Researchers with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology or MIT have started to show great interest in the community of the popular online game – “League of Legends”. The researchers are trying to find out how teams work closely and collaborate with each other to play the game.
About “League of Legends”
League of Legends is a multiplayer online video game developed by Riot Games. The game was designed for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X users. League of Legends is a free game which means you don’t have to wait for downloading and installing the game to play the same.
The game was first announced in October, 2008 and was released in October, 2009. League of Legends is an extremely popular game played by maximum active gamers worldwide. As of January 2014, more than 67 million people have been found to play League of Legends on a monthly basis. Web games like League of Legends promise instant delight, giving us quick adrenalin rush and punch line before we move on with the rest of our day. The developer of this game Riot Games says around 67 million players globally play this game to compete each month in two separate teams. The game has also received Golden Joystick award for voted as the Online Game of the Year!
The narrative behind this video game
In this fast-paced, competitive online game of League of Legends, players take up the role of a character named “champion”. Players get divided into two teams of powerful computer controlled champions. Each team has a unique design and play style. They battle fiercely across multiple battlefields and modes to destroy the other team’s bond.
MIT’s interest in the world’s largest online gaming community
Players of League of Legends have to be great strategists since they have to find ways to destroy the morale of the opponent team. Regular gameplay updates, multiple maps and game modes are available for the players. In addition, over time, Riot Games has said how its online battle game is gaining in popularity worldwide with more and more people joining as new champions! MIT wants to study how teams work on collaborative tasks in the League of Legends. This game allows the players to complete with great honor and vigor.
MIT’s Center for Collective Intelligence wishes to work with Riot Games to learn about the characteristics and behaviors of some of the game’s best five-player teams. As of September, 2014, there are 121 different champions to choose from. Researchers at MIT want to spend all their time closely studying how a particular team performs a wide range of collaborative tasks. They will measure the outcome using an online battery of responsibilities. Teams that have played together for over 20 games will be selected for the study. MIT will monitor skills such as decision-making, sensing, implementation, and memory of the players. Each team will be screened for around 20 minutes to find the desired results.
MIT has also said of publishing the results of the tests, but it will keep the individual names and personal information under wrap.
We have seen how MIT Game Lab, a research and development laboratory not associated with the study has contributed significantly in game performance development. Riot Games designer Chris Kudelka has praised MIT’s initiative in incorporating Big Data to improve video games performance.