nasty in WvWvW if people aren't agreeing on which directions we should take. Res's are easy to come by; if you ask questions, people answer (though occasionally snarly, "Google it"); It's easy to find people to group or team up with (in and out of squads).

Do you feel that the mechanics of Guild Wars 2 contributes to the strong community?

Yes. There is no chance for stealing mobs or bosses, so that alone makes people less likely to argue or get grumpy...however, trying to sell from /map chat or /say chat can cause problems if someone takes advantage of someone else, and things can get ugly there rather quickly.

How has the community changed since Guild Wars 1?

I honestly didn't play GW1 much.

How often do you interact online with other people?

Pretty frequently, especially when I play in WvWvW - warning others about potential invasions, chatting about the game...helping others with their quests or questions. Plus, I have a few friends who migrated here with me from other games.

Are the people you interact with online people you know in real life?

If YES, know IRL:
Does online interaction strengthen your relationship?
Do you talk about your lives outside of the game while playing?

If NO, do not know IRL:
Do you consider people online as "friends" or otherwise?
How do these relationships generally form?
How much personal information do you share with them? Personal identity, personal history, day to day life, etc?
How much do they tend to share with you?
Are these online relationships stronger, or weaker than real life ones?
How do they differ from physical relationships?

Yes AND no.

One is a RL friend (boyfriend, in fact), and the rest of my guild are all friends I haven't met in RL (but would love to!), and have known for 2+ years.

For my boyfriend, yes, I believe our relationship is stronger because we play together. This way, one doesn't feel left out. We can do quests together and have more fun. We talk about RL, as well, but usually on TS, in whispers, rather than in-game, simply because we don't need to type it in-game when we talk on TS all the time.

For the other friends - They are definitely friends to me, and I treat any new people I chat with on GW2 as potential new friends =) All of my current GW2 friends have come from a previous game we played together, or from running together in WvWvW. My guildies (who are all from another game I played, and have been known to me for 2+ years) know quite a lot about my RL - where I live (not address!), some have my cell number, they know my age, DOB, what I sound like (TS is used often), daily things that happen, my current health issue, etc. Those are people I trust. People I meet in GW2 get much less info, but I'm willing to share when/if I find nice, chatty people, but even then I don't give away "too much". And they don't share much with me, either.

Unfortunately, my online friendships are stronger than my physical relationships, due to my current health issues and work issues (constantly at work, and just wanna stay home on my days off). I lost track of nearly all of my RL friends back when I graduated college, and it's been about 4 years since then, so...yeah. I have a couple of RL friends, but our schedules don't match up for hanging out =/

And honestly, the only difference I can see between physical and online friendships...is physical comfort. I don't -like- to "go out", so that's not a big deal for me. But a hug when I'm feeling down? Hell yeah, I want one. But online friends can't send real hugs through the internet. =/

[superstarnova]

Thank you Katzyn! Your participation is thoroughly appreciated.

Looks like this thread died... maybe this will revive it?

[StacyX]

What is your impression of the player community of Guild Wars 2?

I've been playing MMOs for over 9 years and have played many many MMOs over the years, and this is one of the most friendly gaming communities I've ever had the pleasure of being a part of. The only other community that I've experienced that was more friendly and helpful than this one was the LOTRO community. The Lord of the Rings Online community was a bit more friendly and helpful, but not by a whole lot.

Do you feel that the mechanics of Guild Wars 2 contributes to the strong community?

Yes. The way that Anet has structured this game, so that when people show up they are a welcome addition (as apposed to competition like most other MMOs where people can kill steal and node steal), IMO plays a big part in the way others in this game treat each other. We're not in competition with each other (at least in PVE), but we help each other. And that makes a big difference.

How has the community changed since Guild Wars 1?

I never got to play Guild Wars 1, but one day would love to try it out if I ever get bored with GW2.

How often do you interact online with other people?

Every day. Not only does much of my fun and relaxation come from interaction with others online, but I also work from home so much of time is spent networking and conversing with my clients online.

Are the people you interact with online people you know in real life?

I met my boyfriend (who've been with very happily for over 4 years now) online. But most of the people I know online now I don't really know in real life. A couple people I game with know me though, know my real life stuff, which makes them friends. Even though we've never "met" in real life.

If YES, know IRL:
Does online interaction strengthen your relationship?
Do you talk about your lives outside of the game while playing?

I talk with a couple of people that I game with about our lives. It makes for deeper friendships and makes it more fun to play with them in game because we are closer and know each other on a deeper level.

If NO, do not know IRL:
Do you consider people online as "friends" or otherwise?

Yes, when you talk with people on a regular basis and start to get to know their personalities and they open up a bit about their lives, it does become a friendship.

How do these relationships generally form?

Usually we start out as guildies, after talking and sparking up conversations things usually naturally progress over time to a level of friendship.

How much personal information do you share with them? Personal identity, personal history, day to day life, etc?

I'm an open book, though I never share anything that could allow someone to find me or hurt me in any way. People I talk to usually find out what I do for a living and little tid bits about my personal life - little stuff like my pets and the fact that I have a boyfriend, but I never share my last name or where I live or any other important information that would allow someone to use it against me. I'm trusting, but not that trusting. hehe Friendship online is great, but there are things that people you've never met just don't need to know of course, no mater how long you've talked to them or how "close" you've become. I'm friends with my old guild leader who I've been talking to for years online, but he still doesn't know anything very personal about me, my last name, or anything that might come back to bite me in the bottom. heh

How much do they tend to share with you?

About as much as I share with them. Tid bits about our personal lives, relationship problems, stuff like that. But most people are smart enough not to share anything too revealing or anything that could be damaging to them. Every once in a while I start talking to someone who shares too much information, like their last name, the town they live in, where they work, etc and I have to tell them that sharing things like that with people online is a BAD idea. Usually after pointing that out to them they are grateful for the heads up, as some people are just not told what they should and shouldn't be sharing with others online.

Sharing very personal stuff, like relationship issues, hopes, fears, dreams, sometimes that happens. Those are ok and it's nice to find someone to share those things with every once in a while. But as long as you're not sharing stuff that could allow someone to find you, hack your account, or find out things about you that you don't want people to know, it's alright, in my book. Sometimes you can talk to people online that you're friends with about stuff you can't talk to your IRL friends about. There is something about the anonymity of it that is a comfort. But as long as the information you're sharing can't come back to harm you, it's all good.

Are these online relationships stronger, or weaker than real life ones?

Sometimes they can be stronger, because you can share things with your online friend(s) that sometimes you might be afraid to say to your real life friends. And a lot of people feel more comfortable to 'be themselves' when talking to others online, as they don't have the same feelings of rejection that one can have with real life relationships. So you can get a sense that the people you talk to online can sometimes know you better and more intimately than some of your "real life" friends.

How do they differ from physical relationships?

It can be easier. If you don't feel like talking or want to be alone, you don't log on. You can't avoid real life friends quite as easily. heheh Also, as I said, sometimes it's easier to share things with someone you're not face to face with. But with online friends you miss the closeness of real life friendships. Hanging out with a person, laughing, talking to face to face, personal contact. You miss all that with online friendships.




...If you read all that, KUDOS! lol Hopefully that helps your study in some way. Sorry for being "long winded" but I wanted to give my answers as completely and honestly as I could.