social-dynamics
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Ethnologist researches the development of social skills in World of Warcraft
A lot of players probably think that World of Warcraft breeds social skills, to the extent that contempt for one's fellow human beings can be considered a social skill. But according to Peter Stenberg of Umea University in Sweden, there are some actual developments taking place when you play. Stenberg has just released a thesis detailing the social developments he observed during his 250-day stint in the game, discussing the ways in which the virtual environment begins to blend into the real world and develop complex social structures. As Stenberg puts it, the overall atmosphere of the game forms a collective and developed society apart from the real world, something he claims "challenges the rather persistent view of the computer game enthusiast as a lone figure with only a flickering screen for company." Of course, veteran players of MMOs have no doubt noticed a wide variety of social structures that develop within a game, but Stenberg's work is interesting if for no other reason than it's meant as a serious examination of the phenomenon.
The Daily Grind: There's a line, and you crossed it
The relationships we form in games are by their very nature kind of mercenary. You make friends in EVE Online not because you know your bosom buddy is waiting for you, but because flying in 0.0 is pretty dangerous on your own. So most of your friends in a game start off based on you deriving some benefit, and with a few exceptions that's where they remain. The problem comes when that benefit is outweighed by something else. That's when guilds of friends have nasty splits over what seem like minor matters, because someone crossed a line and no amount of in-game support is worth the drama. Sometimes it's all game-related, and other times outside drama shoves its way into the game. Either way, it's something bad enough that you're often cutting off a significant advantage -- sometimes even a whole guild and the concurrent access to the endgame -- for purely personal reasons. Those of us who have done so, though, rarely look back with regret. What about you? When has a relationship in a game passed the point where the benefits are outweighed by the drawbacks? Or have you only ever been on the flipside of the equation?
All the World's a Stage: The Art of Roleplaying
This week, David returns (again) to All the World's a Stage as a newly married man, feeling particularly happy and joyful, and overflowing with enthusiasm for just about everything he loves in life.The relationship between rolelplaying and real life is a multifaceted one. If you have read this column before, you've probably seen some mention of roleplaying as a creative art form, but for some readers, it might be a bit difficult to imagine roleplaying as an art. After all, some might say, it's just a bunch of people sitting around, pretending their characters are real people, having real problems and real stories, all in spite of a game environment in which one's character can't actually affect the world in any way that matters. Problems of continuity, such as instanced dungeons in which many people can slay the same monster at the same time over and over again, make some people feel as though there's no story value to the game at all, and that anything roleplayers do is a waste of their time.The trick for roleplayers is to think of roleplaying as something more like freeform play art, in which the main point of the art isn't so much the end product that results from one's efforts (as it would be in painting, novel-writing, or composing music), but rather the thoughts, feelings, and inspiration that come to mind when we actually engage in the process of the art itself. The closest parallel to another art form might be improv acting games, where the whole point is to make things up for you and the other actors to enjoy, rather than to deliver a performance for a separate audience; but if you've enjoyed something so simple as building a sand castle on the beach, then you probably have a good sense of what it feels like to roleplay. Fingerpainting, mandala-making or even just freeform music and dancing can all give a similar feeling like what you get in roleplaying: the sheer joy of creation.Some roleplayers need no more justification for their art than that they enjoyed themselves. But others look at their own roleplaying careers and see certain things that they've taken away from their roleplaying experience over time. These things are usually not as solid as an actual painting or recorded song, but they still have a kind of solidity in the roleplayer's mind, as they positively impact his or her real life in several ways.
