Warcraft 101: Orientating Yourself Online

Whether a world created online can be said to ‘exist’ is a topic for thought. Does it have a history, a narrative, a population? Does it hold value in the lives of its occupants? If an online space has its own languages, customs and unwritten rules, it can be said to have its own ontology. (Kuttainen, V. 2016) To the casual observer, much of the social interaction in this community may seem intimidating, but with time spent in that world comes an understanding of the etiquette required to navigate it. Unwritten rules form a large part of the social code; sometimes, these rules mirror the real world quite closely. One such rule, for example, is independence: begging for currency, or asking repeated questions that can easily be answered with a quick Google search will portray you as needy and incompetent.

Also much like reality, the online gaming community uses a system of customised words and phrases to describe events and places, and to communicate. Some slang may be familiar to the
general public, while some may be specific to the gaming community, or even individual games/genres. The language used in online games, especially in the fantasy genre, is often very descriptive.

The naming of places within World of Warcraft can certainly be said to contribute to its overall atmosphere. Take for example, raid and dungeon instances. With names like Grimrail Depot, Shadowmoon Burial Grounds and Hellfire Citadel, you get a mental picture of some very unpleasant places. However, were they to be named something along the lines of Magical Unicorn Playground, that would conjure up an entirely different kind of place. (Tuan, Y. 1991) Generally, by reading the name of a place, you can get a fair image of what to expect. However, there are exceptions to the rule, such as Whimsyshire in the Diablo franchise. In short, the people, customs and languages of a place all contribute to the making of it; World of Warcraft is no exception.

References:

Kuttainen, V. (2016). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narrative and the Making of Place, week 5 notes.

Tuan, Y. (1991). Language and the Making of Place: A Narrative-Descriptive Approach. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 81(4), 684-696. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/2563430