Online games are an intensely social experience, a means for people to come together with friends to play, socialize and nurture relationships.

Out of necessity, players created their own communication tools. As innovative as the solutions were, they posed one major problem – they formed islands of communication where a single person who had the money, time and the technical expertise would set up a server and then pass out server addresses and passwords. 

It was an “in the know” means of communication that easily segregated the player communities within games and made it difficult for new players to engage in the community. And because the tools were home-grown and supported by individuals with varying technical skills and limited to no tech support, quality was questionable. In addition, game devs saw the alt-tab method of communications taking players away from the game. This was a problem for devs and an annoyance for players.

There was an immense need for better communications designed specifically for the MMOG industry that was high quality, massively scalable and secure. So the question started to be asked – how?

Solutions were slow in the coming. After all, game developers make games, not IP telephony solutions. But in the past four years, on the cusp of mass market availability to such solutions as Skype and Vonage, new technology providers emerged to directly address the needs of the MMOG and virtual world industry.  These new solutions were showing that they could not only allow players to communicate with one another more effectively, but also give the game and world developers additional means to enhance gameplay and intensify the immersive experience of the world and social structure.

As one of the leading technology providers in this space of game communications, Vivox has not only seen the quick maturity of the technology, but has also felt the embrace of an industry ready for innovation. New games are being launched with voice integrations (DDO, LOTRO, Tabula Rasa) and established games are bringing it in (EVE Online, Second Life, Star Wars Galaxies, Everquest II and World of Warcraft). It’s clear - any game that expects to succeed in the crowded market needs to provide voice chat and enhanced communications to their player base. But what game designers and developers are quickly learning is that these communication tools are more than they appear. The feature technology that is available makes designing gameplay a richer experience.

When players have the basic capability to connect via live voice chat, the game becomes a club. One is almost harkened back to the ‘good ole days’ of tabletopping. With a pouch of well worn dice, a lucky D20 and a weekend supply of chips and Jolt, you gather with friends and acquaintances and play the game, talk some smack and create your world through the playing and telling of the story. With the voice technology in games today, that sense of connection and community is found again.

However, with all of the benefits that voice chat brings into gameplay, there is still concern for security and privacy. Opening communications also opens up possibility and opportunity for the bad apples of the world to make themselves known. But you cannot have a communications medium that stops people from communicating – so you need access levels and monitoring to ensure a safe environment. These tools and methods play into social norms – we all have them and most of us use them.

There are three standard levels of communication controls with integrating voice – access, peer moderation and CSR/GM representation.

Access is the limitation of participation through white lists, player controls, password protected channels, and player/game controls such as guild memberships, “friending” options within the social structure, etc. Many of these tools already exist in established social structures within the games. It thrives off the basic premise that players choose who they want to communicate with.
Peer moderation involves the actual communication tools where players manage themselves and those they associate with. Personal ignore lists, mute options and additional group moderator tools help the individual players keep control and limit the negative impact on their in-game experience.
CSR/GM representation is important in keeping the in-game society from running amok. Things like stealth mode, recording, and watch lists empower the games to protect their players. Just like any other complaint, CSR’s need proof of abuse and a way to follow-up on it. The technology available from voice providers allows them to do this, so as not to spy on the player base, but rather maintain some order that adheres to the AUP.


So you see, like all technological and entertainment innovations voice chat is turning a corner and evolving into the context of our lives – adapting to how we live and shaping our future interactions. Need more proof? Look at what is ahead in this area – voice altering so your orc character sounds like an orc and not you, out-of-game connections where you can make a phone call from within the game to a friend’s mobile phone, the ability to send SMS in and out of games, advanced social networking tools, and the ability for players to control and edit recorded materials making entertainment from their entertainment. Rich voice communications are expanding online social communities and elevating games and virtual worlds to their next evolutions of development and design. Now that players are being heard it will be difficult to keep them quiet and we are sure to see more advancements continue to come.