다사용자온라인게임(massively-multiplayer online role-playing games: MMORPGs) 인터페이스의 내용분석 연구

Abstract

인터넷이 널리 보급되면서 발달한 온라인상에서 사용자들이 서로 공유된 가상공간의 다른 사용자와 상호작용할 수 있는 다사용자온라인게임은 그 시나리오나 수용방식에 대한 변화 가능성에 관한 내용을 다루고 있을 뿐, 그래픽 인터페이스에 관한 연구는 전무한 실정이다. 본 연구에서는 인터넷이라는 매체적 특징을 이용하여 다사용자온라인게임 사용자간의 상호작용에 주목하였고, 그러한 상호작용 요소를 중점적으로 한 그래픽인터페이스 요소를 추출하여 내용분석을 시행하였다. 본 내용분석을 위하여 각종 관련 게임 사이트에서 160개 게임의 905개 스크린 샷을 수집하여 빈도분석과 교차분석을 시행한 결과를 종합하여 보면 다사용자온라인게임은 3D그래픽 기술의 발전으로 캐릭터와 배경 및 시점에 있어 실재감 있는 화면과 애니메이션을 통해 사용자들의 가상현실 체험을 높이고 있다. 이를 위해 실재감을 방해할 수 있는 다른 조작요소의 색은 상대적으로 어둡고 공간을 작게 차지하도록 하는 경향을 띠고 있는 것으로 보인다. 이를 위해 기존의 게임과는 다른 인터페이스 레이아웃이 발전되어 자리잡고 있으며 또한 비교적 성공을 거둔 것으로 파악되는 인기도가 높은 게임의 경우를 미루어 보아 게임의 소재와 배경은 모호하게 설정하여 현실세계와 다르면서도 어디엔가 존재할 수 있음직한 세계를 설정하여 재미와 실재감을 동시에 높이고 있는 것으로 보인다. 또한 이러한 인터페이스의 변화를 주도하는 요인으로는 문화적, 기술적, 디자인적 요인으로 나뉠 수 있으며 각 요인들에 의한 획기적 인터페이스의 등장은 다른 게임들에도 영향을 미치게 되어 결국 인터페이스 유형 자체를 변화시키는 것으로 분석되었다.;As Internet has widely distributed like now a days, Multi-User Online Game that users can interact with other users of shared cyberspace has been introduced, it offers Interface of depicted graphic base in great detail based on pre-existed role-playing game, and Multi-User Online Playing Game that offers game play option similar as off-line role-playing game.is popular. But pre-studied researches about these Multi-User Online Games dealt only with scenario of online game or alteration likelihood about acceptance way, it is a fact that there is no research about graphic interface. This research has focused on Interactions among Multi-User Online Game users with media-characteristic of Internet and conducted content analysis with abstracting graphic interface factors that focused on those interaction factors. For this content analysis 905 game screen shots from various kinds of related game sites have been collected and from the synthetic result of frequency analysis and crossing analysis conducted shows that Chat-windows for users to communicate in Multi-User Online Game are usually located down-left part of screen with less than 10% size and analyzed as more popular games basically have located chat-windows in the screen and they support more than 4 options of various chat-modes to help the communications of the users smoothly. Graphic Interface layout has the most frequency of locating way of the control factors usually on the bottom but it is the way for the games those are developed at the very beginning when it’s not popular comparably, it has been analyzed that the layout only for the Multi-User Online game newly has been taken a position now a days. Also no matter domestic or international, mostly interface colors are dark colors and analyzed that recently dark and blue colors are being used. It is analyzed that Characters are usually 3D type of human-like trend has been evolved. But recent games have been analyzed that except human-like characteristic they are using aliens or U.F.O (Unidentified Flying Object), etc like non human-like characters and that have become various. It is analyzed that status window of character is basically in the Interface, but usually located on the top-left corner with not so big size and mostly bar-graph shapes are being used for it. Synthetic analyzed result of Multi-User Online game point-of-view has showed that side-view or 1st person point-of-view has been disappeared as time gone by, 3D point-of-view that can show from every direction or Quarter-view point-of-view from some of the not-so popular games have been developed constantly. It shows that time period of the games mostly have adopted the past as their backgrounds but popular games make the uncertain time period as game background. In domestic, game materials are usually the legends, in western, game materials are mostly historic events or dramatized state of the time but it shows that the popular games in overall are using mixed those 2. This research has conducted quantity analysis with large amount of Multi-User Online game Interfaces collected, but for the deeper analysis, it is needed to produce the game list based on separate criteria and to re-conduct the deeper research after actual game playing with a few chosen games. Also from this research analysis result, the need of the research has been proposed that can suggest the guideline for the better Multi-User Online game Interface with differentiating from other games by focusing on the characteristics of Interface, Layout, Colors, etc.