Browsing this Thread:   1 Anonymous Users






An Online Gaming Communication Article
#1
Site Admin
Site Admin


See User information
In the early days, it was the gamer and an audience in the same room going through a single player campaign or one player against another individual. With time, many people could connect at the same location using a Local Area Network (LAN) and then the internet developed the capability to have many people from different locations in the same game match. With even greater bandwidth and innovation came expanded capability, gamers can now share their online experience and coordinate their group actions. The ability to play video games with others grew from gamers in your local area, to those in your region of your country, to others in neighboring countries, to gaming with others from different continents.

Instead of being in a dark room by yourself interacting with Non Player Characters (NPCs), now players can talk to each other using a microphone and third party VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) software. You can play the same game with your friends and joke around in the comfort of separate houses.

So, where are we now? We have other 3rd party applications and integrated tools available. We can see if others we know are online and we can join them through Steam and Xfire. We can coordinate meeting times face-to-face, via cellphone, or using a web-based forum. We can talk to our friends using TeamSpeak and Ventrillo. We can see the other person we are talking to or watching through Skype and a webcam. Some games integrate the ability to text, talk, and show. The later allows players to communicate using a common map depicting points of interest. Often repeated and critical information is communicated using hot keys and/or some form of communication rose (commo rose) which allows players to very quickly convey: Yes, No, Thank you, Need transport, need a medic, etc. The points on a shared interactive map and integrated comms like a commo rose bridge language barriers. Folks with no common language can operate as contributing members of a team using just the game set to their native language. The communication selection of one gamer is transmitted in language X and received in the other players native language Y.

How is all of these forms of communication managed? There is the ability to communicate with your intended audience without cluttering a single channel with multiple people speaking at the same time about different subjects. Several video games have separate integrated VoIP/text channels: ArmA has Global, Side, Group, Vehicle, and Direct; PlanetSide has Squad and Command; and Battlefield had Squad and Command channels. All three have the ability to share a point on a common map and at least two of the three games have a quick comms option.

What is the next phase in communication for video games? Higher quality VoIP for random players with more channels. The trick is to convey important information without having to endure the unnecessary chatter of scores of other players. Integrated tools are the key to enhanced teamplay. With the existing communication architecture, communication discipline (non-critical talking is restrained) becomes a necessary evil. To improve the quality of critical message dissemination, reduce the impact of disruptive outbursts, and increase fun; a limited number of players should be on the same channel. The disruptive one-out-of-thirty guy is contained to a channel only disturbing a couple of gamers instead of harassing a hundred gamers.

The U.S. Army Ranger School teaches a three to five man span of control is the most effective when conducting combat operations. Two subordinates or less is under utilization of a leader and six or more is over utilization of a leader. This same lesson can be integrated into future video games.

Posted on: 2016/8/3 22:49
Top







You can view topic.
You cannot start a new topic.
You cannot reply to posts.
You cannot edit your posts.
You cannot delete your posts.
You cannot add new polls.
You cannot vote in polls.
You cannot attach files to posts.
You cannot post without approval.
You cannot use topic type.
You cannot use HTML syntax.
You cannot use signature.
You cannot create pdf.
You cannot get print page.

[Advanced Search]