Ideology and interaction in Internet action video games

This thesis is an analysis of how the play mechanics of the Return to Castle Wolfenstein videogame influence player cooperation and competition during play as well as an analysis of player chat as indication of cooperation and competition. While the premise of the game is competition the play mechanics of the game were found to induce intricate and extensive cooperation among players. In this study, player communication was primarily focused on achieving game goals, however there was also communication for cooperative efforts. The play mechanics of the game significantly influences the experience of players. Further research must be conducted to refine methods of analyzing play mechanics and to facilitate comparison among video games and between video games and other similar computer-modeled environments