“Immersed in World of Warcraft”: A Discursive Study of Identity Management Talk About Excessive Online Gaming

2022 ◽  
pp. 0261927X2110678
Author(s):  
Vasiliki Kokkini ◽  
Eleftheria Tseliou ◽  
Georgios Abakoumkin ◽  
Nikos Bozatzis
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Identity Construction ◽  
Identity Management ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Online Gaming ◽  
World Of Warcraft ◽  
Identity Constructions ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Role Playing Game ◽  
Insight Into

Online excessive gaming has been associated with negative player identity constructions depicting an abnormal life-style. Up-to-date, there is limited insight into player identity management talk about excessive online gaming. To address this gap, drawing from discursive and rhetorical psychology, we investigated naturally occurring talk of 134 players of World of Warcraft (WoW) -a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG)- from three publicly available websites and of five players from one focus group. The analysis illuminated participants’ dilemmatic and contradictory ways of constructing the player identity, while displaying immersion in the game. Participants invoke identity constructions like ‘nolifer’, ‘hardcore’ or ‘clean’ player, which they disavow or assign to themselves and to each other depending on the conversational context, while attending to concerns about (ab)normalcy. The study’s findings highlight a dynamic process of player identity construction in talk, occasioned by and exemplifying the contingencies of the discursive context.

scholarly journals Virtual Sense of Community in a World of Warcraft® Storytelling Open Forum Thread

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dean Anthony Fabi Gui
Keyword(s):  
Sense Of Community ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
World Of Warcraft ◽  
Online Forums ◽  
New Members ◽  
Alternative Communities ◽  
Ethnographic Data ◽  
Role Playing Game

World of Warcraft® (WoW), a massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) extends to its members a virtual landscape of live gaming opportunities through such platforms as “dice” rolled character stats, open-ended story development, and interactive AI. These affordances are underpinned by a kind of virtual sense of community bringing players together in order to develop relationships and the self, adventure together, build up wealth, and overcome obstacles in order to complete quests. In addition to live game-play (or “in-world”) communities, WoW residents create alternative communities through rich online forums—here, new members are recruited into guilds, disputes are spawned and slayed, and seasoned warriors reminisce over worlds and lives that once- were. However, a third type of community is also evident through particular threads crafted within forums specifically for collaborative storytelling (or roleplaying). This paper examines sense of community—a sense of “belonging to, importance of, and identification with a community”—through one particular thread, “The Darkening Grove Tavern” under the forum World’s End Tavern using an adaptation of McMillan and Chavis’ theory and Boellstorff, Nardi, Pearce & Taylor’s ethnographic data collection methodology for qualitative analysis of virtual worlds . Findings from players’ story text (or “turns”) suggest that online storytelling forum threads exhibit a linguistically and semiotically branded sense of virtual community. 

scholarly journals Transformative (h)activism: Breast cancer awareness and the World of Warcraft Running of the Gnomes

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren B. Collister
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Civil Disobedience ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
World Of Warcraft ◽  
Cancer Awareness ◽  
Breast Cancer Awareness ◽  
Player Experience ◽  
Role Playing Game

Players of the massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft (WoW) are accustomed to a transformative culture that appropriates off-line events and personas into virtual-world representations inside of the game. Following this culture, players have transformed an off-line event—the Race for the Cure, to benefit breast cancer charities—into an online event called the Running of the Gnomes with parameters and participation properties appropriate for the virtual world. This transformative event is a disruptive form of civil disobedience including elements of hacktivism. Though the event conforms to the game's culture and rules, the mass collective action of the Running of the Gnomes disrupts the player experience by flooding the game's chat boxes with messages about an off-line concern (breast cancer) and also disrupts the game itself by crashing the server through the sheer volume of player participation. This disruption is embraced as an integral part of the event and is one of the primary causes for the event's success as a fundraising activity.

scholarly journals The Popularity of Faerlina US - World of Warcraft Classic Server: Game Study Using Qualitative Research Methods on the World of Warcraft Classic Game Server

MEDIASI ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-27
Author(s):  
Deddy Stevano H. Tobing
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Qualitative Research Methods ◽  
World Of Warcraft ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Virtual Currency ◽  
The World ◽  
Role Playing Game ◽  
Depth Interviews

This research discusses the popularity of Faerlina US which is one of the game server of the game World of Warcraft Classic (WoW Classic), a MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) game version which is one of the World of Warcraft game version released on 26 August 2019. This study uses several qualitative research methods, namely participatory observation, in-depth interviews, and studies of previous studies. The results of this study indicate that the popularity of Faerlina US tends to be driven by the popularity of twitch.tv streamers who play on these servers. This research also shows that Faerlina has also become popular because it is interesting to be a place to conduct economic activities such as selling virtual items and conducting gold-virtual currency transactions into real money.

World of Warcraft

2019 ◽  
pp. 266-290
Author(s):  
Diego Lourenço Sá Pinto ◽  
Cláudio Xavier
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Online Communities ◽  
Screen Time ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
World Of Warcraft ◽  
Field Of Study ◽  
Communication Processes ◽  
Role Playing Game

World of Warcraft (WoW), a game of the genre MMORPG (massive multiplayer online role playing game), has proven to be a valuable field of study for researchers interested in understanding the functioning of online communities and social relationships in those communities. This chapter seeks, through literature review and interviews conducted within the game itself, from player/researcher immersion, to discuss the relationships of a group of players in a new context of relationship and (in)formation, considering the significant screen time, communication processes, identifications, and identity building.

scholarly journals CONTEMPORARY RECEPTION OF EDDIC THEMES IN NEW MEDIA: VIRTUAL 'NORDIC' IDENTITIES, CASE STUDY: DARK AGE OF CAMELOT

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-54
Author(s):  
Ester Jiresch ◽  
Vincent Boswijk
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
New Media ◽  
Computer Games ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Television Programs ◽  
Identity Constructions ◽  
Role Playing Game ◽  
Poetic Edda ◽  
Popular Television

This article discusses the most recent (twenty-first century) development in reception and adaptation of Nordic mythology (particularly referring to the Prose and Poetic Edda) and the appropriating of Nordic identities (stereotypes) that is taking place in the so-called new media. In the last two decades the reception of Nordic mythology or Nordic 'themes' in different new media like film, comic books, heavy metal music and computer games has exploded. New media are generally considered expressions of 'popular' culture and have therefore not yet received much scholarly attention. However, since those media are growing notably and especially computer games (console and online applications) reach an enormous audience.Scientific interest in them has increased in recent years. Miller mentions the 'sexiness of Vikings in video games, the pretense of Viking-like settings for popular television programs […]' (Miller, 2014, p. 4). The case study is Dark Age of Camelot (DAoC – Mythic Entertainment 2001) which is a MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) that is currently (2015) still available to play online. We will show examples of themes (characters, narratives, objects etc.) deriving from Eddic texts and how they are represented and deployed in the game. Since the representation of 'Nordic' identity is a key feature in the game's construction, it will therefore be addressed as well. The fictional world of DAoC consists of three realms – Albion, Hibernia and Midgard – that are at war with each other. Their (human) inhabitants are respectively based on medieval Anglo-Saxon, Celtic and Norse tribes that differ distinctively in their character traits. Our goal is to elaborate on the representation of identity traits of the fictional 'Norse' races (as defined by the game) that appear in DAoC. We will scrutinize if and how the game uses older or more current concepts of (national) identity. In order to do so, an overview of Scandinavian / Nordic identity constructions that have been popular and / or widespread from antiquity will be presented, via medieval sources to romanticism and nineteenth century nationalism until current discussions of national identity.

Addiction in World of Warcraft

2011 ◽  
pp. 54-74
Author(s):  
Craig Pragnell ◽  
Christos Gatzidis
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
World Of Warcraft ◽  
Role Playing Game ◽  
Massively Multiplayer

This chapter presents an investigation in determining whether players are addicted, or show signs of addiction, to the Massively Multiplayer Role Playing Game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft. Criteria to ascertain addiction in World of Warcraft players were developed based on well-documented theories in the area. A questionnaire was used in order to obtain data for analysis. This was distributed to a population of World of Warcraft players by use of advertisement on guild websites and on the official game forum. The results of the questionnaire show that 11.86% (n=21) of respondents matched the developed criteria of addiction in World of Warcraft. These respondents are considered to be addicted or are at “High Risk” of being addicted. This figure is confirmed by other studies of addiction levels in MMORPGs undertaken by existing research.

scholarly journals World of Warcraft: A Family Therapist's Journey into Scapegoated Culture

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nickolas Jordan
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
News Media ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
The United States ◽  
World Of Warcraft ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Mass Shootings ◽  
Couple And Family Therapy ◽  
Role Playing Game ◽  
Online Video Games

Relational (online) video games are lucrative business. The extremely popular Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, World of Warcraft, boasts over eight million paying users. Video games are also a lightning rod for criticism and contempt by news media, parents and policy makers as the number of mass shootings increases in the United States. There is some research suggesting violent video games increase violent cognition and behavior. There is other research arguing no relationship exist between violent gaming and aggression. The same dichotomy of views exists within the discussion of how relational video games impact intimate partnerships. The purpose of this study is to continue conversation into the possibility of using games like World of Warcraft as interventions in individual, couple and family therapy. This autoethnorgraphic work examines researcher experience in World of Warcraft and its impact on violent thought, behavior and intimate relationships. In addition to researcher self-exploration, extensive interviews were conducted to provide additional context. Throughout the course of this work, three themes of World of Warcraft culture emerged: Work, Nostalgia and Connection. The theme of connection was most pervasive to the researcher and the participants. Video games like World of Warcraft may present supplemental opportunities for clients to practice healthy connection. Concerned parents should monitor their children’s online gaming relationships as they would any other. Future research in this area may benefit from an experimental design where video games like World of Warcraft are used in the treatment of PTSD and Social Anxiety Disorder.

Second Life and World of Warcraft

2011 ◽  
pp. 236-254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chaka Chaka
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Social Presence ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Virtual World ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
World Of Warcraft ◽  
Cognitive Presence ◽  
Future Trends ◽  
Role Playing Game

This chapter explores the potential both Second Life (SL) and World of Warcraft (WoW) as instances of a virtual world (VW) and a massively multi-player online role-playing game (MMORPG), respectively, have for leveraging presence learning. The latter encapsulates, in this chapter, presence pedagogy, tele-presence, co-presence, social presence, and cognitive presence as mediated by both SL and WoW. In this context, this chapter contends that both SL and WoW help harness presence learning. Against this background, the chapter first provides a brief overview of SL, WoW, and presence learning. Second, it presents and discusses seven case studies demonstrating how both SL and WoW help harness presence learning. Third and last, the chapter outlines future trends for presence learning in respect of both SL and WoW.

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