A GRANDIOSE REALITY: ADDICTION and TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION in the MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER ONLINE ROLE PLAYING GAME THESIS Presente
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A GRANDIOSE REALITY: ADDICTION AND TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION IN THE MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER ONLINE ROLE PLAYING GAME THESIS Presented to the Graduate Council of Texas State University-San Marcos in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree Master of ARTS by Sarah E. Bishop, B.A. San Marcos, Texas May 2013 A GRANDIOSE REALITY: ADDICTION AND TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION IN THE MASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER ONLINE ROLE PLAYING GAME Committee Members Approved: Libby Allison, Chair Deborah Balzhiser Pinfan Zhu Approved: J. Michael Willoughby Dean of the Graduate College COPYRIGHT by Sarah Elizabeth Bishop 2013 FAIR USE AND AUTHOR’S PERMISSION STATEMENT Fair Use This work is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94 -553, section 107). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgment. Use of this material for financial gain without the author’s express written permission is not allowed. Duplication Permission As the copyright holder of this work I, Sarah Bishop, authorize duplication of this work, in whole or in part, for educational or scholarly purposes only. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to thank my family for always supporting me as I have pursued my education. My mother, Linda Tapia, has been an exemplary example of a dedicated, professional woman for me to follow. My step-father, Robert Tapia, has advised and supported me as I’ve explored the possibilities for higher education. My sister, Jennifer Bishop, has listened to me and has shared her own experiences about being an ambitious student. I would also like to thank my thesis committee at the Texas State University-San Marcos for providing the guidance and support that have made my progress in the Technical Communication program possible. I would like to thank Dr. Deborah Balzhiser and Dr. Pinfan Zhu for agreeing to be on my committee and for providing helpful feedback for my thesis. Finally, I wish to express my deep gratitude to Dr. Libby Allison for serving as my committee chair. She has provided invaluable advice and support and without her guidance, I would not have considered writing my thesis in the first place. This manuscript was submitted on March 7, 2013. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................v LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................x LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ xii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 1 Is Gaming Addiction Real? ..........................................................................3 Video Games and Violence in the News .....................................................5 The Gaming Industry ...................................................................................6 Methods........................................................................................................6 Privacy Considerations ................................................................................9 Content .......................................................................................................14 II. WORLD OF WARCRAFT OVERVIEW .......................................................... 16 Understanding the MMORPG ...................................................................16 Blizzard Entertainment ..............................................................................18 Into Azeroth: The Story of World of Warcraft ..........................................21 Realm Selection and Character Creation ...................................................22 Basic Gameplay .........................................................................................26 vi Player versus Player (PvP) Gameplay .......................................................31 III. TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION AND WORLD OF WARCRAFT ...........35 Information Design ....................................................................................37 Official Technical Communication: The Beginner’s Guide ......................41 Technical Writing by Non-Technical Writers ...........................................43 Comparison of an Official and Fan-Made Guide ......................................44 Legitimacy, Power, and Knowledge in World of Warcraft .......................49 The Language of Exclusion .......................................................................52 Derogatory Language in World of Warcraft ..............................................53 IV. ADDICTION AND WORLD OF WARCRAFT .............................................. 62 Defining Gaming Addiction .....................................................................63 Gaming Addiction Prevalence, Statistics, and Surveying Methods ..........65 Physical and Neurological Symptoms of Gaming Addiction ....................69 Personally Motivated Features of the User and the Game that May Contribute to Addiction in World of Warcraft ...............................72 Challenge ...................................................................................................73 “Leveling” and Staggering Difficulty ............................................75 World of Warcraft and In-Game Help ...........................................76 Recommendation: In-Game Tutorial Example ..............................79 Challenge and Addiction................................................................80 Fantasy .......................................................................................................82 Introducing World of Warcraft’s Story ..........................................82 Terminology Guide ........................................................................83 Time-Shifts and World of Warcraft’s Story...................................84 Curiosity .....................................................................................................84 vii Control .......................................................................................................87 Reward .......................................................................................................88 Social and Emotional Symptoms of Gaming Addiction ............................90 Disclosing Social Symptoms Relating to a Potential Addiction ....91 Social Features that May Contribute to Addiction in World of Warcraft ..........................................................................93 Gamer Demographics and “At-Risk” Groups for Gaming Addiction ..........................................................................94 Competition................................................................................................97 Cooperation ..............................................................................................100 Audiences .................................................................................................103 Belonging .................................................................................................104 Obligation ................................................................................................106 Guild Benefits ..............................................................................108 Treatment Options ...................................................................................109 V. ETHICS AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS ......................................................111 Responsibility ..........................................................................................111 Developer Ethics and Disseminating Addiction Information ..................113 Developer-Centered Solutions .................................................................115 Promoting Parental Controls ........................................................116 Achievements ...............................................................................117 Disclaimers and Introductory Materials ......................................118 Community-Centered Solutions...............................................................119 Community Resources .............................................................................121 VI. CONCLUSION..............................................................................................123 viii APPENDIX A ......................................................................................................128 APPENDIX B ......................................................................................................133 WORKS CITED ..................................................................................................139 WORKS CONSULTED ......................................................................................149 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figures Page 1. Chat Channels ................................................................................................................12 2. Warcraft: Orcs & Humans Image from Blizzard.com ...................................................19 3. Character Creation .........................................................................................................26 4. Entering Azeroth ............................................................................................................27 5. Quest Example ...............................................................................................................28