In this seminar we will explore modes of participation within virtual worlds, from the economic to the creative to the social, modes that have always been entwined but become increasingly so with advances in the interactivity and sophistication of gaming technology. There are a number of interesting arguments in the intellectual battleground that has formed around virtual worlds, from ownership of work (does it belong to the player/producer or the game publisher) to just what will the consequences be of a different kind of socialization and cooperation, one that occurs more or less anonymously in massively multi-player online games (MMOs). This seminar will try to tie in some of the things we’ve already been learning about concepts of participation, communication and ownership with what is growing to be the next big thing on the global entertainment scene, computer games and more specifically, MMOs.

Some questions to consider:

[1] In which ways do MMOs mirror ‘off-line’ society? What use is the distinction between virtual and actual in this sense (Dibbell talks about this)?

[2] Could online gamers be said to form a new kind of community, or are the the inheritors of an older tradition (Dungeons and Dragons, perhaps)?

[3] Is there something missing from virtual social communities? Or is the traditional notion of ‘outside’ life a dated one?

[4] Should virtual feudalism be protected i.e. should games publishers own exclusive rights to the fruits of a player’s labour? This extends to such remix items as machinima and mods.

[5] Are games as top-down a form of communication as TV was once thought to be?Or are they a more democratic, horizontal form?

[6] Are MMOs the new social ‘third space’?

Readings:
MMOs

[X] Constance Steinkuehler – Cognition and Literacy in Massively Multiplayer
Online Gaming (not as dry as it sounds)
http://website.education.wisc.edu/steinkuehler/papers/SteinkuehlerNEWLIT2005.pdf

[X] Steinkuehler – Situated Identities as Styles of Play
http://website.education.wisc.edu/steinkuehler/thesis.html

[X] Steinkuehler – A New ‘Third Place’ in AmericanYouth Culture
http://website.education.wisc.edu/steinkuehler/papers/Steinkuehler_ch6a.pdf

Economy and MMOs

[X] Julian Dibbell – Play Money
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQfKDff4d2M

[X] Ge Jin, aka Jingle – Chinese Gold Farmers in MMORPGs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEegohRPsqg&feature=PlayList&p=760CDCB4FF112F55&index=11

[X] Community and Collective Intelligence in Games
Jane McGonigal – Why I Love Bees
http://avantgame.com/McGonigal_WhyILoveBees_Feb2007.pdf