title: Analysis of context dependence in social interaction networks of a massively multiplayer online role-playing game.
abstract: Rapid advances in modern computing and information technology have enabled millions of people to interact online via various social network and gaming services. The widespread adoption of such online services have made possible analysis of large-scale archival data containing detailed human interactions, presenting a very promising opportunity to understand the rich and complex human behavior. In collaboration with a leading global provider of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs), here we present a network science-based analysis of the interplay between distinct types of user interaction networks in the virtual world. We find that their properties depend critically on the nature of the context-interdependence of the interactions, highlighting the complex and multilayered nature of human interactions, a robust understanding of which we believe may prove instrumental in the designing of more realistic future virtual arenas as well as provide novel insights to the science of collective human behavior.
authors.affiliation: Multimedia and Mobile Communications Laboratory, School of Computer Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seokshin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Son
authors.forename: Ah Reum
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Hyun-chul
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Taekyoung
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.forename: Juyong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Huy Kang
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D012381:Role Playing; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D018910:Video Games / Q000523:psychology*