Strength in Numbers: The post-humanistic approach.

Blog graphic 2016

World of Warcraft could be described as almost entirely post-humanistic. This is not to say that the game is anti-individual, but that the individual takes a backseat in favour of their place in the whole. Take for example, a raid team. Some of you may be familiar with the concept of a raid team, some may not, but I’ll try to explain it as simply as possible. There are two Tanks, who hold the attention of the boss the team is fighting, and defend the rest of the group. 2-4 Healers, to keep the team alive, and around 10 or so damage dealers (DPS), who attack the boss. Now, think of this team as a machine; each player is a cogwheel, all coming together as a whole to defeat a boss. If an individual cog breaks, the machine may break too. If the tanks die, the boss will quickly kill the rest of the raid. If the healers die, the tanks will die, and then the damage dealers. If the damage dealers die, the boss doesn’t. In this way, the individual is far less important than the group as a whole; alone they are weak, but together they are strong. How well-oiled and successful that machine is, is where networking comes in.

The primary goal of WoW is, quite literally, to network. Networks in-game allow guilds to recruit potential raiders for their teams. The top guilds in the world may have networks worldwide, and have their pick of the world’s best raiders. Most guilds, however, will recruit through their own server’s networks. Without networking in-game, an individual’s progress is limited. Your conduct in this network will also contribute to your success (or failure). While your real self is afforded almost complete anonymity if you choose it, your identity in-game (McNeill, 2012) will be judged by your actions. If you were to behave rudely to others in a dungeon, or steal loot in a raid, word of your character would quickly spread through Azeroth’s networks. In this way, the narrative you write about yourself is fundamental to your success in game (Kuttainen, V. 2016).

References:

Blog graphic created on http://www.canva.com

Kuttainen, V. (2016). BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narrative and the Making of Place, week 6 notes [Power Point slides]. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/execute/content/file?cmd=view&content_id=_2426299_1&course_id=_76323_1&framesetWrapped=true

McNeill, L. (2012). There Is No "I" in Network: Social Networking Sites and Posthuman Auto/Biography. Biography 35(1), 65-82. University of Hawai'i Press. Retrieved September 1, 2016, from Project MUSE database.