Online Worlds: Convergence of the Real and the Virtual (eBook)

Contents 6
Introduction 9
World Jaunting 10
Plan of the Book 13
References 14
New World View 15
Organizing a Horde of Scientists 15
Session 1: Research and World of Warcraft 20
Session 2: Relationships Between WoW and the “Real World” 22
Expeditions 24
Conclusion 26
References 27
Culture and Creativity: World of Warcraft Modding in China and the US 28
Modding 29
The US Modding Community 32
The Chinese Modding Community 36
Discussion 44
References 47
The Diasporic Game Community: Trans-Ludic Cultures and Latitudinal Research Across Multiple Games and Virtual Worlds 49
The Emergence of Game Refugees and Trans-Ludic Diasporas 50
Trans-Ludic Identities 57
Methodological Challenges and Opportunities: A Call for “ Latitudinal” Research 58
References 61
Science, Technology, and Reality in The Matrix Online and Tabula Rasa 63
Intellectual Background of the Two Worlds 63
Creating Virtual Objects and Abilities 67
Protean Avatars in MxO and TR 71
Conclusion 75
References 75
Spore: Assessment of the Science in an Evolution- Oriented Game 77
The Spore World 78
Biological Evolution 79
Cultural Evolution 85
Conclusion 89
References 90
Medulla: A Cyberinfrastructure-Enabled Framework for Research, Teaching, and Learning with Virtual Worlds 92
A Landscape of Trinkets 93
An Alternative 93
Medulla and a New Public Media Infrastructure 98
The Use Cases 100
Medulla Prototypes 103
Conclusion 104
References 105
A Virtual Mars 106
A Personal Journey 106
A New Mars 109
Sharing the Idea 110
Conclusion 113
References 113
Opening the Metaverse 115
Today’s Virtual Worlds 116
Tomorrow’s Global Metamedium 117
Present Limitations 119
Learning from the Web 119
Defining the Technical Challenges 122
Defining the Technical Solutions 124
Conclusion 125
References 125
A Typology of Ethnographic Scales for Virtual Worlds 127
The Setup: From Positivism to Ethnographic Scale 127
The Background: From Indonesia to Second Life 129
The Four Confusions: Defining What a Virtual World Is Not 130
The Typology: Research Questions and Ethnographic Scale 132
The Road Ahead: Concluding Thoughts 135
References 136
Massively Multiplayer Online Games as Living Laboratories: Opportunities and Pitfalls 138
A Game Is a Game by Any Other Name 140
Life on the Screen: Who Is Really Playing? 143
Ill-Defined Spaces: Taking an Ecological View of the (Virtual) World 145
Conclusion 146
References 147
Examining Player Anger in World of Warcraft 149
Methodology and Development of the World of Warcraft Questionnaire ( WoWQ) 149
Potential In-Game Anger-Causing Scenarios 153
Conclusion 159
Appendix 160
References 161
Dude Looks like a Lady: Gender Swapping in an Online Game 163
Gender and Identity, Offline and On 164
Identity in the Context of MMOs 166
Motivations for Swapping 168
Methods and Measures 169
Results 170
Conclusion 172
References 174
Virtual Doppelgangers: Psychological Effects of Avatars Who Ignore Their Owners 177
Doppelgangers 178
Theoretical Underpinnings 179
Experimenting with Doppelgangers 182
Implications and Future Directions 185
References 186
Speaking in Character: Voice Communication in Virtual Worlds 189
Comparing Media and Contexts 190
Voice in Virtual Worlds 192
Managing Multiple Conversations 195
Technical Difficulties 197
Uniqueness of the Virtual Environment 198
Conclusion 200
References 201
What People Talk About in Virtual Worlds 203
Methodology: Protocol Analysis 204
Virtual Worlds as a Place for Learning 204
Communication Analysis 206
DesignWorld: A Virtual World for Design Collaboration 208
Discussion and Conclusions 212
References 214
Changing the Rules: Social Architectures in Virtual Worlds 215
Surface Layer Architectures 216
Information Access 218
Hidden Layer Architectures 221
Ending Thoughts 223
References 224
Game-Based Virtual Worlds as Decentralized Virtual Activity Systems 226
Case 1: Science Learning Games for Informal Life Science Education 227
Case 2: Game Mod for Semiconductor Fabrication Operations and Service Training 230
Discussion 233
Conclusions 235
References 235
When Virtual Worlds Expand 237
Saltation 237
Prelude and Lore 239
New Character Features 243
Population Stratification and Class 248
Conclusion 250
References 250
Cooperation, Coordination, and Trust in Virtual Teams: Insights from Virtual Games 252
Effective Teams 252
Virtual Teams 254
ICT: Social Presence, Media Richness, and Synchronicity 257
Using MMOGS to Understand Team Effectiveness 258
References 260
Virtual Worlds for Virtual Organizing 264
The Socio-technical History of Virtual Worlds for Virtual Organizing 265
Current Trends in Virtual Worlds for Virtual Organizing 268
The Future of Virtual Worlds for Virtual Organizing 272
References 275
Future Evolution of Virtual Worlds as Communication Environments 278
Metaverses 278
Immersionists Versus Augmentationists 281
Moving Beyond Second Life 283
Moving Beyond First Life 285
References 287
The Future of Virtual Worlds 288
Technical Innovations 288
The Economic Basis for Virtual Worlds 291
Cultural Transformation 295
Conclusion 300
References 301
The Authors 302
Index 312