Introduction A Unique Audience The Power of Shame and the Problem with Glory Achievement Vs.
Glory can only take place with an audience.
Similarly, no computer game can shame you, again because shame requires that other people be present. But it takes more than merely the existence of other people in our environment to create opportunities for glory and shame - you also need a relationship with those people, one of either knowledge or recognition. This is why server network games, such as Quake , offer no special embarrassment when you perish or when you prevail. Having large numbers of simultaneous players in an environment that records and preserves player records and actions diminishes anonymity and builds relationships among players, but it also creates the emotionally charged possibility of glory and shame in a game world. And this balance must be maintained, because if a game shames defeated players too much, many will leave.