Social gaming in online games

The purpose of this thesis is to provide a clearer picture of how gamers view gaming as a social construct and how social interaction changes the gaming experience. Social interaction in games brings people together. Online games have been researched from many points of view. However, the research done from social perspective is relatively new and this is why I wanted to write my thesis from the social interaction perspective. Games are created more and more social. Gaming culture has changed from single player games to games where gamers interact with the world and each other with the help of different technologies. Social contacts from games extend outside the game world. Social media and gaming communities in the internet bring people together to share their experiences and find company to play with. The world of online games is not just playing games. Gaming has become a way of life and a culture. Gamers converse in their own communities about games, gaming related affairs and everything else. Even though most conversations in the communities relate to games, gamers exchange a lot of information about themselves and things related to them. The research utilizes scientific articles as a base for the theory and a questionnaire that has been distributed among Finnish gamers