Networks and Night Elves: Exploring the World of Warcraft

Blog Graphic (2016)

Over the coming four weeks, I'm going to be observing and contemplating the complex social networks and societies formed in the online gaming community, with a particular focus on World of Warcraft. For the uninitiated, World of Warcraft is a Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game (or MMORPG for short). The format of the game is, in essence, an interactive novel; players take up the mantle of a 'hero' and play through the storyline of the game as that character.

The community of WoW is divided into two main groups: The Alliance, and The Horde, who cannot communicate or cooperate with each other in game. While the Horde is an equally interesting network, my experiences and observations will be drawn from the Alliance side. In addition to the two main factions, the player base is divided into 'realms', each with their own communities. Some of these communities use the space of Azeroth for socialising and roleplay, while others utilize the space for fierce competition, gaining notoriety from the online gaming community at large. Within the realms, groups are formed out of friendship or common goals; these groups are called guilds. 

Guilds are hubs, unrestricted by geography, linking players around their own country, and in others. Within a guild, there is a standard power hierachy: Guild Master is at the top, followed by Officers, then subsequent customisable ranks. Most guilds engage in group activities, such as raiding (organised group content against difficult monsters in instances called Raids). Some, including mine, play other games together, and even meet up to socialise in the real world. The public space within WoW has long been regarded as 'toxic' by the gaming community, its rules and conventions (Kuttainen, 2016) seemingly harsh. Whether for good or for bad, players have taken the space of Azeroth and breathed life into it, made place from space, and given it its identity. (Tuan, 1979, p.4)



References:

Kuttainen, V. (2016). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narrative and the Making of Place, week 3 notes [Power Point slides]. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/execute/content/file?cmd=view&content_id=_2412529_1&course_id=_76323_1&framesetWrapped=true

Tuan, Y. (1979). Space and Place. London, Great Britain: Edward Arnold.

Blog Graphic (2016). Retrieved from https://canva.com