Proximity-based chat in a first person shooter: using a novel voice communication system for online play

Voice communication between players can have many benefits relative to text-based communication for game play and social experience in fast-paced multiplayer online games. However, previous research has highlighted some problems with existing implementations of voice-over-IP in online games and suggested the need to carefully design voice communication systems if they are to positively contribute to the game play and social experience of online multiplayer games. In this paper we present the results of a field trial of the "Immersive Communication Environment", a novel voice-over-IP system designed to support player communication in online games by simulating in the game world the way utterances travel through air in the physical world. We found that the proximity-based constraints imposed by this voice communication system created some advantage for players in terms of their game play and their experience of the game as a social event. The findings suggest that players benefit from voice communications systems that make socially salient information available to them according to interactional affordances and constraints that are sensibly designed and well understood.