What is it about?

In this study, we review the Games User Research literature to unravel how lurkers and loners are (a) defined, and (b) characterized by researchers. From the papers found, we provide a definition of lurkers and loners in games and an overview of the properties and characteristics other researchers associated with them. We also provide a 2-axes interaction models describing players interactions with (a) the environment, and (b) the community of players, obtained by following a Persona building approach. Finally, we present several macro areas of research that would improve our understanding on isolating behaviors in games and possible intervention strategies.

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Why is it important?

The act of playing together is beneficial in a number of ways, as people experience increased engagement, well-being, and a feeling of connectedness. However, participation is not equally distributed among players. Neglecting isolated players in games prevents from fully exploiting games' social potential, which has been crucial in the current times of social distancing and Covid19. With this study we provide an initial definition of isolation behaviors in games, as well as a direction for future works. In doing this, we open and highlight an important research direction, which is yet to be entirely explored.

Perspectives

This research is meant as a forerunner for research on isolation and loneliness in games. Sometimes, as in the case of lurkers, we miss isolating (on non-social) behaviors because they are complex to log and identify. Yet, those isolated players might be the ones that need the most to connect with others, in case the isolation is involuntary. In few words, we will never fully understand the players' community if we do not acknowledge the presence of lurkers and loners, which often account for a big part of the players' population.

Enrica Loria
Graz University of Technology

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This page is a summary of: The Quirks of Being a Wallflower: Towards Defining Lurkers and Loners in Games Through A Systematic Literature Review, May 2021, ACM (Association for Computing Machinery),
DOI: 10.1145/3411763.3451830.
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