Developing a Line of Inquiry: Assignment Two Planning

List some ideas/areas of interest that really stood out to you about Assignment One. In
other words: why this particular area of interest, what stood out, why does it interest
you, what lines of inquiry might you like to pursue etc?

How players purposefully perform badly to get a reaction from peers.
How World of Warcraft has a dedicated player base.
How World of Warcrafted has affected the MMORPG Scene
World of Warcrafts effect on the players

List some search terms you intend to try using: Google Scholar, UNCC Library
Databases, NPR, and YouTube. You must select at least one library database to use.

World of Warcraft
World of Warcrafts impact on MMORPGs
MMORPG



Search Terms Sources I Can Access Based on These Search
Terms
World of Warcraft Alex Golub, Being in the World (of Warcraft): Raiding, Realism,
and Knowledge Production in a Massively Multiplayer Online
Game, 2010, UNCC library database

Robert Levine, Spoils of Warcraft Blizzard Entertainment built
World of Warcraft into the most profitable videogame of all time-
and persuaded eight million people to play and pay along the way.,
2007, UNCC Library

Notions of Video Game Addiction and Their Relation to Self-
Reported Addiction Among Players of World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft
Impact Game Culture
Michele Dickey, World of Warcraft and the Impact of Game Culture
and Play in an Undergraduate Game Design Course, 2011, UNCC
Library Database

MMORPG Z Zhong, The effects of collective MMORPG (Massively
Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) play on gamers' online
and offline social capital, 2014, UNCC Library Database
Machinima, All Your History are Belong to Us: MMO, 2011,
Youtube
World of Warcraft
Documentary
Greg Stuetze, /afk: Away from Keyboard, 2011, Youtube

Zachary Henderson, John Keating, Race to World First, October
2013, Youtube


Tentative Topic Proposal:
Since its release in 2004 Blizzard Entertainments World of Warcraft (WoW) has
deeply impacted the MMORPG field, game development, and the people who play the
game. The game has attracted more than 12 million people to enter and explore the
world of Azeroth all while playing $15 a month. Whether its to escape reality, socialize
with other players, have fun, or just relax it is clear that WoW has affected the world.
Previously MMORPGs were meant for the hardcore who may have also been well
antiquated in pen and paper RPGs such as Dungeons and Dragons, which the first
MMORPG, MUD, was inspired by. Only anticipating 400,000 subscribers within the year
Blizzard had severely underestimated the appeal of their game, breaking 400,000 within
a month, and by the end of the year having over 4 million subscribers. WoW has had a
comfortable grip on the MMORPG field, with many reason. This paper seeks to discuss
how WoW has grown to its current level from meager beginnings and how it has
affected not only gaming culture but society as a whole.

Draft of the Introduction:
As opposed to traditional video games, the characters you interact with in the
game of World of Warcraft are real people rather than computer programs. The other
members within your party to take on the boss could be your school or work friend, or a
stranger across the world. On hearing about the World of Warcraft as a child I was
elated to discover there was an entire world of thousands of people on their own
mission forming their own story.
As an avid gamer who enjoys nearly every genre from first-person shooters and
role-playing games to real time strategies and simulators; I appreciate the scale that
MMORPGs, and specifically WoW offers. An MMORPG offers a very different
experience from that of a single player game for not only players but development as
well. Traditionally, MMORPGs operate on a monthly subscription meaning that a player
must pay a fee, in WoWs case $15, every month to gain access to the game. This is
justified by the developers as a way to pay for server upkeep as well as support the
company in developing new content on a regular basis. This is in stark contrast to
single-player games that in the past only charged a rate of around $60 for a whole
game. The effect that WoW has had on single-player games is already apparent in that
Downloadable Content, or DLC, is becoming more and more accepted as a form for
companies to not only provide more content for old games, but generate more income
from pre-released games as well. Ever since its release WoW has become the standard
in the MMORPG field, with every MMORPG released since then claiming to be the next
WoW Killer while none actually succeed at matching WoWs ability to reel in players
and keep them coming back for more.
We all have our typical image of what a typical MMO gamer looks like, unhealthy,
unkempt, and pathetic. It has become increasingly acceptable for people to express
their enthusiasm for video games without fear of ostracization but it seems that MMO
gamers have been left in the dust. The typical WoW player is often judged almost
immediately as soon as their affinity for Warcraft is learned. This presumption is not
completely unwarranted video game addiction or dependence is an issue many WoW
players face with the best guilders putting in 29+ hours a week playing the game. Some
play for a source of fun and challenge, while others play to cope with loneliness,
isolation, boredom, stress, anger, or even to escape reality.
As someone who loves video games, and someone whose childhood is defined
by those games, I am very interested in how World of Warcraft continues to send
shockwaves within the industry and affects people all over the world.

Annotated Bibliography

Golub, A. (2010). Being in the World (of Warcraft): Raiding, Realism, and Knowledge Production in a
Massively Multiplayer Online Game. Anthropological Quarterly, 83(1), 17-45.

Golub gives a brief history of MMORPGs starting with MUDs, going on to the graphical importance in
games during the 90s, including the grandfather of MMORPGs, Everquest in his discussion. This
journal mostly discusses the various topics that arise within living in a virtual world bringing up the
payment of virtual goods with real world currency. Golub does an efficient job of introducing WoW and its
gameplay and discusses his firsthand accounts in WoW. He discusses the diversity within his guid Power
Aeternus and goes on to describe the mechanics of raiding, as well as how experienced players opt for
practicality in game rather than immersion. Golub is explicit in his description of the game, dedicating a
portion of his journal on the means of verbal communication in game using Vent, a voice chat program.
He argues that World of Warcraft for medium-core players is a healthy activity, and not poisonous like
the media would typically say.

Levine, R. (2007, March 19). Spoils of Warcraft Blizzard Entertainment built World of Warcraft into the
most profitable videogame of all time-and persuaded eight million people to play and pay along the way.
Fortune, 151-156.

This article from Fortune magazine discusses the profitability of the game and delves into the economics
of game development and data warehousing. It can cost over $70 million to produce an MMO, not only
that but a company must support its servers after launch. Designers must constantly build new dungeons,
develop expansion packs, and craft new stories.

Oggins, J., & Sammis, J. (2010). Notions of Video Game Addiction and Their Relation to Self-Reported
Addiction Among Players of World of Warcraft. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 210-
230.

Notions of Video Game Addiction discusses exactly that, addiction to gaming and its effects on the
players socially and physically. Players are often aware when they spend too much time playing games.
Problematic gaming interferes with various aspects of life including work, having a partner, free time, or
living in an independent dwelling.

Dickey, M. (2010). World Of Warcraft And The Impact Of Game Culture And Play In An Undergraduate
Game Design Course. Computers & Education, 56(1), 200-209.

Testament to WoWs impact on the gaming industry, playing and studying WoW is officially given to game
development students to learn about level design, gender in games, and game culture. One interesting
interaction is the incident at shadowfang keep, where a groupmate purposefully claims all the loot in an
instance for him and as a result gets kicked from the group and tensions arose. The rest of the article
details WoWs influence on game development.

Zhong, Z. (2011). The effects of collective MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games)
play on gamers online and offline social capital. Computers in Human Behavior, 27(6), 2352-2363.

Zhong discusses the social interaction MMORPGs provide to players. Social capital refers to the
resources and support provided by bonding and bridging social networks MMOs, massive multiplayer,
depend on the building of social networks. This article works to provide evidence for the positive effects of
online gaming and notes that social experience in MMORPGs and how it influences social networks and
participation.

Machinima. (2011, November 21). All Your History are Belong To Us: MMO[Video file].
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDXorHNo3eE

All Your History are Belong To Us: MMO is a documentary series that provides a
lengthy history of the MMORPG industry from the humble beginnings of MUDs, Habitat
the first virtual world with onscreen avatars, and Meridian 59, the first MMORPG to
have a 3D engine and introduce a monthly subscription service. The documentary
reaffirms that WoW has changed the industry for better or for worse and is the standard.

Stuetze, G. (Director). (2011). /afk: Away from Keyboard [Motion picture]. USA: Galaxy
Place.

This documentary does not do much in the production aspect of WoW, but rather allows
viewers to see the negative ramifications of playing MMORPGs, WoW in particular. We
see many protagonists lives crumble before them as they let the game take over their
life. Peoples careers are jeopardized, with their personal lives following suit. One
person we follow loses his wife as a result, while roommates begin to detest each other.
Eventually some quit the game for their betterment while others are still gripped to the
world as it is the only thing they have left.

Henderson, Z., & Keating, J. (Directors). (2013). Race to World First [Motion picture].
USA: Looking For Group Productions.

In stark contrast to the last documentary, Race to World First focuses on the positive
aspects of playing World of Warcraft including a sense of camaraderie and thrill when
defeating a raid. The documentary follows the guild Blood Legion in their quest to
become ranked number one as a guild in the race to defeat the new expansions boss
the first.

Sources:
http://uncc.worldcat.org/title/being-in-the-world-of-warcraft-raiding-realism-and-
knowledge-production-in-a-massively-multiplayer-online-
http://uncc.worldcat.org/title/spoils-of-warcraft-blizzard-entertainment-built-world-of-
warcraft-into-the-most-profitable-videogame-of-all-time-and-persuaded-eight-million-
people-to-play-and-pay-along-the-
way/oclc/1430123442029?referer=brief_resultsgame/oclc/1430615278127?referer=brief
_results
http://uncc.worldcat.org/title/notions-of-video-game-addiction-and-their-relation-to-self-
reported-addiction-among-players-of-world-of-
warcraft/oclc/1430784447695?referer=brief_results
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360131510002265
http://uncc.worldcat.org/title/the-effects-of-collective-mmorpg-massively-multiplayer-
online-role-playing-games-play-on-gamers-online-and-offline-social-
capital/oclc/752216588&referer=brief_results
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtYMuTVqlxQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcHGXnr9qlw