scholarly journals Outside oneself in World of Warcraft: Gamers' perception of the racial self-other

2010 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas D. Rowland ◽  
Amanda C. Barton
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Physical Characteristics ◽  
World Of Warcraft ◽  
Role Playing Games ◽  
Racial Perceptions ◽  
Game Environment ◽  
The Way

The popularity of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) has created a unique, heavily populated virtual reality wherein player characters are explicitly differentiated by the physical characteristics of their avatars. To investigate the way real-life race perceptions influence these adopted player-character identities, we invited MMO players to participate in an online survey. In this study, we are particularly interested in overlap, or deviation, between real-life racial perceptions and the perception of fictional fantastic races (elves, dwarves). On the basis of the data collected, we found that whether players consciously associate themselves with their avatars or consciously dissociate themselves from their avatars, real-life racial tendencies unconsciously manifest through players' choices of their avatars and in their interactions with other players within the game environment.

Redactioneel

2011 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
World Of Warcraft ◽  
Law And Order ◽  
Kunnen Zijn ◽  
Role Playing Games ◽  
Onderzoek Naar ◽  
Tijdschrift Voor ◽  
Massively Multiplayer

Dit nummer van het Tijdschrift voor Communicatiewetenschap bevat vijf artikelen over uiteenlopende onderwerpen.Het eerste artikel gaat over de websites van topmerken. In De relatie tussen objectieve en gepercipieerde interactiviteit combineren Hilde Voorveld, Peter Neijens en Edith Smit twee methoden van dataverzameling. Door middel van een inhoudsanalyse analyseren ze de interactieve functies op websites van 65 topmerken en door middel van een survey gaan ze na hoe door hun respondenten de mate van interactiviteit van diezelfde websites gepercipieerd wordt. Uit de resultaten van het onderzoek blijkt dat er zeker geen positieve lineaire relatie bestaat tussen de mate van interactiviteit zoals vastgesteld door de inhoudsanalyse en de gepercipieerde interactiviteit die in de resultaten van het survey naar voren komt. Zij concluderen dat de uniekheid van interactieve functies weleens belangrijker zou kunnen zijn dan de kwantiteit aan interactieve functies op een website.Annelore Deprez, Karin Raeymaeckers en Sarah Van Leuven hebben de berichtgeving over de Eerste en de Tweede Intifada onderzocht. In het artikel Framing van de Eerste en Tweede Intifada in de Vlaamse en Nederlandse pers. Een casestudy van De Morgen en het NRC Handelsblad tonen zij aan dat in deze kranten verschillende frames domineren. Daarbij focussen ze op het ‘law and order’ en het ‘injustice and defiance’ frame. Het ‘law and order’ frame was in het NRC Handelsblad zowel tijdens de Eerste als de Tweede Intifada dominant, terwijl tijdens de Eerste Intifada in de berichtgeving in De Morgen het ‘injustice and defiance’ frame sterk naar voren kwam.Het artikel dat is geschreven door Melanie De Vocht, Jan van Looy, Cédric Courtois en Lieven De Marez gaat over het fenomeen ‘Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games’ (MMORPG). In Sociaal contact in een MMORPG. Een exploratief onderzoek naar de motivaties voor het spelen van World of Warcraft vanuit de uses & gratifications-benadering presenteren zij de resultaten van een online survey waaraan 1691 gamers hebben meegewerkt. In dit onderzoek zijn acht verschillende motieven om te gamen onderscheiden: escapisme, opwinding, immersie, zelfvoldoening, harde competitie, vaardigheden, sociale contacten in World of Warcraft en sociale contacten in het werkelijke leven. Deze motieven zijn in dit onderzoek ook gerelateerd aan de mate van betrokkenheid bij de online identiteiten van de gamer.In het artikel Een typologie van jonge nieuwsgebruikers in een multimediaal landschap maken Anna Van Cauwenberge, Leen d’Haenens en Hans Beentjes een indeling in nieuwsgebruikers. Zij hebben een survey uitgevoerd onder 1200 Vlaamse en Nederlandse jongeren en jongvolwassenen van 15 tot 35 jaar en op basis van hun tijdsbesteding aan combinaties van nieuwsplatformen identificeren zij verschillende typen. Uit het onderzoek blijkt dat Vlaamse en Nederlandse jongeren online en traditionele nieuwsbronnen combineren waarbij het televisienieuws nog steeds een prominente rol speelt.Het laatste artikel in dit nummer van het Tijdschrift voor Communicatiewetenschap is een literatuuronderzoek naar de relatie tussen mediagebruik en risicogedrag van jongeren in het verkeer. In deze studie staan twee theoretische zienswijzen centraal: de cultivatietheorie en de theorie van het gepland gedrag. Kathleen Beullens en Astrid Dirikx presenteren de resultaten van dit literatuuronderzoek in Mediagebruik en risicogedrag van jongeren in het verkeer: een literatuuroverzicht.

scholarly journals Performing self, performing character: Exploring gender performativity in online role-playing games

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Osborne
Keyword(s):  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Gender And Sexuality ◽  
Online Game ◽  
Gender Performativity ◽  
Role Playing Games ◽  
Role Players ◽  
Game Environment

Online narrative (fiction-based) role-playing games and massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) provide a ludic structure in which role players enact the gender and sexuality of their avatars. To investigate how role players perceive and perform their avatars' gender and sexuality in online games, I invited role players from MMORPGs and narrative RPGs to participate in an online survey. This study examines how the online game environment mediates players' self-expression and their acceptance of minority identities. Qualitative analysis of the data collected suggests that players who demonstrate empathy with and examination of their avatars' genders and sexualities, and who experience a sense of belonging within the game structure, are able to form positive interpersonal relationships that allow them to accept others' expressed identities.

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.

The Demographics, Motivations, and Derived Experiences of Users of Massively Multi-User Online Graphical Environments

2006 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Yee
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Five Factor Model ◽  
Leadership Skills ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Role Playing Games ◽  
Meaningful Relationships ◽  
Age Range

Online survey data were collected from 30,000 users of Massively Multi-User Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) over a three year period to explore users' demographics, motivations, and derived experiences. Not only do MMORPGs appeal to a broad age range (Mage = 26.57, range = 11–68), but the appeal is strong (on average 22 hours of usage per week) across users of all ages (r = −.04). An exploratory factor analysis revealed a five factor model of user motivations—Achievement, Relationship, Immersion, Escapism, and Manipulation—illustrating the multifaceted appeal of these online environments. Male players were significantly more likely to be driven by the Achievement and Manipulation factors, while female players were significantly more likely to be driven by the Relationship factor. Also, the data indicated that users derived meaningful relationships and salient emotional experiences, as well as real-life leadership skills from these virtual environments. MMORPGs are not simply a pastime for teenagers, but a valuable research venue and platform where millions of users interact and collaborate using real-time 3D avatars on a daily basis.

scholarly journals Virtual reality and massive multiplayer online role-playing games as possible prophylaxis mathematical model: focus on COVID-19 spreading

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (s1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Fiorillo ◽  
Marco Cicciù ◽  
Rosa De Stefano ◽  
Salvatore Bocchieri ◽  
Alan Scott Herford ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Model ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
World Of Warcraft ◽  
Online Game ◽  
Medical Field ◽  
Simulation Games ◽  
The Past ◽  
Role Playing Games ◽  
The One

AbstractThe digital field certainly provides a lot of information in the medical field, it is possible, in a computerized way, also to simulate epidemics, and the spread of these. There have been events in the past, in some simulation games, which are currently being studied, as they could provide important clues for the resolution of epidemics such as the one from COVID-19. One of these events occurred due to a bug in 2005 in the role-playing online game World of Warcraft. Through these simulations it is possible to make prophylactic plans to intervene preventively or plan interventions throughout mathematical models.

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.”

The way a child understands the world: from real life to virtual reality and back

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irina Kulikovskaya ◽  
Liudmila Kudinova ◽  
Maria Guryeva ◽  
AF AF
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Real Life ◽  
The World ◽  
The Way

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.

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.

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