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Nick Yee's new book delves into the psychology of MMO players
Researcher Nick Yee, who has often enlightened us on the subject of MMO player psychology, hasn't been on our radar much since the Daedalus Project went into hibernation (no, not druid-inflicted) back in 2009. Since then, he's done some interesting research with PARC's PlayOn Group, but without hearing much from him in 2013, we had wondered if he'd found a new favorite research subject and had left us behind. But now we can cut out the /weeping, because Yee has released a new book called The Proteus Paradox: How Online Games and Virtual Worlds Change Us--And How They Don't. Here's what it's all about: Using player surveys, psychological experiments, and in-game data, Yee breaks down misconceptions about who plays fantasy games and the extent to which the online and offline worlds operate separately. With a wealth of entertaining and provocative examples, he explains what virtual worlds are about and why they matter, not only for entertainment but also for business and education. He uses gaming as a lens through which to examine the pressing question of what it means to be human in a digital world. His thought-provoking book is an invitation to think more deeply about virtual worlds and what they reveal to us about ourselves. If you've enjoyed reading Yee's previous work, we think you'll enjoy this, too. You can pick up a hardcopy on Amazon now.
Hyperspace Beacon: SWTOR PvP solutions
I will freely admit that I do not have all the answers. I also admit that I believe that BioWare is trying to change the face of PvP in Star Wars: The Old Republic. But I think it's safe to say that the vast majority of the efforts so far have failed to the point that I said it would be more worthwhile for the PvP team to just stop in its tracks. PvP needs a fundamental refocus almost from the ground up. If the team continues to build on the currently shoddy foundation, the whole game will fall under its own weight. Last week, I talked about some of these foundational issues, but I don't like presenting a problem without also representing possible solutions. But first, let's get an understanding of what players are looking for. I could present the things that I personally want, but that will help only those who play SWTOR for the same reasons I do. We wouldn't have 500,000-plus players in the game if everyone thought the same as I do. So let's take a quick look at player motivation before diving into the solutions.
The Guild Counsel: Time for a mutiny!
In last week's Guild Counsel, we looked at some of the qualities required of guildleaders for those who might be thinking of trying it out. But what if you're someone who's already a member of a guild? If I had a nickel for every time a guild member thought to himself, "I could do a better job," I'd be able to retire and buy a ticket to fly in space. In some cases, it's just an issue of backseat driving, but in others, there's some merit to that point of view. When is it time to step in and replace the guild leader? And if so, how do you do it without the usual Hindenburgesque drama that ensues?
The Classifieds: Surveys for great science
The Classifieds brings you weekly news from around the WoW community, including our famous Random Acts of Uberness shout-outs to players who make your WoW sessions memorable. This is survey week on WoW Insider. We have a quick player wealth survey below, and then Nick Yee needs your help behind the cut. What's the point of having a multimillion-player community if it can't be exploited for science? This is what Xsinthis of Shadowmoon (US-A) had to say: I'm looking for more people to complete my World of Warcraft Wealth Survey. Using this quick, painless 4 question survey I hope to answer questions about wealth in the World of Warcraft. The survey can be found here: http://www.xsinthis.net/survey Everyone is encourage to take the survey, data is needed from all walks of digital life, from the copperless lvl 50, to the players who need guild banks to hold all their gold, the more data collected the more accurate the results will be!
The Guild Counsel: A color-blind world
A couple of interesting points came out of last week's review of The Raid, and I'm going to use them as a springboard for this week's column. There were two topics that dominated the discussion: one was Edward Castronova's analogy of raiding as sport and the downing of the Lich King as a World Cup Championship victory. The other was about the use of inappropriate language in game, including some racist and sexist remarks. In this week's Guild Counsel, we'll look at soccer and sexism, and we'll see why Castronova was worth hearing out and why there's a big difference between what players say and what they do.
15 Minutes of Fame: Jane McGonigal on why gamers will change the world
From Hollywood celebrities to the guy next door, millions of people have made World of Warcraft a part of their lives. How do you play WoW? We're giving each approach its own 15 Minutes of Fame. The average young person today in a country with a strong gamer culture will have spent 10,000 hours playing online games, by the age of 21. For children in the United States 10,080 hours is the exact amount of time you will spend in school from fifth grade to high school graduation if you have perfect attendance. -- Jane McGonigal Games designer Jane McGonigal wants games to change the world -- and she has good reason to think it's not only possible but in fact quite probable. McGonigal's games harness the power of productivity -- yeah, that same stuff you're pouring all over your push for endgame gear, the energy that's spilling over the sides of your personal quest to score more than 100 companion pets -- to bring gamers together to foster global social change. Whoa, lofty words ... But listen to McGonigal's 20-minute TED Talk, above, and you'll find yourself nodding along. Harnessing the immensely motivated and collaborative population of gamers makes a lot of sense. McGonigal has a new book, Reality Is Broken: Why Games Makes Us Better and How They Can Change the World, that colors in the entire picture (highly recommended reading -- thought-provoking without being heavy in the least). WoW Insider colors along with McGonigal this month with an exclusive, two-part interview. This week, we talk about how and why gaming will change the world. (We do recommend that you watch McGonigal's TED Talk above first for maximum context.) Next week, we'll narrow the focus to World of Warcraft and pick McGonigal's brain for practical advice for making playing WoW the positive, life-enhancing activity it has the potential to be.
The WoW Factor, page 2
Correct answer: d – older men Men are 4 times as likely as women to gender-bend in WoW. The older a male player is, the more likely they are to gender-bend.
The WoW Factor: How much do you know about the players behind the avatars?
How much do you think you know about your fellow WoW gamers? WoW Insider brings you this exclusive quiz designed by MMORPG researcher Nick Yee, based on actual U.S. data from the PARC PlayOn 2.0 study linking player survey data with their armory data. Think you know what players are really like? Come find out what your WoW Factor is. (Answers and conclusions following the quiz.) 1. The average age of WoW players is: a. 18 b. 24 c. 30 d. 36 2. Which of these groups of players is most likely to be gender-bending? a. younger women (<30) b. older women (>30) c. younger men (<30) d. older men (> 30)
15 Minutes of Fame: Researcher Nick Yee digs into the numbers, people behind WoW
From Hollywood celebrities to the guy next door, millions of people have made World of Warcraft a part of their lives. How do you play WoW? We're giving each approach its own 15 Minutes of Fame. If you're into research about the World of Warcraft and the world of MMORPGs, the name Nick Yee will be instantly recognizable. A research scientist at the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), Yee is well known in WoW circles for his work on The Daedalus Project, an online survey of MMORPG players that's yielded profiles of gamers and the gaming life that are ripe for the picking. Despite a powerhouse academic background, Yee's no ivory tower recluse. He's an active WoW player who relishes the happy intersection of game time as background for work time. And while his Daedalus Project has been "in hibernation" for some time now, Yee's been working on a new study for PARC. We'll chat with Yee about his work after the break -- plus test your knowledge of your fellow WoW players in a special quiz he's prepared especially for WoW Insider readers spotlighting findings from his new MMORPG research.
Defining Playstyles: Beyond casual vs. hardcore
In a recent Totem Talk post, I made a loot list for enhancement shamans that have access to ICC but are not progression raiders, because they are either alts or they are -- drum roll, please -- casual. That's right: I used the c-word without context. Casual. There, I said it again without context. Excuse me while I duck from the rotten vegetables being thrown in my direction. The use of that c-word in relation to an Icecrown Citadel loot list sparked a very interesting comment thread. Most comments were well thought-out, added value and furthered the discussion. Some were, to borrow Adam Savage's favorite term, vitriolic, because of my heinous misuse of the term "casual." I said it again without context. I'm just casually throwing around "casuals" here. Given the reaction that post received, I started doing some research into what exactly "casual" and "hardcore" actually mean. What I found was not surprising at all: They mean completely different things to absolutely everyone. The MMO population of players, across all games, is estimated at over 61 million people. There are as many variations on play time and playstyle as there are players in the game. Do you really think we can divide this many people simply into two groups of just casuals and hardcores? I think it's time we move beyond the polarizing definitions of casual and hardcore and come up with some definitions of our own.
Gnome Rogue with Pink Mohawk wants your data
Nick Yee from the Daedalus Project is now looking for data for a new project he's working on with the Palo Alto Research Center. Now, PARC is a pretty big name in computing, and Nick Yee is justly known for his long running work on the Daedalus Project, so the idea that a group with PARC's resources is studying WoW and other MMO's using someone as knowledgeable as Mr. Yee is very interesting all told. The idea of trying to 'predict who people are just from the way they behave in a virtual world ' and my own personal curiosity for whether nor not they'll run into a certain Mr. Gabriel's GIFT (warning, there is a swearword behind that link) has me decidedly curious. The full text of the press release will be behind the cut for those interested.
New study reveals insights into gender in MMOs
A new study has appeared over at the Virtual Worlds Observatory, the home of a team of social scientists interested in researching online games, and it delves into perceptions of gender in online games and the reality behind it. Utilizing EverQuest II, the study uses a sample size of over 7,000 players to measure player interactions along gender lines and learn more about the gamers behind the keyboards. Surprisingly enough, while males exhibited predicted aggressiveness and achievement-oriented gameplay, it was the female gamers that exhibited more "hardcore" behavior. The top 10% of male gamers only played an average of 48 hours a week, while the top 10% of female gamers played an average of 56 hours a week. Yet, during the study, females under-reported their playing habits more than male gamers, as if unconsciously reacting to a stereotype. The study is full of interesting details, and the full report is available for your viewing pleasure online. [Via The Border House]
Nick Yee puts the Daedalus Project into hibernation
The Daedalus Project, for those who aren't familiar with this fantastic project by Nick Yee, is an in-depth look at the psychology of MMO gamers. As someone who plays MMOs, Nick has always taken a very fair and balanced look at the intricate worlds spanning the MMO genre, with results that were sometimes surprising. During the course of ten years of research, he's looked into everything from basic gender alignment questions to in-depth looks at genre, how emerging changes in game mechanics affect social interaction, and so very much more. To say it's been important, enlightening work is an understatement. In a recent blog posting, Nick has announced that he's going to be placing the Daedalus Project into 'hibernation' due to time constraints, the rigors of his everyday work, and his need to publish as a PhD. As anyone can imagine, running an enormous project like Daedalus has to take a great deal of time and effort. It would appear that rather than letting the quality of the work for this project of love suffer, he's opted to place it on hold for now. While it's definitely a loss for the MMO - and indeed educational - community, we can totally understand. All of us here at Massively would like to thank Nick for his unwavering dedication to bringing so many important things to light over the last ten years, and hope that all of his future challenges are equally as rewarding.
Behind the Curtain: Multiple MMOs pt. 2
When I started thinking about this subject, I remembered reading something on the subject a while back on the Daedalus Project. Going by the figures Nick Yee collected back in 2006, less than a quarter of the players he spoke with had more than one account. I can't help but wonder if that number will have increased or decreased with time. Without getting too much in the state of the world-economy, as we all have to tighten our belts that little bit more, we'll end up looking for cheaper ways of relaxing and blowing of some steam. I wouldn't be the first person to point out that the average cost of a monthly MMO subscription is less than you'll spend on one night at the cinema. While it's absolutely not my place to fault Dr. Yee's work, and I certainly don't intend to, I would have liked to see him also ask about how many players had more than one account active for the same game, and the reasons why. The reasons given for having subscriptions to more than one game aren't surprising. Players maintain several subscriptions due to having friends and family still active in the game; or they feel that the time spent so far with the game will be wasted if they cancelled the account; or for financial reasons like waiting for the subscription plan to expire, or simply forgetting the subscription was there. If people were asked why they play more than one game, I'd expect to see similar answers, but I'd hope to see some others, too. Game mechanics, for one. When I went back and looked at Star Wars Galaxies a while back, I didn't feel like it was a game I'd really want to play on a regular basis. That said, the crafting in the game was still as interesting as I remembered. A crafting system that isn't a simple pass/fail mechanic, rewarding time spent hunting for high-quality raw materials, and classes whose sole purpose is to craft rather than quest ticked a lot of boxes for me. And while the ground game left a lot to be desired, there was still a lot of fun to be had in space, hunting Rebels or Imperials, depending on which side your bread was buttered on. My point is that it's a rare game that provides you with everything you want. Maybe you play one game because the combat system is second to none, but another one because the RP tools in it haven't been bettered yet. Graphics are a big thing for a lot of people, and the cartoonish graphics of WoW have put off more than one person in the past, without a doubt. Realistic graphics and presentation, on the other hand, won't stop your game from being slated if it deserves it – see Age of Conan for proof. Your turn now. Do you run more than one MMO at a time? Which ones are they, and why? Hit the comments, and let the world know.
Behind the Curtain: Multiple MMOs
Is one MMO ever enough? Lots of people play more than one MMO. Among the staff here at Massively, you would be hard pressed to find a writer with only one active subscription. Ever the exception however, I am a one-game kind of guy. "Is that through choice, or necessity though, Craig?" I hear you cry. The answer is that it's a little of both. It's easy to say that I don't have enough time to play a couple of MMOs, but if I was really honest with myself, I'd admit to that being a lie. If I'm able to free up a couple of hours every couple of nights to play World of Warcraft, then why can't I alternate those nights, for example, between WoW and another game?
Daedalus Project updated
Nick Yee's excellent MMORPG survey and data site, the Daedalus Project, has been updated with new survey results on the following topics: Guild demographics: What influences players to choose certain guilds, how attached they become, the likelihood of their knowing guildies in real life, and how long they stay. What I find fascinating here is the graph displayed above -- 26% of surveyed players have been with their guild 2 years or more. Alex Ziebart mentioned the other day that his guild has been together so long across multiple games that guild chat's gone from talk of teenage dates to coaching expectant parents through morning sickness. I get the feeling that this is only going to become more common in long-haul games like Second Life and WoW. Character creation: How players choose characters, the elements of character selection they consider most important, and whether classes and races tend to be researched extensively before they're picked, or chosen based on impulse. Character class seems to matter to the most people; starting area the least.
Newest Daedalus Project research highlights genre appeal
The Daedalus project is the most important research project into MMO player demographics in the world. Run by the unflappable Nick Yee, it's a fantastic look into the minds of MMO guild leaders, female players, old players, young players, and everyone in between. Past Daedalus articles have tackled issues like playing with romantic partners, the willingness of players to buy gold online, and the importance of achieving goals in a virtual setting.The newest round of research delves into some fascinating stuff. Probably this round's most interesting data surrounds genre preferences. Have you ever wondered how much people want to play super-hero games vs. sci-fi titles? Whether guys want to play vampires, or whether girls want to play vampire hunters online? All of these questions and more are addressed in the Game Choices article in this round of the Project. Plus! Find out how the demographics of guilds pan out, what the thought process is behind character creation, preferences in class role, and the logic behind choosing a 'main character'. Check it out!
WAR's anti-gold-selling policy challenged
We're well aware of Mark Jacobs' and Mythic's views on gold sellers in Warhammer Online, but what about the opposite side of the fence? Could gold sellers in a young, potentially top-selling MMO actually help the game develop and attract the adult working class? That's what Gigaom's Wagner James Au argues in a recent article."When launching a big-budget online game, it doesn't strike me as a very good idea to risk alienating nearly a quarter of your user base right out the gate. That, however, is likely to be the consequence of an extreme anti-gold selling policy at Mythic Entertainment," writes Au. He also cites research by Nick Yee, who is fast-becoming the most popular gaming-related research scientist, stating that gold-buying is done mostly by those ages 35 and older, who don't have the time to play as those younger gamers.
The advantages of being an online gaming parent
The issue of parenting as it relates to online gaming is not only a delicate one, but its popularity is growing as more children are getting into the virtual space. We would be willing to bet that a healthy percentage of Massively readers are gamers with children. Not only that, but as online gamers age, their children inevitably continue into the next generation of online gamers.According to a new video podcast by Palo Alto Research Center's Nick Yee, parents who game have an advantage over those who don't game. This video -- the first in his series -- aims to show non-gaming parents how they can set reasonable guidelines and provide leverage for their children's online activities. He interviews several parents and gets their own experiences with how they raise their online gaming children. You'll find the complete 12-minute video right after the jump.[Thanks Efrem!]
15 Minutes of Fame: WoW from the Ivory Tower
15 Minutes of Fame is our look at World of Warcraft players of all shapes and sizes – from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about at 15minutesoffame (AT) wowinsider (DOT) com.Academic types will find a way to analyze just about every aspect of life – life in Azeroth included. Digital Culture, Play, and Identity: A World of Warcraft Reader, published in May by The MIT Press, explores what it calls "the cultural and social implications of the proliferation of ever more complex digital game worlds." Whew.Props to the authors of this anthology for not only playing the game they're pontificating about – they actually created their own guild, where they play with other Digital Culture contributors. 15 Minutes of Fame talked with Jessica Langer, author of a chapter on the ways in which narratives of colonialism and otherness functioned in different ways throughout the game, about what she plays, what she writes, and how it all comes together in the World of Warcraft.
