From Virtual Playmate To Intimate Lover

With the prosperity of multiplayer online games and the influx of female players into the gaming market,games have become a new type of social space.Many players have developed "intimate relationships" with their "virtual friends" through "co-play".This phenomenon indicates that games provide a new type of social connection that affects and changes people’s intimate practices and concepts.In order to deepen the understanding of the process behind this phenomenon,and to explore the reasons and possible implications behind it,this article uses a qualitative research method combining APP walkthrough method and in-depth interviews to conduct online interviews with 22 players who attempted,are currently,or have established "intimate relationships" with their "temporary friends" in the game.The players’ experiences and use of the games mentioned were analyzed and sorted through the theoretical frameworks of "imagination availability" and "new media",in response to the two questions of "how games provide connections" and "how players create intimacy".The study ultimately draws two conclusions.First,in terms of "creating connections","promoting interaction",and "stimulating emotional experiences",games provide players with a virtual intimate experience that transcends the limitations of reality,is based on specific orders,and is fermented by the emotions of "being together".Players’ subjective needs,desires,and media usage abilities interact with the objective properties of the game,jointly influencing the players’ social actions and outcomes in the game.Thus,the players’ activeness and the game’s objective properties together constitute the social availability of the game.Second,a comprehensive media usage strategy is always present throughout the players’ intimate journey.Among them,the typical media strategy combination adopted by players is "introducing private areas,swinging in multiple areas,and creating new areas".These three strategies respectively achieve three phased social goals of "completing relationship anchoring,multi-dimensional social games,and creating intimate ceremonies" of the players.At the same time,the new media environment may also lead to a "domino effect" of online socializing,"unexpected electronic surveillance behavior","new power structures and struggles" that go beyond people’s original intentions.Therefore,it can be seen that there is a process of "taming" and "cooperation" between people and the new media environment,as well as others who exist in the new media environment.This study,which focuses on "games and socialization",provides empirical evidence for the theory of "imagination availability" and presents thoughts and suggestions for the future development of this theory.It outlines the current scene of how the new media environment intervenes in and influences people’s social interactions.It provides important insights for us to understand how the "environment" and "media" affect people’s intimate practices and concepts.