There can be no doubt that multiplayer games have greatly influenced the gaming community. The question is whether these effects have been positive for the gaming community or if they have affected it negatively. In reality, multiplayer games are like double-edged swords. There are good and bad things that have happened to the gaming community as a result of online multiplayer gaming.
Let’s take a look at some of the positive effects online multiplayer games have had on gaming enthusiasts:
Most multiplayer games try to encourage interaction and coordination between players. A basic technique to encourage cooperative play is the introduction of difficulties or obstacles in the game that cannot be solved alone. Additionally, game developers and designers use other design methods to encourage player interaction and collaboration. For example, collecting and crafting items require interaction with other players. Most of these games require players to form guilds and alliances to improve their skill base and capabilities of the role they are playing. Simply put, players enjoy playing more and interacting with other players in a multiplayer environment.
According to research conducted by academics at Brunel University, multiplayer online role-playing games have a positive influence on young people. The researchers found that role-playing games increase the imagination of young people. For children, these games are excursions into the world of fantasy – the world of dragons and dungeons. These virtual worlds give children the opportunity to play with different identities. They can change their gender, race, and appearance and experience a world that is different from the real world. But these games are not just about leisure and creativity. The researchers noted that these games provide numerous learning opportunities for young people. Young gamers with entrepreneurial skills engage in online business in a virtual world. Therefore, they learn new things that are often not open to them in the real world or things that are outside the realm of formal education.
A vast majority of doctors and researchers are of the opinion that multiplayer games improve logical thinking and significantly increase problem-solving skills among players. Multiplayer role-playing games in which the player needs to build cities or protect his country from evil forces in collaboration with other players to develop a player’s decision-making skills. There are also many other positive effects that multiplayer games have on gamers like better communication and problem solving skills, improved alertness, etc.
Many educational institutes are trying to introduce multiplayer online games in school curricula as they have noticed that these games improve students’ comprehension, reading, spelling and math skills. In addition, these games have all the necessary elements to make learning a fun experience. We cannot deny the truth of this statement “if you hear it you will forget it, if you see it you will remember it and if you do it you will know it” and multiplayer games give students hands-on learning experience. Imagine a group of students in a school working towards a common goal and learning along the way while having fun. Sounds interesting, doesn’t it?