As part of a project in a Cultural Anthropology class, I'm trying to study different game "worlds" in the way that a professional anthropologist might travel to and study different countries and cultures. I'd really like your opinions on any/all of the following...
1) How do SK players conform to or differ from the stereotypical "gamer?"
2) What are the unspoken/common sense rules within the community? Things everybody who plays the game or posts on the forums knows or learns quickly?
3) How is power distributed within the community? Is respect based on experience, on game wealth, guild? Are age and gender or language factors?
4) What are the first words that come to mind when you think about the Spiral Knights community?
5) What's your favorite thing/least favorite thing/what would you change?
I'd love to hear anything about your opinions on the community in general. Many thanks to anyone willing to help my out here!
The "sub-culture" of Spiral Knights
1) Well, we do have a diverse selection of gamers, artists, the hardcore and the trolls, there is really nothing here that other MMO community doesn't have.
2) Don't make porn reference and don't make things personal, I think that is all.
3) I do respect some of the forum veterans here due to their experience, your position in the game doesn't really affect a thing, unless you are like a well known guild master, youtuber or artist.
4) "Soft", too soft, the art/fan-fic community here could use some tough love, and a lot of blood and gore. Read my fanfic for reference.
5) favourite thing: RP fun, least favourite: colosieum (where is that sub forum still there?), I would really be happier if Thinslayer can finish what he started, but damn... he never does...
1. We differ from others only from what we play.
2. Do not beg. Use proper Grammar(Spelling is optional, though recommended) when creating a Thread so we may understand you better.
3. Accessories/Lockdown Damage.
4. Words, words, words.
5. The Art Style/Differences in Monster Types(Jellies to be more specific).
Feel free to mix or pick from these, lol.
In-game [PvE]:
1) Co-op, generally either helpful, silent, or friendly.
2) Generally, don't do what you don't want other people not to do.
3) Generally based on how well you do.
4) Clique? (You usually find a small group of people that you like playing with, and stick with them)
5) I'd like custom chatrooms outside of /zone and /trade
In-game [PvP]:
1) Fairly typical of online competitive (as in player vs player) communities: people make excuses when they lose and will blame anything that they don't have or don't use. There's a smaller group of people who see above that (hi, forumkids), but they aren't the majority.
2) Certain weapons (Pulsar/hammer lines) are seen as unfair to use.
3) Respect seems to be given depending on how much damage you can do, or how much you stick out, if you're a unique player.
4) egh
5) Custom lobbies
Forums:
1) Depends on what subforum you frequent.
2) Don't use it as your vent for emotions (because these a forum, not your blog)
3) Helpful/informative posts, or posting useful/engaging content can get you respect. Posting often can get you notoriety, but whether that's good or bad is really up in the air. Note that forum-fame is not in-game fame, and forum-opinions aren't necessarily the common opinions in-game either.
4) egh
5) I don't like Drupal.
As for 3, I'd say there are three kinds of SK fame.
1: Good LD player. E.g.: Feller, Contri.
2: Big guild leader. E.g.: Njthug, Rubyeclipse.
3: Community contributor (my favourites). E.g.: Zeddy (due to his efforts on data collection), Bopp (due to endless helping on the forums).
Wealth has a minor impact on fame, in my opinion. Of course, you don't get famous as a merchant if you make your living on trading Ecto Drops but although there are some players who are known to be "that rich guy", the only person who has reached a big amount of SK fame and is also known to be very rich is Njthug.
Guilds definitely have an impact on fame in SK. Most of the more known players seem to be in either EoS, Jempire, or Aurum. Of course, there are plenty who aren't and many are guildless, although I don't think there's any super famous guildless person.
Something I do like about the SK community is that there's little emphasis put on gender and age here. Still, I can't say I believe there are many famous players whom aren't male or at least roughly 20. Some exceptions are Fehzor, Bopp, and Icycute (retired).
I don't see language as a factor in terms of fame in SK. Most people know sufficient English and even then, there are many with not so good English who have achieved fame.
1. We differ than other communities with being... Ourselves? For example, on the forums, the Police are usually the forumers themselves, most of us are righteous and when [curd] happens, Eury shalt show. *Oh, and we have Hyperion. No one else does. :3*
2. Don't disobey Luguiru. Fear Eury's wrath. Don't be a wannabe. Use proper gramm"e"r and spelling. Forums =/= Twitter. Talking about the forbidden RSS.
3. As some said before me, skill was a huge factor back when the game started. Most notably was Magnus and Chris (I knew about SK from their videos on Youtube). But when the time moved on, experience replaced skill. Most of the famous forumers right now are veterans (Been on forums for 2 years or more). Being an intelligent person gives you fame, while being a fat wannabe and an annoying spammer will give infamy and dislike from the community. Wealth? Eh... Could be. Like there are quite the famous lads here and in-game because of their riches they store in their inventories.
4. Mature, Know their [curd], Contri.
5. Favourite thing are the old forumers, God I love them. They give me nostalgia for some reason... What would I change? THE FREAKING FORUM LAYOUT, PLS NO DURPAL , GIFF BETTER FORUMS.
Thinking about it again, there are subcultures within SK where people are almost completely different from how they are in the other places (for starters, the 3 categories I split up). They're different to the point that there are pretty much different answers depending on what skew you take.
Just something to keep in mind.
1) Just by what game they're on. Nothing really stands out.
2) If you ask for money, don't expect it.
3) What you wear, how rich you are, etc. Knowing English is a boost too.
4) Nothing new.
5) I like more or less everything. Except for the forums that feel like they came from the 90's but have a fancy theme.
An interesting thread topic to be sure, but I'd write my own responses to these questions rather than asking us. Of course we say we're friendly or not, but are we really? That's for you to decide.
1) How do SK players conform to or differ from the stereotypical "gamer?"
We're much more depressed and psychotic.
2) What are the unspoken/common sense rules within the community? Things everybody who plays the game or posts on the forums knows or learns quickly?
Mostly that there is some structure to the forums- i.e. Post things in the propper sub forum, with good grammar, and research what you're posting about.
A good example of in game common sense rules is the farming format for glyphs, candy tokens, creep cakes and what have you. If you find a token dropping room, invite people. If someone invites you, invite them first and foremost. If someone is mooching, invite them last.
3) How is power distributed within the community? Is respect based on experience, on game wealth, guild? Are age and gender or language factors?
Knowledge = power. If you're researched on something, you generally have the authority to talk about it.
Large sums of money = respect = power. If you've given everyone favors, started an almost dead guild with a limitation on membership numbers and given many favors etc. out, you're bound to have power. Even if you write and comment like a 4th grader + quote mainstream music about intimacy.
4) What are the first words that come to mind when you think about the Spiral Knights community?
Tiny and ignorant. (Myself included.)
5) What's your favorite thing/least favorite thing/what would you change?
Favorite/Least Favorite?
There are many people that do research for the game, like Skeptic, Zeddy, Bopp, Glacies and others. These people are truly a blessing to have with us, and I think that giving them a purple spiral wouldn't be so out of line.
There are many other people that go around minimodding. I don't like this, because they distract the conversation entirely to assert themselves. If they want someone to move their thread, they should post more than just "Move to arsenal." They should post "I think the divine avenger is better than the fang of vog because... Also, this thread belongs in the arsenal."
What would I change?
I'd clean up the gremlin chatter subforum by instating a "spam" subforum designed to make people feel bad about themselves for posting spam+forum games. I think it would be cool to discuss legitimate topics with people in that forum, but every time I go there 99% of the threads are "COUNT TO ONE MILLION".
Then, I would loosen up the cursing rules to a degree; i.e. You shouldn't get banned for cursing or otherwise using foul language when it isn't clear to you what foul language you're using is.
Then, I would tighten the rules when it comes to hazing and other attacks. The forum should be clear of all personal attacks. This *should* include things like emblems designed with the intention of angering others, and should also bar out the whole "Another radiant thread!? I've seen this before! Let me hate on it!" thing. Some of these would be mild infractions, others more serious.
I would change the Spiral Knight forum into the Steam Forum! Where only I will rule over all! Muhahahahaha!
I'm being serious. Don't question me.
1) How do SK players conform to or differ from the stereotypical "gamer?"
I don't know, but we occasionally hear about players who try SK but are put off by its cutesy art style. In contrast, in many other games the female characters are buxom babes in chain mail bikinis and the male characters are hyperbolic wrestler-surfer barbarians. This marked difference in style may indicate a cultural difference: SK players are nostalgic for a lost youth, while players of these other games are looking for power fantasy and titillation? (Of course, I'm ignoring the other relative merits of these games.)
3) How is power distributed within the community? Is respect based on experience, on game wealth, guild? Are age and gender or language factors?
In the game itself, prestige is largely based on wealth (e.g. fancy unique variants), leading high-profile guilds, and skill. Beyond experience and practice, skill is influenced by geographic location, computer speed, and network speed, which are in turn correlated with culture and wealth. So that's probably a ripe area for investigation by an anthropologist.
I find that social power here is extremely local. You can be powerful and prestigious within your circle of friends, without having any wider impact on the community. I've seen players swagger onto the forums, backed up by their enthusiastic buddies, later revealed to have no significant insight or skill. Conversely, I have several veteran, expert friends whose names are never mentioned on the forums.
Good luck with your study.
- How do SK players conform to or differ from the stereotypical "gamer?"
- What are the unspoken/common sense rules within the community? Things everybody who plays the game or posts on the forums knows or learns quickly?
- How is power distributed within the community? Is respect based on experience, on game wealth, guild? Are age and gender or language factors?
- What are the first words that come to mind when you think about the Spiral Knights community?
- What's your favorite thing/least favorite thing/what would you change?
- Some of the community does not conform to the forum rules and they spam in almost every subforum
- Some posters don't really follow rules and you will sometimes see a thread in New Recruits along the lines of "need avatar". Some do follow rules and actually look for previous thread and link them like Bopp.
- The way I see it, there's no "ruler" of the game, everyone is pretty much entitled to their own opinion.
- First words huh, let's see, Trustworthy...to a point.
- Studying the A.I. patterns of trojans [ they are fun enemies ]
2) Don't make porn reference
lol. You'll never catch me alive!
@Hexzyle
Lol. Eventually they'd enjoi catching you if your reference was ever so bad though.. so we don't really have to worry.
1) Mostly Intelligent, friendly people.
2) DO NOT under any circumstance make innapropriate jokes or insult someone harshly.
3)Power is dependant on the players thoughts on respect. I for one, respect friendly people. Others respect Jempire members or People with high prestige. Or "respect" people with high cash to mooch just a little.
4)Friendship. I have over 100 (verging on 200) friends in this game. The community is so friendly and funny, I feel like I'm friends with someone after one FSC run.
5) I love the Chibi art style, and i honestly wish I could see more of it. Whether it's more levels or more gear, the cutsy art style is what really makes this game stand out from other MMORPG's.
1) How do SK players conform to or differ from the stereotypical "gamer?"
It depends on what the definition of a stereotypical "gamer" is. SK players are just players, regardless of their reason for playing the game; each one of us is different. You'll find one of everything in the community, if you look hard enough.
2) What are the unspoken/common sense rules within the community? Things everybody who plays the game or posts on the forums knows or learns quickly?
If you want to enjoy the game, you can't solo it. You have to reach out to or be friendly to at least some people.
3) How is power distributed within the community? Is respect based on experience, on game wealth, guild? Are age and gender or language factors?
The greater or higher a player is in each of these categories can influence their power, yes, but power can also just be on charisma and likability.
4) What are the first words that come to mind when you think about the Spiral Knights community?
Social, and structure. Social structure, I guess. The Spiral Knights community is quite fascinating.
5) What's your favorite thing/least favorite thing/what would you change?
Favorite thing in the game: That there are all kinds of people to meet. I'm sure every game has this, but not every game stresses social interaction as much as Spiral Knights. This also happens to be my least favorite thing, because if there are all kinds of people to meet, then there are some people who are... not to my tastes.
If I had to change one major thing, I'd probably split it into a bunch of tiny minor changes, as I don't really have any major problems with the game :P
1) Generally very friendly and intelligent bunch of people.
2) Never leave shadow copies on the forum. I learnt that the hard way.
3) Age/Gender/Religion has nothing to do with it. It's all about wealth. Skill was a factor back in the day. Now the most powerful people are those who are the most richest.
4) Jelly
5) Fav thing is killing the undead. Least Fav thing is glop drops.