Infrastructural experiences: an empirical study of an online arcade game platform in China

  • Authors:

  • Qi Wang;Xianghua Ding;Tun Lu;Huanhuan Xia;Ning Gu

  • Affiliations:

  • Fudan University, Shanghai, Shanghai, China;Fudan University, Shanghai, Shanghai, China;Fudan University, Shanghai, Shanghai, China;Fudan University, China, Shanghai, Shanghai, China;Fudan University, Shanghai, Shanghai, China

  • Venue:
  • Proceedings of the ACM 2012 conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work
  • Year:
  • 2012

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Abstract

This paper discusses issues of infrastructure and user experiences based on an empirical study of the online gaming platform ArcOnline in China. ArcOnline has allowed millions of users to play and watch arcade games over the Internet. What the study of ArcOnline helps bring to the fore are the infrastructural aspects of user experiences, mainly because the high demand for responsiveness and resources of arcade gaming has made infrastructures visible. In this paper, we present our findings of how the experience of playing arcade games changes with different socio-technical infrastructures, the arcade room and the online environment, highlighting how the form of the infrastructure shapes experience and collaboration, as well as how new social infrastructures are emerging through the interplay between the game, the platform, the community and the media ecology. We end by discussing the importance of considering infrastructure in understanding and designing new media experiences.