L6 Computer Games MMORPG

MMORPG Games: A
postmodern medium?
L.O: To identify postmodern

elements in MMORPG
Starter: What do you know about

MMORG? Do you know any
examples?
Imagine you could be anyone you wanted to be in any part of the
world-
who would you be?
Spend a little time writing your idea down and we will introduce
Massively multiplayer online role-playing
game (MMORPG) is a genre of role-playing
video games in which a very large number of
players interact with one another within a
virtual game world.
MMORPGs are distinguished from single-player
or small multi-player RPGs by the number of
players, and by the game's persistent world
which continues to exist and evolve while the
player is offline and away from the game.
It is, without question, postmodern.
You create an avatar and move
around in the game world
interacting with other avatars who
represent real people.
It is so popular that business,
entertainment and education are all
trying to develop more virtual land
and spaces to do more virtual
activities.
You can trade real money for Linden
dollars and then buy and sell them
in Second Life.
You can purchase virtual land with
real money.
Second life
What would you GET from
this second identity?
Social
Since the interactions
between MMORPG players
are real, even if the
environments are virtual,
psychologists and
sociologists are able to use
MMORPGs as tools for
academic research. Sherry
Turkle, a clinical
psychologist, has conducted
interviews with computer
users including game-
players. Turkle found that
many people have
expanded their
Social
Many players report that
the emotions they feel
while playing an MMORPG
are very strong, to the
extent that 8.7% of male
and 23.2% of female
players in a statistical
study have had an online
wedding. Other
researchers have found that
the enjoyment of a game is
directly related to the
social organization of a
game, ranging from brief
encounters between
Economic
Many MMORPGs feature living
economies. Virtual items and
currency have to be gained
through play and have
definite value for players.
These "virtual" economies
have real status and can be
bought and sold.
The idea of attaching real-
world value to "virtual" items
has had a profound effect on
players and the game
industry, and even the courts.
Economic
Game publishers usually prohibit
the exchange of real-world money
for virtual goods, but others
actively promote the idea of linking
(and directly profiting from) an
exchange.
In Second Life and Entropia
Universe, the virtual economy and
the real-world economy are directly
linked. This means that real money
can be deposited for game money
and vice versa.
Items have also been sold for
game money in Entropia, and some
players of Second Life have
generated revenues in excess of
$100,000.
Hyperidentities
Filiciak (2004) postulates the idea of hyperidentities,
taking Baudrillards theory of hyperreality and
internalising this for the mediated individual. He
observes that in postmodern culture we are able to
design our selves in ways that are fluid and temporary,
we get to change our identity through media and
technology in ways that previous generations could not.
Instead of taking the view that a second life is a
substitute or escape it is suggested that technologies
allow us simply to extend expressions of ourselves
beyond physical limitations.
Thus impacting upon our social realities, our cultures and
our ways of making sense of being alive.
Read the article I have given you
- What issues does it raise about hyperreal
identities?
- What interesting facts or stats does it include?
Be ready to feed
back!
Does Second Life actually count as a game?
With all video games there is a defined objective and for

video games as opposed to multi-user online games a
narrative as well. A user must do within this environment
and has specific goals to achieve at all stages (kill this
dragon and find this treasure) and receives feedback and
rewards when each goal is achieved. These users often feel
disenfranchised when they enter the Second Life world
because they are not immediately greeted with a narrative
and set a goal or task. They find the concept that they can
simply be in this environment rather than do
alien and sometimes intimidating.
(Bennett 2007)
Second Life may be influential in
moving game designers away
from narratives towards free-form
gameplay where the space is
provided but the objective is
defined by the players.
Filiciak- The prophet!
The dissemination of new ways of thinking which make the real and
the virtual equal is only a matter of time. Videogames, and
especially networked games, are one of the most accurate
metaphors of contemporary life. Games are the medium that most
perfectly describe our existence and express the way the human self
functions in the contemporary world, It is on screen that we can compose our
hyper-identity in the most imposing way. Having a free hand when creating
our own images is a commonly- accepted convention in internet but not in
the offline world; or rather not yet, because the future belongs to interactive
media and hyperidentity. (Filiciak 2003)
So
whats
next?

L6 Computer Games MMORPG

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MMORPG Games: A

L.O: To identify postmodern

Starter: What do you know about

With all video games there is a defined objective and for

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