Conflict and Communication in Massively-Multiplayer Online Games

Massively-multiplayer online games (MMOGs) can serve as a unique laboratory for studying large-scale human behaviors. However, one question that often arises is whether the observed behavior is specific to the game world and its winning conditions. This paper studies the nature of conflict and communication across two game worlds that have different game objectives. We compare and contrast the structure of attack networks with trade and communication networks. Similar to real-life, social structures play a significant role in the likelihood of inter-player conflict.

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