近年来，网络游戏风靡大学生人群。对于很多网游好爱者而言，网络游戏带来的不仅仅是新奇的游戏体验，更是一种社交手段和生活时尚。

It’s midnight already, but the lights in Shi Guang’s dormitory are still on. He and three other students are sitting back to back. They’re all wearing earphones and staring at a computer screen, talking to each other only in words like “charge” or “retreat”.

尽管已是午夜时分，史广（音译）的宿舍里却还亮着灯。他和其他三名同学背靠背坐着。几个人戴着耳机，盯着电脑屏幕，彼此间只是简单地说着诸如：“进攻”或“撤退”这样的话。

Chen Jiasheng, 22, a senior majoring in electrical engineering and automation at Beijing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics, is a gaming team leader. “Online gaming is not just about gaming, it’s a community in which we communicate with each other using our avatars,” said Chen.

来自北京航空航天大学电气工程及自动化专业的大四学生、22岁的陈家胜（音译）是一支游戏军团的首领。“网游不只是游戏那么简单，它更是一个我们可以用自己的虚拟角色来相互交流的社区。”陈家胜说。

For university students like Chen, online gaming has become more than a fad - it’s part of life and a way of socializing.

对于像陈家胜这样的大学生而言，玩网游已经不仅仅是一种潮流而已——它是生活的一部分，是一种社交方式。

A 2012 research report on online gamers in China released by 17173.com, the country’s leading game information portal, supports this notion. According to the report, university students aged between 19 and 25 make up 58 percent of online gamers, and the proportion is rising every year.

由国内游戏资讯门户网站17173.com发布的《2012年中国网游玩家调查报告》也证明了这点。该报告称，19至25岁的大学生人群占网游玩家总人数的58%，而这一比例正在逐年增加。

“Many of my friends spend more time hanging out in online gaming worlds than in reality,” said Wang Jiaming, 21, a junior law major at China University of Political Sciences and Law. “Personally I feel more powerful in virtual worlds than in real life. I’m more confident.”

“我身边有很多朋友在网游中碰面机会要比现实生活中频繁得多，”就读于中国政法大学法律系大三年级、21岁的王建明（音译）说。“我个人认为虚拟世界里的我要比现实中强大得多，也自信得多。”

According to Zhang Quan, 20, a sophomore economics major at Renmin University of China, one of the distinguishing features of online games compared with offline games is the gaming experience. Offline games test a gamer’s skill at using a keyboard or joystick to beat AI (artificial intelligence) opponents.

来自中国人民大学经济学专业大二年级、20岁的张泉（音译）表示，与单机游戏相比，网络游戏的一大特点便是游戏体验。单机游戏考验的是玩家在与电脑角色对打时使用键盘或操纵杆的技能。

“Online games are technically more accessible as you don’t have to master these skills,” said Zhang.

“网游在技术上更易上手，因为你不需要熟练掌握这些技巧，”张泉说。

But most online games are based on avatars controlled by another human – they are inevitably more tricky and unpredictable than AI opponents controlled by a computer.

而大多数网络游戏中的角色都是玩家控制的虚拟人物——比起电脑操控的对手，这些角色必然更加难以捉摸。

“On the surface we are playing games, but actually it’s real people we are dealing with,” added Zhang.

“表面看起来，我们是在玩游戏，实际上是在跟人打交道，”张泉补充道。

“The only difference is that in these games we communicate with each other in different settings, like wars, magic battles and fantasy worlds.”

“不同的是，在这些游戏里，我们在不同的场景中相互交流，比如战争、魔法之争以及魔幻世界。”

By engaging in this interactive gaming experience, gamers become team players and hone their social skills. Chen has even made friends by playing in a team with strangers online.

通过这种交互式游戏体验，玩家们成了团队中的一员，同时也磨练了他们的社交技能。陈家胜甚至通过网游最终与素不相识的队友成了朋友。

“We coordinated our movements and cooperated with each other to win a battle in the cyberspace. The game was virtual but the brotherhood was real. Most of us are good friends in real life,” said Chen.

“在虚拟世界里，为了赢得战役我们团结一致，共同协作。虽然游戏是虚拟的，但兄弟情义是真的。我们中的很多人都是现实生活里的好友。”陈家胜说。

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