Learning to fly in persistent digital worlds: the case of Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses virtual communities' formation and skill development through the process of participation in collective practices in on-line role-playing game environments. The study that follows is mainly based on the participant observation of players acting in two popular Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games. Data have been collected through participation and observation of players and their unfolding practices in forming and maintaining such communities. The objective was to document these practices and to study virtual game environments in order to understand learning opportunities within and among these communities, and to identify design elements of the game that cultivate community building. The primary unit of analysis is the in-game communities known as 'guilds'. Research findings indicate that in such multicultural and anonymous environments, many learning processes are evolving that affect both players' understanding of the game's state, and their social interaction and communication skills.

REFERENCES

• 1: Abt, C. C. Games for learning. In Simulation games in learning, by Boocock, S., and Schild, E., (Eds.), SAGE publication, 1968.
• 2: Tasia Asakawa , Nigel Gilbert, Synthesizing experiences: lessons to be learned from internet-mediated simulation games, Simulation and Gaming, v.34 n.1, p.10-22, 1 March 2003 [doi>10.1177/1046878102250455]
• 3: Bandura, A., Social Learning Theory, Prentice Hall, 1976
• 4: Nancy K. Baym, The emergence of on-line community, Cybersociety 2.0: revisiting computer-mediated communication and community, Sage Publications, Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA, 1998
• 5: Berger, P. L., and Luckmann, T., The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge, Anchor, 1967
• 6: John Seely Brown , Paul Duguid, The Social Life of Information, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA, 2002
• 7: Bruner, J., Going Beyond the Information Given, Norton, 1973
• 8: Manuel Castells, The Rise of the Network Society, Blackwell Publishers, Inc., Cambridge, MA, 2000
• 9: Cicognani, A., On the Linguistic Nature of Cyberspace and Virtual Communities. Virtual Reality, 3, (2000) 16--24.
• 10: Coleman, J. S. (1968) Social Processes and Social Simulation Games. In Simulation games in learning, by Boocock, S., and Schild, E., (Eds), SAGE publication, 1968.
• 11: Collins, R., Man, Play and Games, University of Illinois Press, 1961.
• 12: Computer Games in the Education project, British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (available at: http://www.becta.org.uk/research/research.cfm?section=1&id=5 19, visited at 20/11/2004)
• 13: Fine, C. A. Shared Fantasy: Role-Playing Games as Social Worlds, The University of Chicago Press, 1983
• 14: Gidrovich, S. R. and Syroezhin, I. M. The definition of business games and trends in their utilization. International Studies of Management & Organization, 11, 4, (1981), 178--191.
• 15: Gros, B. The impact of digital games in education. First Monday, 8, 7, (July 2003) (available at: http://www.firstmonday.dk/issues/issue8_7/xyzgros/, visited at 28/11/2004)
• 16: Jonathan Grudin, Computer-Supported Cooperative Work: History and Focus, Computer, v.27 n.5, p.19-26, May 1994 [doi>10.1109/2.291294]
• 17: Hammersley, M. and Atkinson, P. Ethnography: Principles in practice. 2nd Edition, Routledge, London and New York, 1995.
• 18: Michael Henry Heim, The Metaphysics of Virtual Reality, Oxford University Press, Inc., New York, NY, 1993
• 19: John Hagel, III , Arthur G. Armstrong, Net gain: expanding markets through virtual communities, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA, 1997
• 20: Paul M. Hildreth , Paul Hildreth, Going Virtual: Distributed Communities in Practice, Idea Group Publishing, Hershey, PA, 2003
• 21: Huizinga, J., Homo Ludens, The Beacon Press, 1950
• 22: Johnson, S., Suriya, C., Yoon, S. W., Berrett, J. V. and Fleur, J. L. Team development and group processes of virtual learning teams. Computers & Education, 39, 4, (2000), 379--393.
• 23: Jorgensen, D. L. Participant Observation: A Methodology for Human Studies, SAGE Publications, 1998.
• 24: Junker, B. Field Work, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1960.
• 25: Kollock, P. The economies of online cooperation - gifts and public goods. In Communities in cyberspace. Smith, M. and Kollock, P., (Eds) Rutledge, London, New York, 1999.
• 26: Kollock, P., and Smith M. Communities in cyberspace. In Communities in cyberspace, Smith, M. and Kollock, P., (Eds) Rutledge, London, New York, 1999.
• 27: Lave, J. and Wenger, E. Situated learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge University Press, 1991.
• 28: E. L. Lesser , J. Storck, Communities of practice and organizational performance, IBM Systems Journal, v.40 n.4, p.831-841, October 2001
• 29: Pierre Levy , Robert Bononno, Becoming Virtual: Reality in the Digital Age, Da Capo Press, Incorporated, 1998
• 30: Malone, T. Toward a theory of intrinsically motivating instruction. Cognitive Science, 5, 4, (1981), 333--369.
• 31: Manninen, T. Virtual team interactions in Networked multimedia games - case: 'Counter-Strike' - Multiplayer 3D Action Game. In Proceedings of PRESENCE2001 Conference, (Philadelphia, USA, May 21--23, 2001).
• 32: Mead, G. H. Mind, Self and Society, The University of Chicago Press, 1934
• 33: Moss, B. The use of large-group role-play techniques in social work education. Social Work Education, 19, 5, (2000), 471--484
• 34: Ostrom, E. Governing the Commons: The evolution of Institutions for collective action, Cambridge University Press, 1990.
• 35: Parsons, T., The structure of social action, Free Press, 1962
• 36: Jenny Preece, Online Communities: Designing Usability and Supporting Socialbilty, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, 2000
• 37: Piaget, J., Play, dreams and imitation in childhood. New York: W. W. Norton & Co Inc, 1951
• 38: Prensky, M., Digital Game-Based Learning. McGraw-Hill, 2001.
• 39: Howard Rheingold, The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 2000
• 40: Howard Rheingold, Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution, Perseus Publishing, 2002
• 41: Rieber, L. P. Seriously considering play: Designing interactive learning environments based on the blending of microworlds, simulations, and games. Educational Technology Research & Development, 44, 2, (1996), 43--58.
• 42: Schild, E. O., Interaction in Games, In Simulation games in learning, by Boocock, S., and Schild, E., (Eds), SAGE publication, 1968.
• 43: Sandeep Singhal , Michael Zyda, Networked virtual environments: design and implementation, ACM Press/Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., New York, NY, 1999
• 44: Skinner, B. F., About Behaviorism, Vintage, 1976
• 45: Lee Sproull , John F. Patterson, Making information cities livable, Communications of the ACM, v.47 n.2, February 2004 [doi>10.1145/966389.966412]
• 46: Strauss, S. G. and McGrath, J. E. Does the medium matter? The interaction of task type and technology on group performance and member reactions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 79, (1994), 87--97.
• 47: Sherry Turkle, Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet, Simon & Schuster Trade, 1997
• 48: Wachter, R. M., Gupta J. N. D., and Quaddus, M. A. IT takes a village: Virtual communities in support if education. International Journal of Information Management, 20, (2000) 473--489.
• 49: Wellman, B. and Gulia, M. Virtual communities as communities: Net surfers don't ride alone. In Simulation games in learning. Boocock, S., and Schild, E., (Eds), SAGE publication, 1968.
• 50: Wellman, B., Salaff, J., Dimitrova, D., Garton, L., Gulia, M., and Haythornthwaite, C. Computer networks as social networks: Virtual community, computer-supported cooperative work and telework. Annual Review of Sociology, 22, (1996), 213--238.
• 51: Wenger, E. Communities of Practice: learning, meaning and identity. Cambridge University Press, 1998.
• 52: Etienne Wenger , Richard McDermott , William Snyder, Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA, 2002
• 53: Wolfe, J. and Teach, R. Three down-loaded mainframe business games: a review. Academy of Management Review, 12, 1, (1987), 181--191.
• 54: van Maanen,. Tales of the field: on writing ethnography. The University of Chicago Press, 1998.
• 55: von Hippel, E. Innovation by User Communities: Learning from Open-Source Software. MIT Sloan Management Review, 42, 4, (2001), 82--86.
• 56: Vygotsky, L. S., Mind in Society, Harvard University Press, 1978.

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.3 COMPUTERS AND EDUCATION
      K.3.1 Computer Uses in Education
          Subjects: Distance learning

Additional Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.3 COMPUTERS AND EDUCATION
      K.3.1 Computer Uses in Education
          Subjects: Collaborative learning

General Terms:
Design, Human Factors

Keywords:
communities of practice, legitimate peripheral participation, massively multiplayer online role-playing games, virtual communities