Video Game Worlds

Timothy Rowlands is currently a post-doctoral researcher with the School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University. He researches online communities and the potential they have for creating spaces in which people construct, re-invent and negotiate online identities. His work crosses the disciplinary boundaries of sociology, anthropology, communications, cultural studies and new media studies while focusing on the shaping of virtual selves. His research utilizes traditional qualitative approaches such as ethnographic and interview methods while applying them to studies of online spaces and communities. At the same time, he brings a deep commitment to texts through his emphasis on in situ semiotics.

Chapter 1 Introduction; Chapter 2 The Emergence of the Dominant Strategy; Chapter 3 The Holy Trinity Camp Group; Chapter 4 A Textual Reality; Chapter 5 The Membership Career; Chapter 6 Playing at Empire; Chapter 7 Whither Open Space?; Chapter 8 Conclusion;