This document discusses motivations for playing online games and how individuals use online games to fulfill needs based on uses and gratifications (U&G) theory. It outlines several key motivations for playing like achievement, exploration, socializing, and imposition. It also analyzes usage patterns and the impacts of online gaming, finding benefits like relationship building but also potential issues like problematic usage and worse health. The discussion section notes the motivations are complex and multifaceted and that more research is needed on usage patterns and benefits of online gaming.

1. Motivations and U&G Theory Application in Online Games FWCY

2. Outlines What is the Purpose of Study Background Introduction What is Online Game What is U&G Theory Findings and Analysis What are the motivations for playing online game? How individuals use online games to gratify their needs? What are the impacts of online game playing toward individuals ? Discussion

3. What is the purpose of study Analyze motivations to identify the needs Examines the relationships between usage patterns and motivations or needs fulfilled Explores the impacts or consequences of playing online game

4. Background introduction 1) What is online game --Being played over some form of computer network --Current-technology using --Simple text, incorporating complex graphics, virtual worlds of community 2) What is U&G theory about --Attempts to explain the uses and functions of the media for individuals, groups, and society --To study the gratifications that attract and hold audiences to the kinds of media and the types of content that satisfy their social and psychological needs

5. Findings and Analysis What are the motivations for playing online game? The Bartle’s Player Types (1996) The inter-relationship of two dimensions of playing style: action versus interaction, and world-oriented VS. player-oriented: i) Achievement within the game context ii) Exploration of the game iii) Socializing with others iv) Imposition upon others

6. What are the motivations for playing online game? The inter-relationship of two dimensions of playing style: action versus interaction world-oriented versus player oriented: i) Achievement within the game context ii) Exploration of the game iii) Socializing with others iv) Imposition upon others Weakness not highly co-relationship overlapping No practical way to access New 8 Types Limitation remain

7. Motivations of Playing MMORPG Five factors (Yee, 2005) Relationship --the desire to interact , the willingness to form meaningful relationships Manipulation —the inclination to objectify and manipulate for gains and satisfaction Immersion --whether users enjoy being in a fantasy world as well as being “someone else” and in which aspect the users enjoy Escapism --how much a user is using the virtual world to temporarily avoid, forget about and escape from real-life stress and problems Achievement --the desire to become powerful

8. Motivations of Playing MMORPG Achievement, Social, and Immersion 10 motivation subcomponents

9. The most important motivation The social aspects of the game were the most factor in playing. (Mard Griffiths D. 2004, 2006, 2007; Williams, D., Nicolas D., Li Xiong, Nick Y. Eric N.2006; Chen & Duh, 2007) Social interaction includes: making friends (Mard Griffiths D. 2004), helping others,( C.C Wang and C.H. Wang, 2008) , etc.

10. How individuals use online games to gratify their needs? U&G Theory Active Audience (Rubin 1994) Different individuals tend to display different types and amounts of activity in different communication settings and at different times in the communication process Dependency Theory (Ball-Rokeach,1985) Media dependency is high when an individual’s goal satisfaction relies on information from the media system Main Applications TV viewing -6 reasons -2 types of users -4 Lifestyle types VCR Entertainment, displacement, and social utility Internet use Three interrelated components that place elevated demands on individual user interaction

11. Motivation and Usage Pattern 4 categories of population: - continuers of the game - discontinue rs of the game - potentials of the game - resistors of the game Adaptors: Mainly male, more frequent users of video games and high-speed internet - Early adaptors - Late adaptors

12. Motivation and Usage Pattern Papacharissi and Rubin (2000) Companionship Action Substitution for friendship Passing time Solitude Schiffman and Kanuk (1978) Relative advantage Compatibility Complexity Triability (or divisibility) Observability (or communicability) Blinka, L. (2008) Identification factor Immersion factor Relationship factor

13. What are the Impacts of Online Game Playing toward Individuals Game play leads to problematic usage, worse reported health and sleep , and possibly some problems in academic social life. Griffith (2004) concluded that almost one-fifth of players sacrificed sleep in order to play the game. Lo, S. K. et al. (2005) some of college students in Taiwan spend more time in cyber cafés than they do in school. some imitate the violent or destructive behaviors that they observe in online games; extreme examples include murder and suicide.

14. What are the impacts of online game playing toward individuals The MMORPG play reported significantly worse overall health and poor work performance. Utz (2000) concluded that college students can develop compulsions to play MMORPGs, leading to social isolation, poor academic performance, and sleep deprivation . The result is consist with what Griffiths (2001) found in his study. The greater amount of time individuals spends playing World of Warcraft, the more likely they are to experience problems in their lives (Peters & Malesky, 2008).

15. What are the impacts of online game playing toward individuals Video games have been used in a wide variety of therapeutic and medical context, such as for training children with chronic illnesses, pain management, or even improving basic perceptual processes, reaction times, and well-being (Griffiths, 2003; Hunter, 2002; Lieberman, 2001; Steele et al., 2003). Online gaming may, in particular, allow shy and socially inhibited individuals to build friendships more effectively (Utz, 2000). Griffiths (2001) noted that most individuals appear to play without negative impact. People play can be enjoyable, and they may benefit from the development of additional relationships and social interactions . Complex games requiring a variety of skills to succeed may also contribute to academic success by promoting problem-solving skills, critical thinking, and creativity (Smyth, 2007).

16. Discussion Play motivations: not merely suppress each other Nor mainly for socializing and friendship. The motivations are multi facets and complicated. Explain the emergence of more complex behaviors and interactions Further study in the online game usage patterns or in-game preferences or behaviors.

17. Discussion The current studies ignore the different degrees of each kind of motivations. Although there are several researches about the usage patterns and behaviors of online gaming in gender difference(Elena Bertozzi, 2008; Hsiu-Yuan Wang and Yi-Shun Wang, 2008; Taylor, T. L., 2003) and in age differences(M.D. Griffiths, Mark N.O. Davies, and Darren Chappell, 2004; Blinka, L. 2008), the research of how the motivations affect the different groups of the online gamers is still in grey. The limit range of sampling is one of the major limitations of the current research.

18. Discussion Not reliable and not easy for validation Supplementations to make it more objective (e.g. Multiple logistic regression analyses) Video game and broadband internet can be taken as significant predictors of online game adoption.

19. Discussion The more research should be conducted in the future in order to examine the possible benefits of playing MMORPGs along with the potential risks and costs. The MMORPG-like therapeutic or skill-building games can be developed for helping people in need. Future studies should also consider the different social contexts of game playing. At home, school, or workplace; In cyber café or on a mobile phone; With a few players, with a small group, or with several thousand others (i.e. MMORPGs). Whether other players are opponents or collaborators might also a factor which could even lead to opposite results.