scholarly journals Analyzing Social Identity (Re) Production: Identity Liminal Events in MMORPGs

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier A Salazar
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Social Identity ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
World Of Warcraft ◽  
Basic Unit ◽  
Unit Of Analysis ◽  
Star Wars ◽  
Role Playing Games ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World

Within Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG) studies, there are many papers dedicated to player typologies. This is especially true when it comes to themes that directly or indirectly touch the social identity of opposing groups of players: “roleplayers” vs. “PvPers”, “helpers vs. griefers”, “power gamers” vs. “casual gamers”, etc. Every time researchers label a group of players as, for example, "roleplayers" they are indeed assuming the existence of a social identity of this group. However, in MMORPG literature there are very few pages dedicated to theorizing about social identity. In this paper, I provide practical examples of how social identity in MMORPGS can be analyzed through the application of Salazar's (2006) social identity (re)production theoretical model. The basic unit of analysis is what in this paper will be called an Identity Liminal Event (ILE), or specific MMORPG events on which the constitutive elements of social identity can be observed. The examples to be studied in this paper are ILEs taken from the World of Warcraft and Star Wars Galaxies MMORPGs. To conclude, the paper offers several suggestions for implementing this theoretical model for further studying MMORPG events.

Personality Impressions of World of Warcraft Players Based on Their Avatars and Usernames

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriella M. Harari ◽  
Lindsay T. Graham ◽  
Samuel D. Gosling
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Model Analysis ◽  
World Of Warcraft ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Lens Model ◽  
Role Playing Games ◽  
The World ◽  
Massively Multiplayer

Every week an estimated 20 million people collectively spend hundreds of millions of hours playing massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). Here the authors investigate whether avatars in one such game, the World of Warcraft (WoW), convey accurate information about their players' personalities. They assessed consensus and accuracy of avatar-based impressions for 299 WoW players. The authors examined impressions based on avatars alone, and images of avatars presented along with usernames. The personality impressions yielded moderate consensus (avatar-only mean ICC = .32; avatar plus username mean ICC = .66), but no accuracy (avatar only mean r = .03; avatar plus username mean r = .01). A lens-model analysis suggests that observers made use of avatar features when forming impressions, but the features had little validity. Discussion focuses on what factors might explain the pattern of consensus but no accuracy, and on why the results might differ from those based on other virtual domains and virtual worlds.

scholarly journals Holarchic HCI and Augmented Psychology ("AugPsy")

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suraj Sood
Keyword(s):  
Learning Experience ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
The Self ◽  
Basic Unit ◽  
Flow Experience ◽  
Unit Of Analysis ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Optimal Flow ◽  
Role Playing Games ◽  
Significant Events

Consciousness enables experience, and each can be placed on a spectrum [1, 14]. Experience is more robust andmultidirectional, though the possibility exists for it to be bidirectional (particularly for the geometrician working along a line, but also generally when considering between two given options). Consciousness is synonymous informally with awareness. When one is conscious, they are aware, and vice versa. Awareness can be quantified in terms of being “greater” or “lesser”. For example, one may be more aware of certain aspects of experience than others given selective attention.Experience is the basic unit of analysis for phenomenology. While experience may be operationalized as qualia to address“what things are like” [20], the former may also be treated as a formal primitive. Phenomena are events as they appear to orpresent themselves for conscious perceivers. In ordinary use, experiences are assumed to be significant events or happenings.Phenomenal experience is qualitative. It is characterized as such by description through adjectives (e.g., “good” or “bad”).Experiences can be categorized into types, e.g. into the learning kind (as in the “learning experience”). If an experience is rich,then it has richness that may be qualified—described further in terms of what makes it so—or quantified. Growth may result from the victorious experience. This is so in battle-based role playing games (RPGs), where successfully defeating one’s opponent earns experience points that contribute to the possible level-up of one or more of the player’s team members (as in Pokémon and Fire Emblem, two of the most popular Japanese action-adventure RPG series).It is posited that the self, after being immersed in something greater than it, has potential to emerge greater than it was prior [2, 3]. Positive psychology recognizes such an immersed state as being one of flow or engagement. Subjective immersion [6] can be reported on to certain extents of meaningfulness and accuracy. Immersion can be qualified, e.g. via description of an activity’s meaning to the human actor, or perhaps quantified. Perhaps the optimal flow experience is only quantifiable as being infinitelyenjoyable, enriching, engaging, and/or meaningful, among other possible measures.

Sociaal contact in een MMORPG

2011 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie De Vocht ◽  
Jan Van Looy ◽  
Cédric Courtois ◽  
Lieven De Marez
Keyword(s):  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Social Contact ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
World Of Warcraft ◽  
The Third ◽  
Role Playing Games ◽  
The Social ◽  
Character Identification ◽  
Strong Competition

Social contact in a MMORPG. An exploratory study into the motivations of playing World of Warcraft from a uses & gratifications perspective. Social contact in a MMORPG. An exploratory study into the motivations of playing World of Warcraft from a uses & gratifications perspective. The results of a study on motivations for playing Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG), c.q. World of Warcraft (WoW), on 1691 gamers have been described in this article. The research hypothesis states that the social contact in-game is the main motivation of playing WoW. After a factor analysis, eight motivations can be defined: ‘escapism’ (α= 0,694), ‘arousal’(α= 0,573), ‘social contact in WoW’ (α= 0,794), ‘challenge’ (α= 0,758), ‘immersion’ (α= 0,765), ‘skills’ (α= 0,907), ‘social contact in real life’ (α= 0,739), ‘strong competition’ (α= 0,771). ‘Social contact in WoW’ ends on the third place. Still, 89% of the respondents think that the multiplayer aspect is important. Two other dimensions have been found: ‘character identification’ (α= 0,749) and ‘character importance’ (α= 0,826). By distinguishing a group ‘High Character Involvement’ and ‘Low Character Involvement’ there have been found interesting differences with regard to the motivations.

scholarly journals Yet Another September: AOL, World of Warcraft, and Niche Markets

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ray Op'tLand
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Pop Culture ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
World Of Warcraft ◽  
Virtual Space ◽  
Niche Markets ◽  
South Park ◽  
Role Playing Games ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
America Online

Since it’s introduction in November 2004, World of Warcraft (WoW) has exploded in popularity within the sphere of Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMOs), dominating the field with over 11.5 million monthly subscribers, an order of magnitude larger than its nearest competitor (Woodcock, 2008). It has become a pop-culture phenomenon, parodied in South Park, promoted by William Shatner, and fiercely defended by its proponents. However, much of the current analysis of the game itself has been on the activities and functions that occur within its virtual space (Ducheneaut, et. al., 2006). The exogenous processes by which WoW came to dominate in its sphere have been under-explored, and the effect their marketplace entry had on established groups within that sphere has been neglected. In this paper, I propose that similarities to what WoW has accomplished in the MMO market can be found in the rise of America Online (AOL) in the early 1990’s, and its effect on the existing service providers and systems of the nascent internet. Exemplifying this is the opening of UseNet to its users in 1993, the infamous “September That Never Ended.”

scholarly journals In Praise of Irrationality: Self, "East" and "West" in Greek Teachers' Speeches on National Day Commemorations

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucianna Benincasa
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Social Identity ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
The West ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Social Creativity ◽  
East And West

In this qualitative study of school discourse on national day commemorations, focus is on the "social creativity strategies" through which group members can improve their social identity. Discourse analysis was carried out on thirty-nine teachers' speeches delivered in Greek schools between 1998 and 2004. The speakers scorn rationality and logic, stereotypically attributed to "the West" (a "West" which is perceived not to include Greece), as cold and not human. The Greeks' successful national struggles are presented instead as the result of irrationality. They claim irrationality to be the most human and thus the most valuable quality, which places Greece first in the world hierarchy. The results are further discussed in terms of their implications for learning and teaching in the classroom, as well as for policy and research.

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.

Interoperability, Learning Designs and Virtual Worlds

2010 ◽  
pp. 193-206
Author(s):  
Helen Farley
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
World Of Warcraft ◽  
Role Playing Games ◽  
Collaborative Activities

Given the relatively high costs associated with designing and implementing learning designs in virtual worlds, a strategy for the re-use of designs becomes imperative. IMS LD has emerged as the standard for the description and expression of learning designs. This chapter explores some of the issues associated with using the IMS LD specification for learning designs in virtual worlds such as Second Life and multi-player online role playing games such as World of Warcraft. The main issues relate to the inadequate description of collaborative activities and the inability to alter the design ‘on-the-fly’ in response to learner inputs. Some possible solutions to these problems are considered.

scholarly journals A Cross-Genre Study of Online Gaming

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davinder Ghuman ◽  
Mark Griffiths
Keyword(s):  
Real Life ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Online Gaming ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Role Playing Games ◽  
The Social ◽  
First Person Shooter ◽  
Published Research ◽  
Achievement Levels

One key limitation with the contemporary online gaming research literature is that much of the published research has tended to examine only one genre of games (i.e., Massively Multi-player Online Role Playing Games). Three relatively little studied online games are First Person Shooter (FPS) Games, Role Play Games (RPG), and Real Time Strategy (RTS) Games. Therefore, the current study examines player behaviour and characteristics in these three relatively under-researched online gaming genres. The study examines the differences between the three different game genres in terms of: (i) the demographic profile of players, (ii) the social interactions of players including the number and quality of friends, and how gaming related to real life friendship, and (iii) motivations to play specific game genres. The sample comprised 353 self-selected players. The RPG genre had the highest percentage of female players. The number of hours played per week varied significantly between the genres. RPG players played significantly longer hours than FPS or RTS players. In relation to playing motivation, achievement levels were highest for the FPS genre with RPG genre having the lowest achievement levels. RPG players had the highest immersion levels. RTS players were significantly less likely to report having made friends than players of the other two genres.

Going to extremes: Social identity and communication processes associated with gang membership

2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 813-832 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liran Goldman ◽  
Howard Giles ◽  
Michael A. Hogg
Keyword(s):  
Social Identity ◽  
Intergroup Relations ◽  
The United States ◽  
Gang Membership ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Social Psychological ◽  
Psychological Study ◽  
Communication Processes ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World

Gang violence, endemic to many communities in the United States and around the world is a very significant social problem. Given that the messages conveyed by, and the rivalries associated with, gang identities readily invoke constructs and processes familiar to the social psychological study of social identity, intergroup relations, and communication (Lauger, 2012), it is surprising that social psychologists have not advanced such an analysis of gangs. In attempt to fill this void and set a research agenda, this theoretical article examines the role social identity and identity-related communication play in promoting affiliation with gangs, particularly among youth who confront uncertainties and strive for family-like protection. The article discusses messaging communicated by gang members and reasons why youth adopt antisocial (e.g., violent) rather than prosocial behaviors. It also explores ways to diminish the allure of gang membership and raises questions for future research.

scholarly journals GTFO!! - Positioning as interaction strategy in MMORPG communication

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 151-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birgit Swoboda
Keyword(s):  
High Stress ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
World Of Warcraft ◽  
Crucial Importance ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Role Playing Games ◽  
Common Misconception ◽  
Interaction Strategy ◽  
Active Interaction ◽  
Massively Multiplayer

OMG! Lol n00b :)! When gamers, especially of MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) like World of Warcraft®, talk to one another they adapt language to their needs, as do all speakers. It is a common misconception that expressions such as smileys, acronyms and neologisms are a deterioration of current language. On the contrary, they can be regarded as instances of creativity, efficiency and in-group markers. Moreover, these expressions help gamers to position themselves in conversations, thus they can be regarded as active interaction strategies in the gaming discourse. But while communication is of crucial importance to achieve goals and for role-playing in MMORPGs, there are many communicative challenges for gamers, such as high-stress situations, missing paralinguistic cues and intercultural obstacles. By reference to an online-questionnaire, a self-compiled corpus and theories of pragmatics this paper sheds light on interaction strategies used by MMORPG-gamers.

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