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381 Karlsen 17X24.Pdf (9.567Mb) Emergent Perspectives on Multiplayer Online Games: A Study of Discworld and World of Warcraft Faltin Karlsen Doctoral thesis submitted for the degree of Ph.D. Faculty of Humanities, University of Oslo, June 2008. © Faltin Karlsen, 2009 Series of dissertations submitted to the Faculty of Humanities,University of Oslo No. 381 ISSN 0806-3222 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without permission. Cover: Inger Sandved Anfinsen. Printed in Norway: AiT e-dit AS, Oslo, 2009. Produced in co-operation with Unipub AS. The thesis is produced by Unipub AS merely in connection with the thesis defence. Kindly direct all inquiries regarding the thesis to the copyright holder or the unit which grants the doctorate. Unipub AS is owned by The University Foundation for Student Life (SiO) Acknowledgements Thanks to my supervisor Gunnar Liestøl for constructive and enthusiastic support of my work, from our first discussions about computer games long before this project was initiated, to the final reassuring comments by phone from someplace between Las Vegas and Death Valley. Thanks to my second supervisor Jonas Linderoth for generously accepting my request and for thorough, precise and not least expeditious comments on various drafts during the last phase of my work. I would also like to thank Espen Ytreberg, Ragnhild Tronstad and Terje Rasmussen for reading and commenting on different parts of my thesis. A special thanks to Astrid Lied for introducing me to Discworld back in 1998, and for commenting on and proofreading parts of this thesis. Thanks to fellow PhD students that have commented on drafts during the doctoral seminars at the Department of Media and Communication. Also thanks to the informants and players I have met over the last years who have generously shared their views on the games with me. Conducting this study as part of the research project Participation and play in converging media has been invaluable for my research. Espen Ytreberg and Trine Syvertsen have been the most including and engaging project leaders, providing a fertile soil for academic investigations. Writing articles and developing sub-projects with different constellations of this group has been a true labour of joy. I would also like to express my gratitude to The Research Council of Norway for financial support for this project. The department has been a great place to work during these years. I would especially like to thank the head of department Eli Skogerbø and administrative leader Niels Christian Hervig for their support and for providing me with such good working conditions. Last, but not least, thanks to Jan-Erik Larsen for support, care and love. iii iv Contents Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................................... iii 1. INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................5 RELEVANT RESEARCH.................................................................................................................................5 RESEARCH QUESTION................................................................................................................................11 THE COMPARATIVE APPROACH.................................................................................................................12 METHODOLOGICAL CONCERNS.................................................................................................................14 Interviews.............................................................................................................................................15 Participant observation within the games and at game meetings....................................................20 Aggregated data concerning game mechanics..................................................................................21 Player forums and web sites...............................................................................................................23 ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS.......................................................................................................................24 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS.......................................................................................................................26 2. THE CASES.............................................................................................................................................31 WORLD OF WARCRAFT .............................................................................................................................33 THE DISCWORLD MUD ............................................................................................................................35 INTERFACE IN DISCWORLD AND WORLD OF WARCRAFT........................................................................36 THE LEVEL REGIME OF WORLD OF WARCRAFT .......................................................................................42 THE OPEN-ENDEDNESS OF DISCWORLD ...................................................................................................46 AVATARS AND GAME MECHANICS............................................................................................................48 AVATAR CREATION IN WORLD OF WARCRAFT........................................................................................49 FOUR ENHANCEMENT TYPES.....................................................................................................................50 LEVELLING AND ITEMS .............................................................................................................................52 TALENTS....................................................................................................................................................54 AVATAR DEVELOPMENT IN DISCWORLD..................................................................................................55 SKILLS IN DISCWORLD..............................................................................................................................56 A MESH OF GOALS.....................................................................................................................................60 SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................................62 3. EMERGENCE, GAME RULES AND PLAYERS: A SYSTEMIC APPROACH TO COMPUTER GAME STUDIES ...............................................................................................................65 EMERGENCE AND SYSTEMS THEORY ........................................................................................................66 EMERGENCE WITHIN GAME STUDIES ........................................................................................................69 GAME GOALS AND GAME SESSIONS..........................................................................................................74 PLAYERS AND RULES ................................................................................................................................80 PLANNING EMERGENCE ............................................................................................................................86 SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................................90 4. DEVELOPERS AND PLAYERS: SOCIAL HIERARCHIES AND DYNAMICS IN DISCWORLD ..............................................................................................................................................93 DISCWORLD AND THE PUBLIC ARENA ......................................................................................................94 THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE IN DISCWORLD .................................................................................................97 BURNOUT AND RENEWED INTEREST...................................................................................................... 104 HANDLING THE PLAYER COMMUNITY ................................................................................................... 108 CITIZENSHIP ........................................................................................................................................... 113 SUMMARY .............................................................................................................................................. 118 5. HIGH-END GAME ............................................................................................................................. 119 COMPLEX GAMEPLAY ............................................................................................................................ 119 BOSS FIGHTS – THE REAL DEAL ............................................................................................................. 123 ADDONS.................................................................................................................................................. 125 CASUAL VERSUS HARD CORE PLAYERS ................................................................................................. 128 UTILITARIANISM .................................................................................................................................... 131 COLLECTIVE
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