GAMING CULTURE AND ENGAGEMENT: Assignment 1: Community Pillar
GAMING CULTURE AND ENGAGEMENT: Assignment 1: Community Pillar
Chastity White Rose / Chandler Isaac Klebs
Full Sail University
For this assignment, I chose the game World of Warcraft. Of the three-game choices, this one caught my interest because I once knew someone who was addicted to it. I believed maybe I could learn what was appealing about it and the effect it has on people who play the game and engage in the community of the game. As someone who has never played it, I am unbiased as I research it.
World of Warcraft has many sites where people discuss the game. The official forum was my first place to look and see what people are saying about this game. One of the posts caught my attention because it was by user Ellipsyz, who was banned for using real-world money from a third-party website to buy gold in the game. This person was apparently unaware that doing so was against the Terms of Service. What I witnessed was that each user had different opinions on the matter. Many users brought up the risks of scammers using or obtaining stolen money and personal information. From reading the thread, I saw the point that although some players may want to make these purchases to their advantage in the game, it leads to serious legal problems, stolen money, and identity theft. This sort of risk made me wonder how many people’s lives had been hurt by such shady transactions.
For a different community centered around World of Warcraft, I went to Wowhead, the player-made database about the game. On the forum, there was a post by Sharkk asking if there were any teenagers who played World of Warcraft. Their experience and that of the replies indicate that the majority of players are over the age of 25 because the game has been around since 2004. This age range also matches a study by Amon Rapp, which interviewed 36 players. The average age for hardcore players was 29. This long-time player fanbase indicates that it is the community that is keeping the game alive more than Blizzard’s actions. For such an old game to be this popular is actually quite impressive and improves my opinion of it.
Although the community is extremely healthy, the publisher still has to be highly involved to sustain the game because it is an Online Massive Multiplayer Role Playing Game. Internet connection is required, as is Blizzard Entertainment, to keep the game available for people to play. However, the game will likely survive for decades because it is profitable to the company, and it is estimated that there are over 135 million players worldwide.
In summary, I was able to find out a lot about this game and its community by reading about it without even playing it. Although I don’t have the time to dedicate to trying a new game any time soon, I do understand and appreciate that the players enjoy the same things that I enjoy as a Tetris and Chess player. To be able to challenge yourself and interact with others can be an enjoyable and educational experience.
References
Rapp, A. (2018). Social Game Elements in World of Warcraft: Interpersonal Relations, Groups, and Organizations for Gamification Design. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 34(8), 759–773. https://doi-org.oclc.fullsail.edu/10.1080/10447318.2018.1461760
Ellipsyz (2021, February 8). Suspended for Gold Buying. Traded Retail for Classic Gold. World of Warcraft Forums. https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/wow/t/suspended-for-gold-buying-traded-retail-for-classic-gold/1783755
Sharkk (2023, August 17). Do any teens play wow? Wowhead. https://www.wowhead.com/forums/topic/do-any-teens-play-wow-334608
(n.d.). WORLD OF WARCRAFT PLAYER COUNT. MMO Populations. Retrieved February 9, 2024, from https://mmo-population.com/r/wow/
