When Sally Pwned Harry

This place died a while ago, but we’re kicking it up again at a new location.

Session 4, Day 2

Motivation & Addiction
Biological Mechanisms of Online Gaming Addiction_— Jack Kuo, Jeffrey Wilkins & William Huang
Motivation & Seduction in MMORPGs_— Nicholas Yee
David Simkins, Chair

Read the rest of this entry »

Session 2 Day 2

MMOGs & Learning
The Play of Imagination_— Douglas Thomas & John Seely Brown
Rethinking Online Communities of Practice_— Constance Steinkuehler
Lisa Galarneau, Respondent

Read the rest of this entry »

Session 1, Day 2
INDIVIDUAL PRESENTATIONS:_Unpacking Gamer Expertise
The Role of Experience in Learning from Videogames: A Comparison of Expert and Novice Cases_— Meredith DiPietro
How Did You Get so Good? An Investigation of Expertise in World of Warcraft_— P. G. Schrader & Michael McCreery
Gaming & Trajectories of Technological Expertise_— Elisabeth Hayes
Constance Steinkuehler, Chair_

Read the rest of this entry »

Session 4

INDIVIDUAL PRESENTATIONS:_Interactivity & Choice in Games
Understanding Interactivity: Relevance, Surprise, and Initiative, or Are Computer Games More Interactive than Your Grandmother?_— Jay Lemke
The Perils of Choice: The Sometimes Dire Consequences of Freedom in Games_— Nathan McKenzie
Sasha Barab, Respondent_

Read the rest of this entry »

Session 3

Collaborative & Experiential Learning in the User-Created World of Second Life
Bryan Carter, Jen Caruso, Aline Click & Pathfinder Linden
Elisabeth Hayes, Chair

Read the rest of this entry »

Second Session

DATA ANALYSIS WORKSHOP: Understanding the Nature of Avatar-Mediated Interaction in MMOGs
Robert Moore Nicolas Ducheneaut, Eric Nickell & Nicholas Yee
Marjee Chmiel, Chair

Read the rest of this entry »

SYMPOSIUM:_Media Literacy & Gaming Literacy
James Paul Gee, Kurt Squire, Constance Steinkuehler, Elisabeth Hayes, _David Shaffer_& Rich Halverson
James Paul Gee, Chai

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been thinking a lot about Warcraft recently, in specific, it’s merits or lack there of. There are two vastly generalised places I go. First, is that Warcraft, and MMORPGs in general are sort of this glaring light on a number of things that are just completely messed about western culture. We have so alienated ourselves from our real lives that we go to virtual ones. People, including myself, think nothing of spending 40+ hours per week in a reality that doesn’t exist, loosing social ties, professional responsibilities and a connection to the here and now in the process. Games of this nature have an addictive quality, satisfying in far more clear ways basic needs of people in ways that their real lives can’t do. Looking at it this way, games are an evil, striking down at the heart of citizenship, community, obligations, etc.

The flip side of this, of course, requires we take one further step back. I would argue that given the state of our communities, families, schools and so on, that OF COURSE people would turn to an alternate reality. We offer so little as a culture in terms of modeling healthy communities, of supporting people in living satisfying lives, in acknowledging hardships and celebrating achievements. One could certainly argue that turning to places like MMOs is the cheap way out, and this is valid, but I would also argue that given the state of the world we live in, it may well be the ONLY option many people can imagine. The seduction of MMOs (and keep in mind that I speak from experience directly of Warcraft, and am generalizing my statements to cover more platforms) is that so many things that are so murky in life are made so blissfully clear. You know who your enemies and allies are. You are given specific goals and rewarded for completing them. There is a shared understanding of success, of fair play. Unlike in real life, where one person’s idea of success may be another’s worst nightmare, in MMOs everyone around you knows exactly what it means to complete a certain quest or get a certain item. They understand the effort, the hours put in, the frustration.

Warcraft has, very elegantly, created a world environment that feels open and full of choice while at the same time being incredibly scripted. It gives the illusion and feel of free choice, but the parameters in which you may exercise that freedom are small. This, as it turns out, can be deeply comforting. In my limited experience with my friends and myself, we are confronted with a world our parents may have scratched the surface of, and one that our grandparents could hardly have dreamt. We have so many options, where to live, what to learn, how to live, where to work. The world can be bewilderingly huge, and choices impossible to weigh. I find myself sometimes panicked in to total immobilization, so unsure of what to do and how to do it that I choose “none of the above”. Mind you, I am not asking for less options in my real life, but merely illustrating why the constrained freedom of Warcraft has such a tantalizing lure. It fulfills the need to make decisions, to be in charge, and at the same time makes it both clear what the wisest options are, and limits how many options you actually have.

Another aspect of gameplay is the economy. It is fairly easy to make substantial amounts of money in game. You have to spend a small fraction of this money on “boring” expenses like repairs to your gear and food and drink. All the rest of it is for your enjoyment. And, given that the game in the end is all about having the best gear, the more money you spend on yourself, ostensibly the better equipped to play the game you are. I need hardly expound on how deeply satisfying both the accumulation and subsequent spending of this money is. Especially when you are in financial disrepair in real life. Not only is it just plain fun and allows you to work out that deep desire for a new TV or pair of shoes in a relatively harmless way, it is also all about control. I micro-manage my money in a ridiculous way in game. I know to the dollar what I have, I weigh purchases carefully, I scrimp and save for months for something I want. I budget, plan, calculate, analise, run statistical programs to help me make the most, etc. Do I do even one third as much work on my money in real life? Absolutely not. It’s far to scary, to tied to my survival, it’s absolutely terrifying. In-game I am able to exercise control over my life that I can’t normally.

The other thing that I find fascinating about the created world within this game is the idea of Guilds. Guilds are a mechanism that exists in-game to create small groups of friends and allies to play and chat with. The name over your characters head announces to which one you belong, you can wear a specially designed shirt to further distinguish yourself. But the most remarkable thing about it is what an incredible community building structure it is. Granted, on some levels (ok, a lot of levels) guilds are really not much different than the modern day gang. What they both are, at their most basic level, is a pre-created system for finding community and belonging. They are both context-specific culturally acceptable ways to develop and find friendship, support, ownership and belonging, as well as a sense of purpose and usefulness, the knowledge that you are needed and contribute to a larger group. And not only that, but people in Warcraft are self selecting. You know you have at least ONE thing in common with everyone else there. And in many cases it’s fairly safe to assume (or easy to imagine) that they are people just like you. And in that lies the other great seduction (and vice) of online gaming. By and large communication occurs completely through text. For most people (and again, remember that those who play these games are a self selecting group) communication through text is VASTLY easier than talking. You have more time to respond, more time to be witty, charming, flirty, take your pick. And not only that, but given that by and large this is the only way through which you know your friends, there is a great degree of latitude for you to imagine them to be who you want them to be. Only so much can be communicated through writing, even assuming that how you write is fundamentally who you are. Vocal inflection, nuance, expression is all added by the reader. You take the little snippets of a person that you get through chat and your mind mixes it all up together with your own subconscious desires to create, more often than not, a surprisingly interesting person.

This is not to say that these relationships don’t hold value. Or that they aren’t real, or that very honest intimate friendships can’t develop out of them. However, for the most superficial relationships, it is hard for me to know or articulate or even be sure of just what that value is. On the one hand, those superficial relationships are nearly entirely imaginary. On the other, there is an aspect of real, I interact with the person as if they are who I think them to be, and they do the same to me in return. I still come away feeling like I have had an enjoyable exchange with another person, having made a connection, even maybe a friend. And who’s to say that that isn’t a good thing? But there is a line between a human connection that FEELS satisfying and meaningful, and one that actually is. And this is the line that becomes confoundingly blurry in this game. Ultimately, my life isn’t going to be satisfying if my connections are made only in fleeting to people I may never meet, and all the more so if those connections are made at the expense of my real life friends who tend to be a bit more emotionally and time demanding than those online. The absolutely legitimate worry about MMO communities and personal friendships is that they are absolutely HORRIBLE at teaching us how to be in community and relationship in real life. It’s often all the fun without the work, the pleasure without the commitment. Again, keep in mind that these are vast generalizations. For many larger guilds, the inter-guild dynamic can become just as complex as any real life groups, with a lot of drama, and a lot of management necessary to keep them from chaos or dissolving. And there are many, many times when on-line relationships intersect and affect real life relationships. When couples and real life friends play together there is an entire additional layer added to all of this.

In the end, MMOs are a pretty poor substitute for real life accomplishment and community. They superficially replace, in a surprisingly satisfying way, the needs which are not being met in our day to day lives, but with few long term rewards. For those nay-sayers who see these kind of games as the bane of society, I wonder what suggestions they have to lessen the game’s appeal? If we had friends, families and communities that worked, if we had a society that supported them, would these games be as prevalent as they are? Perhaps not. But given that we live in the world that we do, these games are here to stay for a while, for better or worse. And like it or not, they are one of the very few arenas where young people are practicing leadership, community building and the like. For those of us interested in creating healthy societies and communities, how can we use this? It may be a limited platform, but it exists. Also, in my (admittedly limited) experience, with a bit of prodding, many players are surprisingly articulate about what their gameplay experience provides for them. This is probably not the level of analysis that most players conduct, but they are far from being totally naive about what they are doing. I am far too early in my thinking to know for sure, but I suspect that somehow there is an access point in all of this to creating meaningful thought, dialogue and change in how we think about and find healthy, working communities and friend bases that support and nurture us.

Tripod perform at a Comedy Festival

I refuse to admit that there is any truth in this song.