Research On Communication Field Of Massive Multiplayer Role Playing Online Games

The rapid development of information technology promotes the evolution of interpersonal communication in the direction of fragmentation and mobility.At the same time,the new communication tendency also shapes the entrance of social communication which is different from the past.With its own unique media characteristics,online games have become a new media platform with a wide range of users.However,online games are not an independent system,there are complex games and interactions inside and outside,and therefore show a variety of media landscape and social effects,which is exactly in line with Bourdieu’s understanding of the field.Guided by Bourdieu’s theoretical framework of social practice,this paper takes the field’s operating structure,capital performance,communication habitus and symbolic practice as the main line of research,and supplemented by online interview method to systematically investigate the operation and transformation mechanism of communication field in online games.In order to enhance the reliability and applicability of the research,this paper takes massively multiplayer role-playing online games as the research object.This is because the nature of the game makes it possible for a large number of players to play roles in an open virtual world and interact with each other in a particular setting,giving participants more autonomy in their interaction styles and behaviors and more room for discussion.This study studied and analyzed relevant interview data of game players,and from the perspective of Bourdieu’s formula of social practice theory,analyzed the formation and operation of various capitals of players in the interaction field of online games,as well as the influence and limitation of habitus on interaction,in order to reveal the operation mechanism of the interaction field of online games.From the perspective of journalism and communication,the research strives to improve the theoretical system of online game communication research,provide reference and basis for the social development of online games in China,understand and analyze the value chain behind the online game communication field more objectively,so as to better guide its function of serving the public and realize the simultaneous improvement of social value and economic benefits.According to the research,the communication field in online games is dynamic,full of competition and pursuit.This dynamic nature happens to be the key to the stability of the ecosystem within the field.To analyze the formation,manifestation and effect of this dynamic nature,it is necessary to interpret the concept of each element in the formula of Bourdieu’s social practice theory "(habitus × capital)+ field = practice".Bourdieu emphasized the immaterial form of capital power and argued that capital could be used to regulate personal and social relations.Based on Bourdieu’s thinking on the concept of capital,this study analyzes the accumulation,transformation,construction and transformation of capital in the communication field of online games from the perspectives of social capital,economic capital,cultural capital and symbolic capital.Among them,the accumulation of social capital is based on an institutionalized network of relationships carrying various resources.The transformation of economic capital is not only reflected in the transformation of real money and game money,but also reflects the reconstruction and flow of player identity in this process.At the same time,the transformation of economic capital will even give birth to a new business model with the game industry chain as the core.Although the construction of cultural capital cannot be quantified,it can be divided into three forms: materialization,objectification and institutionalization.Different forms of cultural capital have the characteristics of production,with a potential capacity to produce profits in an equal or expanded way.Symbolic capital is created to allow the actor to recognize and obey the symbolic meaning it carries.In the field of online games,it is a bridge between different capital conversion.Habitus is also the core of Bourdieu’s social practice theory.As a practice deposited in the body and spirit of actors,habitus affects players’ perceptions,strategies,thoughts and language in the interaction field of online games all the time.For example,the language symbols in the game actually secretly construct the thinking and behavior path of the player,the game strategy is a reflection of the player’s thinking and logical tendency,and the perception identification deepens the connection between the player’s body and consciousness.Through the analysis of the network game interaction field capital and habitus,this paper finally settled on the symbolic practice.Online game communication makes the virtual game world and the real world constantly create and update.It also breaks the traditional ideological stigmatization of online games and helps us to view the impact of online games on individuals and society more objectively.To sum up,this study has broken away from the limitation of analyzing interpersonal communication from micro and macro perspectives in the previous social sciences.Using Bourdieu’s method of understanding social order from the meso level,this paper reveals the veil of social class structure by explaining the real rules of capital,habitus and field.This theoretical model has practical significance for exploring the regularity of communication and social problems.