DOCSLIB.ORG

Leadership Style in World of Warcraft Raid Guilds

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Leadership Style in World of Warcraft Raid Guilds Leadership Style in World of Warcraft Raid Guilds Patrick Prax Uppsala University Box 513, 75120 Uppsala, Sweden Ekonomikum E 335, Kyrkogårdsg. 10 +46 765 543 446 [email protected] ABSTRACT leader. In MMORPGs players are required to work in teams This study shows how guild leaders in World of Warcraft and to organize in self-governed groups to be successful (WOW) and leaders of real life organizations compare in [4,5,11]. While most players are simple members of those terms of leadership style. This comparison is used to shed organizations, there are also leading figures who take the some light on leadership in Massively Multiplayer Online responsibility to organize and govern these groups of Role Playing Games (MMORPGs). 12 interviews were players. In this paper the main interest lies in leadership in conducted, six with leaders of successful WOW raiding successful PvE (Player versus Environment, in contrast to guilds and six with leaders of various real life Player versus Player, PvP) raiding guilds where leadership organizations. The Leadership Grid was used to analyze is given by the game mechanics to a single guild leader and compare the different leadership styles. The leadership which raises expectations of a more institutionalized style of the guild leaders can be described as “Janus-faced”. leadership here than in other player organizations. This It uses both “County-Club Management” putting human institutional leadership as it appears in MMORPGs is a needs first and “Authority-Compliance Management” rather new phenomenon and especially leadership style focusing on efficiency and results depending on the seems to be a central point for the success and failure or the situation. To secure the success of the raid a leadership survival and death of guilds [11]. In their paper Reeves et. style with focus on results is used during the actual raid. al. argue that leadership in real life organizations is During the every-day life, outside of the actual raid, a changing due to ICT and that it is becoming more like leadership style concerned about human needs is chosen to leadership in MMORPGs[9]. They make the point that be able to solve social problems and build strong social MMORPGs have sophisticated communication structures relationships using only digital media for communication. enabling the players and leaders and that the future work places could feature similar communication technologies. Keywords They go even one step further saying that players of these Leadership, MMORPG, World of Warcraft, Guild, Virtual games will demand the well-designed communication Community, Collaboration, infrastructures they know from their gaming experience in INTRODUCTION their work life and thus create a need to adapt these Jane McGonigal, in her “Gaming can make a better world” structures. This outlook on the relevance of leadership in speech on TED.com, made the point that “the average MMORPGs motivates this investigation of the leadership young person today in a country with a strong gamer style in raiding guilds culture” has spent as much time in games as in school.[7] Aim She goes on to ask what exactly the gamers are learning in The aim of the paper is to characterize the leadership styles this “secondary line of education” to become good gamers of leaders of successful WOW raiding guilds by comparing and while she goes on discussing the merits of gaming in them with the style of leaders of various real-life general this paper is focusing on one aspect of gaming organizations in terms of focus on productivity or on the which is leadership. One type of games, MMORPGs, have needs of people. given rise to an interesting leadership figure, the guild THEORY The Leadership Grid Nordic DiGRA 2010. DiGRA © 2010 Authors & Digital The Leadership Grid is a useful model for visualizing and Games Research Association (DiGRA). Personal and discussing leadership styles [2]. It uses two numeric scales educational classroom use of this paper is allowed, from one to nine, the first one showing the concern about commercial use requires specific permission from the production and the second one showing the concern about author. people. A high number represents a significant concern. A complex team-based task within MMOs and requires a leadership style with the values 1,9 would put results and certain amount of individual discipline and teamwork.”[11] production far in the background, shown by the value one Only leaders of guilds ranked among the 100 best raid of the first number, while being extremely concerned about guilds in Europe (with one exception, the guild council of people illustrated by the nine as the second digit. See the “Schwingen des Phoenix”, more about that below) were following figure (Figure 1) for an example of the leadership interviewed. The guilds were ranked after their success in grid. the PvE content according to how much of the content they played through and how fast they managed to do so[12]. All the guild leaders interviewed are German. The guild leaders interviewed were the leaders of Myth, Harlequins, the guild council of “Schwingen des Phoenix”, Affenjungs INC, Nero and Unleash. The guild “Schwingen des Phoenix” is not among the most successful raiding guilds. However, it was included in the interviews because it opened the possibility to talk to a whole guild leadership council of five players at the same time. While not providing information about the top raid guilds it highlighted things about the setup of guild leadership even in the other guilds that were taken for granted there thus deepening the understanding of the leadership styles by providing a contrast picture. The organizations of the real life leaders ranged from public service Figure 1: The Leadership Grid agencies and non-profit media organizations over to small Blake (1985) [3] creative private businesses and workshops to big industrial The leadership grid is useful for comparing leadership companies and the military thus including leaders from styles online and offline by assigning numerical values to many different backgrounds to get as many leadership different styles. The weakness of the leadership grid is that styles as possible for the comparison. it only has two dimensions of leadership, concern for The informants were one leader of a Swedish municipal people and for production. It can be argued that leadership organization (Monica Fagerström), a Swedish air force styles consist of more than that. However, the leadership mission leader (Patrik Stensson), a Swedish Media grid provides a good starting point for a comparison along company CEO (Peter Mattsson), a German industrial these two dimensions which can then become the basis for service company manager (Jürgen Tiekötter), a German better and more detailed analysis and explanation. workshop owner (Michael Dzygoluk) and the station manager of Uppsala’s student radio (Emil Öberg). METHOD This study used semi-structured interviews for data RESULTS collection. The interviewees were asked to describe their Leadership In-Game tasks, duties, responsibilities and experiences the way they Explaining the similarities and differences of leadership perceived them. The leadership style in specific situations styles used by WOW raid guild leaders and real life leaders was a focus of the interviews. The author is a member of a it is necessary to summarize briefly the different leadership casual raiding guild. He uses personal experience from that situations of guild leaders. It has shown in all six guilds that to help the data collection and interviewing. the leadership style of guild leaders changes dramatically Choice of Interviewees dependent on the situation they are in. That means that As the aim of the paper is to understand how institutional there are two modes of leadership styles, one of them leadership in in-game organizations, guilds, works. A raid is occurring in the actual raid and one outside of it. a 10- or 25-member team event “that typically last between Leadership style in Raids 2 and 8 hours and require a heavy dose of management and “It is insanely complex. You have to be there all the time intricate coordination of player roles. A raid is the most and be aware of thousands of things simultaneously and in addition you gets messages from 24 others…you run on motivate their players and try to make them feel that they adrenaline.” Guild Leader of Harlequins are moving forward. All guild leaders described the leadership style in raids as “Sometimes it is important to explain to the people that we oriented toward results. It is a rather clear “Authority- are not so far away from a kill even though we wiped again Compliance Model” that has the value 9,1 in the Leadership at 90%.” Guild Leader of Myth Grid. Part of the description of the “Authority-Compliance However, also this is done with the outlook of raising Model” in the Leadership Grid is an organization “in such a peoples’ effectiveness. Frustrated players are not as good way that human elements interfere to a minimum degree.” and the feeling of hitting the head repeatedly against a brick This is also a good description of the leadership style and wall and dying to the same boss over and over and over the aim of leadership in raids. The raid was depicted as again, as it has been the case at some point in many guilds, oriented towards results and everything that stands in the is described as a very problematic situation for a raid and way of that is eliminated. its leader. Three of the interviewees used a certain boss, The guild leader of a raiding guild is not necessarily also M’uru, as an example. M’uru was extremely hard to beat as the raid leader. However, all the guild leaders in this study even a small mistake by a single player could result in a were also the raid leaders.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Women's Experimental Autobiography from Counterculture Comics to Transmedia Storytelling: Staging Encounters Across Time, Space, and Medium
    Women's Experimental Autobiography from Counterculture Comics to Transmedia Storytelling: Staging Encounters Across Time, Space, and Medium Dissertation Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Ohio State University Alexandra Mary Jenkins, M.A. Graduate Program in English The Ohio State University 2014 Dissertation Committee: Jared Gardner, Advisor Sean O’Sullivan Robyn Warhol Copyright by Alexandra Mary Jenkins 2014 Abstract Feminist activism in the United States and Europe during the 1960s and 1970s harnessed radical social thought and used innovative expressive forms in order to disrupt the “grand perspective” espoused by men in every field (Adorno 206). Feminist student activists often put their own female bodies on display to disrupt the disembodied “objective” thinking that still seemed to dominate the academy. The philosopher Theodor Adorno responded to one such action, the “bared breasts incident,” carried out by his radical students in Germany in 1969, in an essay, “Marginalia to Theory and Praxis.” In that essay, he defends himself against the students’ claim that he proved his lack of relevance to contemporary students when he failed to respond to the spectacle of their liberated bodies. He acknowledged that the protest movements seemed to offer thoughtful people a way “out of their self-isolation,” but ultimately, to replace philosophy with bodily spectacle would mean to miss the “infinitely progressive aspect of the separation of theory and praxis” (259, 266). Lisa Yun Lee argues that this separation continues to animate contemporary feminist debates, and that it is worth returning to Adorno’s reasoning, if we wish to understand women’s particular modes of theoretical ii insight in conversation with “grand perspectives” on cultural theory in the twenty-first century.
    [Show full text]
  • Cyber-Synchronicity: the Concurrence of the Virtual
    Cyber-Synchronicity: The Concurrence of the Virtual and the Material via Text-Based Virtual Reality A dissertation presented to the faculty of the Scripps College of Communication of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy Jeffrey S. Smith March 2010 © 2010 Jeffrey S. Smith. All Rights Reserved. This dissertation titled Cyber-Synchronicity: The Concurrence of the Virtual and the Material Via Text-Based Virtual Reality by JEFFREY S. SMITH has been approved for the School of Media Arts and Studies and the Scripps College of Communication by Joseph W. Slade III Professor of Media Arts and Studies Gregory J. Shepherd Dean, Scripps College of Communication ii ABSTRACT SMITH, JEFFREY S., Ph.D., March 2010, Mass Communication Cyber-Synchronicity: The Concurrence of the Virtual and the Material Via Text-Based Virtual Reality (384 pp.) Director of Dissertation: Joseph W. Slade III This dissertation investigates the experiences of participants in a text-based virtual reality known as a Multi-User Domain, or MUD. Through in-depth electronic interviews, staff members and players of Aurealan Realms MUD were queried regarding the impact of their participation in the MUD on their perceived sense of self, community, and culture. Second, the interviews were subjected to a qualitative thematic analysis through which the nature of the participant’s phenomenological lived experience is explored with a specific eye toward any significant over or interconnection between each participant’s virtual and material experiences. An extended analysis of the experiences of respondents, combined with supporting material from other academic investigators, provides a map with which to chart the synchronous and synonymous relationship between a participant’s perceived sense of material identity, community, and culture, and her perceived sense of virtual identity, community, and culture.
    [Show full text]
  • The Daedalus Project
    The Daedalus Project Vol. 2-4 (10/12/2004) by Nicholas Yee (http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus) The Prince and The Pauper: The Transaction of Virtual Capital for Real-Life Currency Very interesting arguments arose from player responses as to their views on the sale and purchase of virtual items, currency and accounts for RL currency. One common argument for the acceptability of these transactions rests on the inherent nature of capitalism. More importantly, some argue that the real underlying transaction is a transaction of time rather than a transaction of virtual items. I have had friends purchase items from EBay and they have been very happy with the result. I have never been involved myself. I find it much more fun to earn the item rather than purchase it. Though, I do think the idea of making a business by selling virtual goods is intriguing and should not be the 'big deal' many game companies have made of it. These goods have value to many and many simply don't have the time to invest to get the items they want. Just like in life, if you have money, why shouldn’t you be able to buy it? [CoH, F, 44] There are some people that are vehemently against the sale of virtual goods for real life money. However, these 'virtual goods' are things that you could get in any case. Merely paying real life money for them indicates to you that your relaxing time after work is worth real life money to you. I have a friend who makes $50,000 annually.
    [Show full text]
  • Whose Game Is This Anyway?”: Negotiating Corporate Ownership in a Virtual World
    “Whose Game Is This Anyway?”: Negotiating Corporate Ownership in a Virtual World T.L. Taylor Department of Communication North Carolina State University POB 8104, 201 Winston Raleigh, NC 27605 USA +1 919 515 9738 [email protected] Abstract This paper explores the ways the commercialization of multiuser environments is posing particular challenges to user autonomy and authorship. With ever broadening defi nitions of intellectual property rights the status of cultural and symbolic artifacts as products of collaborative efforts becomes increasingly problematized. In the case of virtual environments – such as massive multiplayer online role-play games – where users develop identities, bodies (avatars) and communities the stakes are quite high. This analysis draws on several case studies to raise questions about the status of culture and authorship in these games. Keywords Avatars, Internet, virtual environments, games INTRODUCTION While the history of virtual environments has so far been primarily written with an eye toward either the text-based worlds of MUDs or social graphical spaces like Active Worlds and VZones/WorldsAway, massive multiplayer online 227 Proceedings of Computer Games and Digital Cultures Conference,ed. Frans Mäyrä. Tampere: Tampere University Press, 2002. Copyright: authors and Tampere University Press. role playing games (MMORPG) have dramatically popularized virtual worlds [1]. The MMORPG genre now boasts hundreds of thousands of users and accounts for millions of dollars in revenue each year [2]. While multiplayer games are at their most basic level simply that, a game, they should be more richly seen as spaces in which users come together online and invest enormous amounts of time inhabiting a virtual space, creating characters, cultures, and communities, gaming together, making dynamic economies, and exploring elaborate geographical terrain.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Joss Whedon, Dr. Horrible and the Future of Web Media? 24
    JOSS WHEDON, DR. HORRIBLE AND THE FUTURE OF WEB MEDIA? 1 Joss Whedon, Dr. Horrible and the Future of Web Media? Tama Leaver Department of Internet Studies, Curtin University Tel +61 8 9266 1258 Fax +61 8 9266 3166 [email protected] Correspondence should be addressed to Tama Leaver, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth WA 6845, AUSTRALIA. Email: [email protected] JOSS WHEDON, DR. HORRIBLE AND THE FUTURE OF WEB MEDIA? 2 Abstract In the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike, one of the areas in dispute was the question of residual payments for online material. On the picket line, Buffy creator Joss Whedon discussed new ways online media production could be financed. After the strike, Whedon self-funded a web media production, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-along Blog. Whedon and his collaborators positioned Dr. Horrible as an experiment, investigating whether original online media content created outside of studio funding could be financially viable. Dr. Horrible was a bigger hit than expected, with a paid version topping the iTunes charts and a DVD release hitting the number two position on Amazon. This article explores which factors most obviously contributed to Dr. Horrible’s success, whether these factors are replicable by other media creators, the incorporation of fan labor into web media projects, and how web-specific content creation relates to more traditional forms of media production. Keywords: Web Media, Online Distribution, Joss Whedon, Dr. Horrible, Paratexts, Social Media, Labor, Fans JOSS WHEDON, DR. HORRIBLE AND THE FUTURE OF WEB MEDIA? 3 Joss Whedon, Dr. Horrible and the Future of Web Media? In November 2007, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) began a strike lasting 100 days; amongst the areas in dispute were questions of residual payments for online streaming of previously broadcast material and the even newer and murkier territory of content created specifically for viewing online (M.
    [Show full text]
  • The Guild Season 6
    THE GUILD SEASON 6 Written by Felicia Day PINK DRAFT August 16, 2012 EPISODE 1: 1 INT. CODEX’S BEDROOM - NIGHT 1 CODEX So, I have randomly obtained what I * think is my utter dream job, working for the game I love, for the creator of said game, in a * helpful, assisting kind of way. * You are looking at the Vice * President of Community Creative Consultant-cy! I made that title * up, but it sounds pretty awesome, * right? And the Guild seems happy * for me too! On the way back from * the convention, we stopped at an outlet mall. Clara and Tink helped * me pick out work clothes, Bladezz and Zaboo found this cool leather * portfolio, and Vork haggled both prices down by 20%! Which he then * turned around and charged me as a negotiating fee. New job tomorrow, yay! 2 INT. VARIOUS BEDROOMS/OFFICES - MORNING 2 Tinkerballa is poolside in a bikini, laptop in lap. Vork’s office is piled with CRAP (which he’s stacking while online), Bladezz is in his pirate outfit. Codex is getting ready for work, combing hair, dressing, etc. BLADEZZ Your midterms are due and you’re raiding POOLSIDE? * TINKERBALLA I have male minions taking care of everything. My tests, my mechanic * is fixing my car battery for free. * I’m juggling 15 sets of balls * today. Literally. CODEX Whose pool are you at? TINKERBALLA * Hey. * Tink waves sweetly at a HANDI-MAN, who waves back at her. Blue Draft (8/09/12) 1A TINKERBALLA (CONT’D) * I don’t know. Some dumb guy let me * in.
    [Show full text]
  • How Email Has Been Pushed Aside by Social Networks
    Tuesday, 6 Feb. 26, 2013 Technology The Streamy Awards demonstrate the changing nature of entertainment As web series and youtube channels become more popular, the Streamys gain popularity BY SAMANTHA ANDROSKY Senior Staff Writer and over 750 million people have viewed his YouTube channel. Before hitting YouTube stardom, Dawson says his The audience for online videos and web series is living conditions were less than ideal. growing, and the burgeoning community of online “Before all of this, I was practically homeless, and media creators was awarded for its work at the third my mom was out of a job,” Dawson said. “We were annual Streamy Awards in mid-February. really struggling, so [success] changed my life in that The award show recognized the creators and pro- way, which I think made me more grateful, and I want ducers of exceptional web media, giving awards in 36 to work really, really hard so I never have to get back categories ranging from best drama series to best cin- to that place.” ematography. With more and more vloggers posting every day, The Streamys have grown in response to the in- there are more talented candidates working towards crease in the number of people watching media on winning a Streamy of their own. However, some veter- video hosting sites like Hulu and YouTube. In response an web series creators and actors criticized the 2013 Streamys for taking on too much of an “Oscar feel”. entirely web-based series, House of Cards. “My impression is it’s almost like a red carpet for to“Soon a growing they’re audience, gonna forget Netflix which recently box released they’re watch a new- old media,” web series creator Felicia Day told LA ing,” Jane Espenson, creator of the successful web se- Weekly in regards this year’s awards black tie fashion ries Husbands, told LA Weekly regarding the changes and pre-show red carpet.
    [Show full text]
  • The Edison Project the Edison Project
    THE EDISON PROJECT THE EDISON PROJECT Lead Authors: Erin Reilly, Jonathan Taplin, Francesca Marie Smith, Geoffrey Long, Henry Jenkins 18 Havas is the global The Annenberg Innovation research and innovation Lab is a high-energy, center within Havas. In fast-paced Think & Do the offices of Los Angeles, Tank in the Annenberg Seoul, Tel Aviv, Bogota School of Communication and Shanghai. 18 develops and Journalism at the research projects, strategic University of Southern partnerships, and business California. We define opportunities for Havas innovation as a social, and its client portfolio. collaborative process We work to be 18 months involving artists, scientists, ahead at the convergence of humanists and industry media, content, technology, professionals working and data science. We scout together on new problems new talent and startups, and opportunities raised by activate supporting technological and cultural academic research, develop change. Our mission actionable insights, and is to foster real-world facilitate deal-making innovation at the dynamic through local learning intersection of media and expeditions. culture. Copyright 2016. University of Southern California. All rights reserved. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS VI THE NEW METRICS + MEASUREMENT: 8 Erin Reilly THE NEW FUNDING + BUSINESS MODELS: 33 Jonathan Taplin and Anjuli Bedi THE NEW SCREENS 51 Francesca Marie Smith THE NEW CREATORS + MAKERS 69 Geoffrey Long, Rachel Joy Victor, Lisa Crawford, Malika Lim, and Juvenal Quiñones, with Ritesh Mehta and Anna Karina Samia CONCLUSION: IMAGINING POSSIBLE FUTURES 92 Henry Jenkins The Edison Project • I INTRODUCTION Thomas Edison invented both the phonograph and the kinetoscope more than 100 years ago. But the business of distributing music and movies hasn’t really changed that much in 100 years.
    [Show full text]
  • Experimental Boss Design and Testing Joseph P
    East Tennessee State University Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University Undergraduate Honors Theses Student Works 5-2015 Experimental Boss Design and Testing Joseph P. Mistretta East Tennessee State University Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.etsu.edu/honors Part of the Game Design Commons, Interactive Arts Commons, Interdisciplinary Arts and Media Commons, and the Other Computer Engineering Commons Recommended Citation Mistretta, Joseph P., "Experimental Boss Design and Testing" (2015). Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 402. https://dc.etsu.edu/ honors/402 This Honors Thesis - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Works at Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Undergraduate Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ABSTRACT Over the years, gaming has developed rapidly from simple pixel-based experiences to fully blown three-dimensional worlds. As developing technologies improve, so does the complexity and flexibility of what can be created. Encounters, along with all aspects of any gaming experience, have evolved along with the technologies that create them. These intense combat instances, often times referred to as “bosses”, represent a chance for the developer to challenge player skill, cooperation, and coordination. In addition to being major challenges, encounters also allow players to feel a sense of progression as they learn and adapt to mechanics incorporated within an encounter’s design. Eventually these mechanics are mastered, and surmounted to a lasting sense of accomplishment and success. This project details a personal process of encounter design from initial conception to eventual player testing, along with design choices, outside influences, and development methods.
    [Show full text]
  • The Taxation of Virtual Economies
    Huang: Walking the Thirteenth Floor: The Taxation of Virtual Economies WWWALKING THE TTTHIRTEENTH FFFLOORLOORLOOR::: TTTHE TTTAXATION OF VVVIRTUAL EEECONOMIES Byron M. Huang* 17 YALE J.L. & TECH. 224 (2015) AAABSTRACTBSTRACTBSTRACT Since the advent of the Internet and the subsequent proliferation of online game worlds, millions of people across the physical world have spent vast amounts of time, money, and energy on virtual realms and their virtual lives. Taxation of transactions involving virtual goods may have been laughable at the outset of virtual reality, but the idea now bears serious consideration due to the growth of online video games into a multi-billion dollar industry. The IRS began efforts to address taxation of virtual economies in 2007, culminating in minor steps to effect compliance and a report by the Government Accountability Office released in May of 2013. This Article contends that the IRS is losing valuable tax revenue from sales of virtual goods for real money due to a lack of effective guidance in traversing this new frontier. And so, this Article establishes a spectrum of gamer profiles (social, vocational, casual, casual-hardcore, and hardcore) and uses that framework to craft tax compliance strategies in each virtual economy archetype. In addition, the Article provides brief overviews of popular multiplayer online games in the last decade (World of Warcraft, Second Life, League of Legends, etc.) and discusses the tax consequences of the most prevalent transactions relating to those virtual economies. It goes on to analyze the potential impact of current international taxation discourse on such transactions. The virtual universe and electronic commerce will only grow—and where income exists, taxation should follow.
    [Show full text]
  • Writing the Web Series ARONIVES
    Byte-Sized TV: Writing the Web Series ARONIVES MASACHUSETTS INSTME By OF TECHNOLOGY Katherine Edgerton MAY 1 4 2013 B.A. Theatre and History, Williams College, 2008 LIBRARIES SUBMITTED TO THE PROGRAM IN COMPARATIVE MEDIA STUDIES/WRITING IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN COMPARATIVE MEDIA STUDIES AT THE MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY JUNE 2013 © Katherine Edgerton, All Rights Reserved. The author hereby grants to MIT permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in part in any medium now known or hereafter created. Signature of Author: / /I - -11-11 Program in Comparative Media Studies/Writing May 10,2013 Certified by: Heather Hendershot Professor of Comparative Media Studies Thesis Supervisor Accepted by: Heather Hendershot Professor of Comparative Media Studies Director of Comparative Media Studies Graduate Program Byte-Sized TV: Writing the Web Series By Katherine Edgerton Submitted to the Program in Comparative Media Studies/Writing on May 10, 2013 in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Comparative Media Studies ABSTRACT Web series or "webisodes" are a transitional storytelling form bridging the production practices of broadcast television and Internet video. Shorter than most television episodes and distributed on online platforms like YouTube, web series both draw on and deviate from traditional TV storytelling strategies. In this thesis, I compare the production and storytelling strategies of "derivative" web series based on broadcast television shows with "original" web series created for the Internet, focusing on the evolution of scripted entertainment content online.
    [Show full text]
  • Participant Observation of Griefing in a Journey Through World of Warcraft
    Loading… The Journal of the Canadian Game Studies Association Vol 10(17): 40-59 http://loading.gamestudies.ca Participant Observation of Griefing in a Journey Through World of Warcraft Leigh Achterbosch, Charlynn Miller & Peter Vamplew Federation University Australia [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] Abstract Through the ethnographic method of participant observation in World of Warcraft, this paper aims to document various actions that may be considered griefing among the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) community. Griefing as a term can be very subjective, so witnessing the anti-social and intentional actions first-hand can be used as a means to understand this subjectivity among players as well as produce a thorough recount of some of the toxic behavior in this genre. The participant observation was conducted covertly across several years and expansions of World of Warcraft and the author became familiar with many griefing related actions; although some of these were perceived by the author as acceptable gameplay elements. Author Keywords Massively Multiplayer Online games; MMORPG; Participant observation; griefing; Warcraft; WoW; Introduction World of Warcraft (WoW) is a popular and well-known Massively Multiplayer Online Role- Playing Game (MMORPG), which peaked at 12 million monthly subscribers (Blizzard Entertainment, 2010) and just recently reached its 13th anniversary (Blizzard Entertainment, 2017). The genre that WoW resides within has a very strong global population that continues to grow beyond its billion-dollar industry (Boudreau, 2008). Due to the mixture of competitive and cooperative social play, a varied demographic, and the anonymity available to players, griefing has become quite pervasive in MMORPGs (Achterbosch, 2015).
    [Show full text]