Computer game modders’ motivations and sense of community: A mixed-methods approach
Abstract
Computer game modding, from modifying, combines several important issues: digital skills, play, community, making, and remixing. Yet, little academic work has explored the motivations and sense of community that modders have. This study is the first quantitative survey of game modders, and combines quantitative survey data with qualitative interview material. Findings suggest that modders are both old and young, mod more than one game or game series, have a strong sense of community, and enjoy helping others. Many respondents had contributed to other mods or had co-authored mods, and modding communities may function as online collaboratories. Although some research stresses how modders hope to get jobs in the gaming industry, overall the industry was not a motivator for most respondents.
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The finding corroborates previous findings of positive effects of online game playing and modification on sense of community and extends the knowledge to an AR mobile game context.
“It also corroborates the previous findings of the positive effects of online game playing (O'Connor et al., 2005) and modification (Poor, 2013) on sense of community and extends the knowledge to an AR mobile game context.”
From Catch Them All: Exploring the Psychological Impact of Playing Pokémon Go (2020) · cites this paper as Poor, 2013
Online gamers usually have a sense of community when they are playing games or modifying games.
“Gaming literature showed online gamers usually have a sense of community when they are playing games (O'Connor, Longman, White, & Obst, 2015) or modifying games (Poor, 2013).”
From Catch Them All: Exploring the Psychological Impact of Playing Pokémon Go (2020) · cites this paper as Poor, 2013
Cites
Terranova, T. (2000) · Social Text · doi:10.1215/01642472-18-2_63-33 · Cited by 1,749 · see citing works
Scientific Collaboration on the Internet
(2008) · doi:10.7551/mitpress/9780262151207.001.0001 · Cited by 286 · cited 1× · see citing works
“In some instances, modding works as a collaboratory, and the work on collaboratories could be brought in to the analysis (e.g. Olson et al., 2008).”
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Catch Them All: Exploring the Psychological Impact of Playing Pokémon Go
Wang, R., & Wu, M. (2020) · Journal of Communication Technology · doi:10.51548/joctec-2020-004 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
- Authors
- Poor, N.
- Affiliations
- New York, USA
- Corresponding author
- Poor, Nathaniel
- ORCID
- Poor, Nathaniel
- Venue
- New Media & Society
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2013-09-24
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 1249-1267
- ISSN
- 1461-4448 (ISSN-L)
- 1461-7315
- OpenAlex
- W2171655330
- Cited by
- 58
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 2
- FWCI
- 8.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- New Media & Society (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Digital Games and Media
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Educational Games and Gamification
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Computer Networks and Communications › Media and Digital Communication
- Keywords
- motivation, sense of community, online communities, remix, digital skills, co-authorship, helping behavior
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