Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Communication Theses Department of Communication 8-7-2012 Playing for Resistance in MMORPG: Oppositional Reading, Emergence, and Hegemony in the Lineage II "Bartz Liberation War" Yoon Sang Cho Georgia State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/communication_theses Recommended Citation Cho, Yoon Sang, "Playing for Resistance in MMORPG: Oppositional Reading, Emergence, and Hegemony in the Lineage II "Bartz Liberation War"." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2012. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/communication_theses/89 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Communication at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Communication Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PLAYING FOR RESISTANCE IN MMORPG: OPPOSITIONAL READING, EMERGENCE, AND HEGEMONY IN THE LINEAGE II ―BARTZ LIBERATION WAR‖ by YOON SANG CHO Under the Direction of Ted Friedman ABSTRACT Massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPG) open new worlds and new societies in the virtual space. Those worlds and societies rapidly expand and become important to the real world. Therefore, to understand them, this thesis examines the meanings and impacts of resistance in the MMORPG worlds and gaming culture from the case of an unprecedented grassroots revolution in Lineage II, which is called the ―Bartz Liberation War.‖ By using the concepts of ―oppositional reading,‖ ―emergence,‖ and ―hegemony,‖ this thesis examines how playing for resistance emerges and becomes dominant and explores the impact of resistance in both the gaming and real worlds. Also, this thesis shows the cultural struggle for hegemony in the game world and gaming culture as well as in the real world culture and politics. INDEX WORDS: Massively multiplayer online role playing game, MMORPG, Lineage II, Bartz Liberation War, Long-Underwear Corps, Stuart Hall, Oppositional reading, Emergence, Hegemony, Playing for resistance PLAYING FOR RESISTANCE IN MMORPG: OPPOSITIONAL READING, EMERGENCE, AND HEGEMONY IN THE LINEAGE II ―BARTZ LIBERATION WAR‖ by YOON SANG CHO A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University 2012 Copyright by Yoon Sang Cho 2012 PLAYING FOR RESISTANCE IN MMORPG: OPPOSITIONAL READING, EMERGENCE, AND HEGEMONY IN THE LINEAGE II ―BARTZ LIBERATION WAR‖ by YOON SANG CHO Committee Chair: Ted Friedman Committee: Greg Smith Sharon Shahaf Electronic Version Approved: Office of Graduate Studies College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University August 2012 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis has been written during the most difficult time in my life and, without the great help of many people, I could never have completed it. Therefore, I wish to express my sincere gratitude to them. First of all, I would like to thank Dr. Ted Friedman, the chair of my committee. Taking his class, ―Media Cultural Studies,‖ marked a turning point in my studies in America. Subsequently, I was able to study Cultural Studies and Computer Game Studies under his guidance, and completed this thesis with his enthusiastic support and encouragement. I will always admire his way of scholarship. Also, I would like to thank my committee members, Dr. Greg Smith and Dr. Sharon Shahaf. I got a great deal of the inspirations for this thesis from their classes and guidance, and I remain in great admiration of the depth of their insights. Further, I wish to thank the Korean graduate students of GSU and my old friends. When I was in trouble, they provided me with indispensable help. In particular, I would like to thank Hongjun Ha. Also, I thank my firm friends, Seungbaek and Jonghoon. Special thanks are likewise due to my guild members in Uncharted Waters Online, in particular Holiday and Hightide. They always show the model of playing for resistance in massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). Also, I must thank the Long- Underwear Corps players in Lineage II. Finally, I would like to thank my parents for their infinite love and support. Also, I am grateful to my sisters. Without my family‘s support, I would have never been able to remain steadfast until now. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... vii 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Overview ...................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 The Bartz Liberation War and the Long-Underwear Corps ......................................... 2 1.3 Research Questions ...................................................................................................... 9 1.4 Literature Review ....................................................................................................... 10 1.5 Research Method ........................................................................................................ 23 1.6 Chapter Outline .......................................................................................................... 25 2 SOUTH KOREAN ONLINE GAMING CULTURE AND LINEAGE II ............................. 30 2.1 Development of South Korean Online Game and Culture ......................................... 30 2.2 The Rise of Korean MMORPGs ................................................................................ 35 2.3 Lineage II and Dominant Gaming Culture ................................................................. 40 3 OPPOSITIONAL READING OF GAME AND PLAYING FOR RESISTANCE IN MMORPGS ................................................................................................................ 51 3.1 Dominant and Negotiated Reading of Game: DK dictatorship.................................. 51 3.2 Oppositional Reading: Resistance to the Dominant Order ........................................ 61 3.3 Oppositional Reading and Playing for Resistance: Emergence of the Long-Underwear Corps.......................................................... 69 vi 4 HEGEMONY: RESISTANCE FROM THE BARTZ TO THE REAL WORLD ................. 84 4.1 Expansion of Resistance from Bartz to the Online Game Culture ............................. 84 4.2 Playing for Resistance beyond the Game World ....................................................... 91 5 CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................... 98 6 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................... 100 7 APPENDICES ..................................................................................................................... 111 7.1 Appendix A .............................................................................................................. 111 7.2 Appendix B .............................................................................................................. 115 7.3 Appendix C .............................................................................................................. 116 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 The Long-Underwear Corps ........................................................................................... 4 Figure 2 The Long-Underwear Corps‘ en-masse attack ............................................................. 71 Figure 3 The Long-Underwear Corps‘ human barricade ............................................................ 72 Figure 4 "Join the Long-Underwear Corps" ............................................................................... 79 Figure 5 NC Soft‘s promotional poster about the Bartz Liberation War .................................... 90 Figure 6 Lineage II‘s map ......................................................................................................... 111 Figure 7 Character Creation ...................................................................................................... 112 Figure 8 Game Interface ........................................................................................................... 113 Figure 9 Castle Siege ................................................................................................................ 114 Figure 10 Fan cartoon about Dragon Knights clan ................................................................... 115 Figure 11 Fan cartoon about the Bartz Liberation War and the Long-Underwear Corps ........ 116 1 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Overview In the digital era, online games are opening up new worlds, providing the opportunity to move beyond interaction between computers and players and into interactions involving other players in a virtual world. The popular genre of massively multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs) particularly shows how new worlds and societies can be constructed by players. In these games, players create avatars that operate on their behalf in a virtual world. They can explore, hunt monsters, complete quests, and improve their ability levels. Cooperation and conflict between