In this modern age, finding an online community is not uncommon. With Social Media and online forums available to people, virtual communities are being created within online game environments with the use of the social interfaces available to them in game, with the most common being in the form of a party or guild. In this conference paper, I use the highly immersive gaming platform World of Warcraft known as a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) as my example to discuss what the benefits are of social communities within a game environment and how they are becoming a common place for social interaction, run like conventional communities but in a three dimensional environment.<\/em>
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\u201cYou were meant for this\nworld\u201d (Blizzard, 2019) are the welcoming first words you will see on the World\nof Warcraft (WoW) website when you click on the getting started menu option. Already\nfrom these first words WoW attempt to offer the new budding player a place to\ncall home in their online world, allowing them to feel like they belong before\nthey have even begun their adventure. WoW is an immersive massively multiplayer\nonline game (MMOG) and according to Statista (2019) there were 5.19 million paid\nsubscribers in 2018 and a slight decrease to 5.03 million who have currently entered\nthe online world of Warcraft in 2019. When a person enters a new and unfamiliar\nenvironment whether it is virtual or offline, they seek to find other people to\nhave some form of meaningful social engagement with. This is where WoW\u2019s highly\ncollaborative game architecture and social interface come in handy, allowing players\nto form guilds to play as teams as well as to socially interact with each other\nand test online social dynamics. All guilds need some level of organisation, social\ninteraction and strong teamwork to run smoothly and this is where a guild and any\nkind of offline team operation is alike. In this paper, I will argue that World\nof Warcraft guilds allow members to have online social connections and interact\nas they would in a conventional community, thus giving them the opportunity to\nuse social and community skills to create meaningful relationshipsin a virtual environment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Guilds in WoW offer\nplayers the chance to form social relationships within a game environment that also\nhave the possibility to be taken outside of the game and into the real world. Ducheneaut\nand Yee (2009, p.83) argue that in the response to player needs, game developers\nhave designed multiplayer games so that opportunities for interacting with\nothers abound. It is evident that WoW\u2019s social interface was designed to allow\nplayers to interact with each other, namely the guild feature which enables alliances\nto form and tackle down game areas as a combined effort. Guild members who are regulars\ncan use the dedicated chat channel, making it possible to be present at any\ngiven time to engage in a social exchange with another member regardless of in -game\nlocation (Steinkuehler & Williams, 2006, p.895). Williams, Ducheneaut,\nXiong, Zhang, Yee & Nickell (2006, p.353) state that there were a handful of\nnew friends who met in WoW, bonded and extended the relationships they made back\nto their real life because of the ability to chat to other players. Nowadays, gamers\nmake dedicated forums, websites, wiki\u2019s, streaming accounts on Twitch and YouTube\nand other forms of social media separate from the in-game platform broadening\nthe opportunity for social interaction outside of the game. A guild can also be\nseen as a \u201csecond home\u201d where similar to family ties can be built. Steinkuehler\n& Williams (2006 pp. 899-900) describe MMO participation something that\nbecomes a regular part of everyday life and because of this, players who have\nunusual absences are often queried as to why they are not in game and this\ncreates a natural atmosphere mutual caring and a sense of rootedness between\nregular players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MMOG environments, particularly\nWoW create strong social communities by enforcing team work in their guild structure,\nallowing players to enact meaningful roles of responsibility similar to those\nin real life. A guild environment is only as good as the members and leadership\nstructure. The way a WoW guild operates can be closely compared to any offline\ncommunity with leadership roles being one of the most important features. The\nleaders of a guild are in charge of monitoring members behaviours when playing\nin parties, organisation of party activities like raids and hunts and overall\nconnecting and socialising as a team to keep members engaged and motivated.\nThese roles can easily fit into one\u2019s day to day routine and rely on interaction\nfrom all members of the guild. Jones (2005) (as cited in Katz, Rice, Acord,\nDasgupta and David (2004, p.317) discovered that in order to define a community\nas a social system, the construction of it relied on social involvement and\ninteraction by the members. Williams, Ducheneaut, Xiong, Zhang, Yee & Nickell\n(2006, p. 355) discovered in their interview of WoW players that the quality of\na player\u2019s social relationships relied upon the guild\u2019s level of organisation\nwhich made it clear that guilds with better social interaction and leadership\nroles enhanced a player\u2019s sense of belonging and enjoyment within the game\nworld. Another role of responsibility within a guild is the healer and the\nimpact they have within the team. Having the option to become a healer in WoW\nalmost guarantees a more favourable opportunity to be included in a team as\nhealing players as they raid and hunt is inevitable. The healer\u2019s role within\nthe team is important and when members of the guild befriend them, they will\nhave the option to be healed by a fellow guild member who can heal rather than resurrect\ninto their character\u2019s body with penalties to armour and items or do the corpse\nrun back to the location of their death. Corneliussen & Rettberg (2008\np.148) state that the design choices made by WoW inform social behaviour within\nguilds, because characters with healing and resurrection abilities are indispensable,\neven if they are weaker than a character that was created to be a fighter they\nwill always be needed in the team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People who play in virtual online worlds like WoW can use the game platform to make new friends with players online that they could not have done previously due to their geographic location or their real-world social status that may prevent real-world connections and opportunities. <\/strong>One of the most attractive parts of meeting people online is that people cannot see other players. It is more convenient to pull up a chair and sit at a computer to play and socialise with your guild members than it is to shower, get dressed and leave the house for a social gathering. The Internet makes it easy to befriend people over the internet via a computer screen, taking away the anxiety of face to face contact because people only see an online character. All of a sudden, your social status and occupation do not matter anymore because you are playing a character who now possesses new online in game skills. Steinkuehler and Williams (2006, p.892) state in their article about third places that players of virtual games are able to enter a virtual world where success is no longer determined by their out of game status but solely on in game talent, wit, diligence and the hard work they put in .A third place is separate from a home or work environment and allows people to come together in a social environment. It is also stated that MMO players expect an equal distribution of opportunity regardless of their out of game status or role (Steinkuehler and Williams, 2006, p.892). For guild members in WoW, one of the most important aspects of a strong guild is in-game skills as this guarantees a strong team and positive player experiences. Williams, Ducheneaut, Xiong, Zhang, Yee & Nickell (2006, pp. 351-352) discovered in their interview that people playing in a guild had more of a possibility to meet with a broad range of people from different countries, people from all socioeconomic backgrounds and cultural backgrounds thus making their guild demographically diverse but able to form a relationship purely out of common interest. Potential geographic location barriers do not longer exist online because players have the chance to choose what server or guild they would like to play on. They do not have to play with only people from their home country as guilds are inhabited by people of various ages, cultural contexts and social backgrounds from all parts of the world (Corneliussen & Rettberg, 2008, p.7).<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is possible to create strong bonds and online friendships within WoW through meeting new people in guilds and creating a social support network.As people in the real-world search for companionship and friendships offline in private and public spaces, people online are being offered exactly the same thing within virtual communities. Mickelson (1997) as cited by Ridings (2004, p.17) suggests that the Internet is a social setting in which people can find useful social support and not just used as an information exchange. After being in a guild for a long amount of time, there is a high chance of making friendships with other players that go beyond the boundaries of just casual play. In this sense, chatting on the integrated chat interface for long periods of time can often lead to a more casual conversation rather than strictly game related. Williams, Ducheneaut, Xiong, Zhang, Yee & Nickell (2006, p.352) interview suggests that WoW players had more in common with their online friends in the guild than they did with their offline friends. Some players even said that they considered the connections that they had form in the guild to be as real as any real-life friendship where strong bonding social support had taken place. These players suggested that the conversations were more about personal problems than anything game related (Williams, Ducheneaut, Xiong, Zhang, Yee & Nickell 2006, p.352). Strong ties that are formed between players in the guild as we as the officers and guild owners because they are seen as important people that can be depended upon just for social chatting. Williams, Ducheneaut, Xiong, Zhang, Yee & Nickell (2006, p.352) interviewee also stated that members of the guilds become so close that when a member has not been active in the game, they will ask other members if anyone had spoken to them and if they are okay. This made members feel a sense of belonging to a community of people rather than just playing a game for leisure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n WoW guild formation is just\nlike any other community offline. Guilds offer members the chance to participate\nin recreational and leisurely activities within a social environment. Without\nthe element of fun, a guild will not survive as its members would have nothing\nmotivating them to stay. The guild leaders have the important role of keeping\nmembers proactive by regularly organising fun events and raids (Koivisto, 2003\np.7). The natural mood of MMO game worlds are in themselves considered playful and\nthe social tone within guilds are the same Steinkuehler & Williams (2006,\np.899). When in a game world, you are by default looking to have fun, so an environment\nthat is too strict within its game rules and regulations strips the essence of\nplay out of the players online experience. Some players of WoW guilds described\ntheir guilds more like a third place where there was a mix of both friends and\nstrangers, however also stated that they were just a group of people who\nenjoyed doing things together and having a good time just as they did with\nchildhood friends (Williams, Ducheneaut, Xiong, Zhang, Yee & Nickell, 2006,\np.352).<\/p>\n\n\n\n WoW guild members are\nable form social relationships in game by using the social interface (notably\nthe dedicated guild chat) which can then be extended outside of the game and onto\nvarious social media platforms, websites and forums. These external platforms\nallow guild members to socialise outside of the in-game community, offering a\ndeeper social bond than they are able to have within the game realm. The time\nspent playing WoW is also a benefiting factor to relationship forming and\nbonding with other players because playing the game becomes second nature. Traditional\ncommunity roles can be another contributing factor to the social interaction guild\nmembers will share together. These leadership roles promote social involvement\nand organisation of the guild, making the play style much more comfortable and\nenjoyable. Not needing an attractive real-life occupation or social status makes\nsocialising in a guild attractive to the player as they are only relying on their\nin-game skills to participate in a socially fair virtual world. As any community\noperates whether it is online or offline, having a good time is one of the most\nimportant parts of being a part of a guild. If the environment is fun, players\nare more motivated to stay and participate in social events and raids as part\nof a team rather than playing solo. So, in conclusion to my paper, forming social\nconnections in World of Warcraft guilds has proven to be similar to the\ninteractions found in conventional communities because of the meaningful relationships\nthat can be made via an online space. Reference List<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Blizzard\nEntertainment. 2019. World of Warcraft, getting started. Retrieved from: https:\/\/worldofwarcraft.com\/en-us\/start<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Corneliussen, H. G., & Rettberg, J.\nW. <\/a>(Eds.).\n(2008). Introduction: \u201cOrc Professor LFG,\u201d or Researching in Azeroth. Digital\nculture, play, and identity: A world of warcraft reader<\/em>. Retrieved from\nhttps:\/\/ebookcentral.proquest.com<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ducheneaut,\nN. & Yee, N. (2009). Collective Solitude and Social Networks in World of\nWarcraft. In C. Romm Livermore, & K. Setzekorn (Eds.), Social Networking\nCommunities and E-Dating Services: Concepts and Implications<\/em> (pp. 78-100). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Katz,\nJ. E., Rice, R. E., Acord, S., Dasgupta, K., & David, K. (2004). Personal\nMediated Communication and the Concept of Community in Theory and Practice. In\nP. Kalbfleisch (Ed.), Communication and Community: Communication Yearbook 28\n<\/em>(pp. 315-371). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Koivisto,\nE. (2003). Supporting Communities in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing\nGames by Game Design. Paper presented at the Digital Games Research Association\nConference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Statista.\n2019. Number of World of Warcraft subscribers by quarter. Retrieved from: https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/276601\/number-of-world-of-warcraft-subscribers-by-quarter\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Steinkuehler, C. & Williams, D.\n(2006)<\/a>.\nWhere Everybody Knows Your (Screen) Name: Online Games as “Third\nPlaces”. Journal of Computer Mediated Communication<\/em>, 11(4).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Williams, D., Ducheneaut, N., Xiong, L., Zhang, Y., Yee, N., & Nickell, E. (2006). Tree House to Barracks: The Social Life of Guilds in World of Warcraft. Games and Culture, 1(4)<\/em>. Pp.338\u2013361. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/1555412006292616<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Stacey CaruanaCurtin University Abstract: In this modern age, finding an online community is not uncommon. With Social Media and online forums available to people, virtual communities are being created within online game environments with the use of the social interfaces available to them in game, with the most common being in the form of a… Continue reading Find your tribe online. Virtual Worlds are the new way to form Community<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gaming"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Open\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Open\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Open\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Open\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Open\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Open\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":415,"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Open\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250\/revisions\/415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Open\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Open\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/networkconference.netstudies.org\/2019Open\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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