Renquist - 22 August 2007 01:43 PM

Transfrmr - 22 August 2007 12:16 PM

Renquist - 22 August 2007 10:47 AM

Leroy Jenkins is one of my favourite videos of anything. If I’m ever in a situation where I’m going to have to run like a loony sword waving into a room filled with monsters (again) then I’ll do it screaming “LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEROOOOOOOOOOOY JEEEEEEEEEEEEENKINS”.

And if you hold a funeral in a PvP area of any game you’re asking for trouble.

I definitely agree, but I thought they were both accurate examples of why any “social behavior” study performed in a virtual environment that was based on a game like WOW would be inherently flawed as far as real-life applicability.

A better experiment would be to set up a virtual environment specifically for the purpose, with morals, and virtual policemen, and the like. Of course, this would be quite boring, but you could run through all kinds of scenarios. Earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, diseases, and even outbreaks of really really bad pop bands

Why won’t social studies work on WoW?

Because 90% of them are dicks

I’m not a huge fan of MMORPGs.

BLASPHEMY!

THE GODS ARE ANGRY!

Everyone talks about the camaraderie and great community spirit of MMORPGs and it’s a myth.

Look at that! A funeral getting the shit kicked out of it. There’s not great community spirit (although a friend of mine says it used to be true for Neocron but nothing else).

Prove me wrong

Pking Newbs

Renquist - 22 August 2007 01:43 PM

[...]
Why won’t social studies work on WoW?
Because 90% of them are dicks
[...]

So, the difference with the real world is ... ?

FrostBird - 22 August 2007 03:46 PM

Renquist - 22 August 2007 01:43 PM

[...]
Why won’t social studies work on WoW?
Because 90% of them are dicks
[...]

So, the difference with the real world is ... ?

I should probably point out that not everyone in an online game is a dick.  Just as in real life some people are dicks, some are nice, some are outgoing and helpful, some are withdrawn and shy.  Cliques form and tend to exclude others, social groups form and actively encourage others to join.  Yes it’s an atmosphere where people can hide behind a persona and not suffer for antisocial behavior in the same ways that they do in real life, but that isn’t any different from online forums.  And you certainly seem to be an active participant in those, Renquist.

Renquist - 22 August 2007 01:43 PM

Transfrmr - 22 August 2007 12:16 PM

Renquist - 22 August 2007 10:47 AM

Leroy Jenkins is one of my favourite videos of anything. If I’m ever in a situation where I’m going to have to run like a loony sword waving into a room filled with monsters (again) then I’ll do it screaming “LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEROOOOOOOOOOOY JEEEEEEEEEEEEENKINS”.

And if you hold a funeral in a PvP area of any game you’re asking for trouble.

I definitely agree, but I thought they were both accurate examples of why any “social behavior” study performed in a virtual environment that was based on a game like WOW would be inherently flawed as far as real-life applicability.

A better experiment would be to set up a virtual environment specifically for the purpose, with morals, and virtual policemen, and the like. Of course, this would be quite boring, but you could run through all kinds of scenarios. Earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, diseases, and even outbreaks of really really bad pop bands

Why won’t social studies work on WoW?

Because 90% of them are dicks

I’m not a huge fan of MMORPGs.

That’s because 90% of people that play MMO’s are boys!

Get it, boy’s, ‘cos boy’s have Dicks and there arn’t many girls that play MMO’s compared to boy’s… huu? ow

Charybdis - 22 August 2007 04:19 PM

I should probably point out that not everyone in an online game is a dick.  Just as in real life some people are dicks, some are nice, some are outgoing and helpful, some are withdrawn and shy.  Cliques form and tend to exclude others, social groups form and actively encourage others to join.  Yes it’s an atmosphere where people can hide behind a persona and not suffer for antisocial behavior in the same ways that they do in real life, but that isn’t any different from online forums.  And you certainly seem to be an active participant in those, Renquist.

I think people are worse in online games than in a forum. In a forum it’s not as spontaneous- you think out what you say and can reflect and edit it before it’s sent to the world at large. In an online game, which in almost certainly involving slicing something up or shooting things, testosterone is flowing and actions are off-the-cuff.

Plus in online games there’s an element of one-upmanship. There’s competition, fighting. And competition leads people to do things they would otherwise not do (such as camping, going for easy kills, kill stealing, etc.) in pursuit of the almighty win.

Not to mention that there is an element of skill. The ones who think they’re good (whether or not it’s true) will probably be stuck up, accusing all others, especially better players, of being a n00b or such like. A really, really good shot will inspire anger and frustration in a weaker player who can’t get anywhere because the crack-shot is decimating the others. In an MMORPG a high-level character may find the ease of defeating weaker players to be a draw and pick on them.

I think comparing forums to online games is a bit much

My flatmate is a big online gamer and a fair few times we’ll be sitting with a few beers and he plays and there’s nothing quite like when some imbecile who’s guaranteed not to exceed 14 years of age gets killed and goes on about how my flatmate “is such a f***in’ n00b who doesn’t know how to play” despite having 30 more kills.

I play on WoW, quite regularly.  For the most part the people in my guild work as a community, sharing resources… giving everyone a fair shot at loot, etc.  We kinda expect you to carry your own weight and do your job as would any community.

We have even made alliances with other guilds in order to progress…

It is also interesting in how players to some degree “police” themselves.  If a player is caught stealing an item or “ninjaing” it… screenshots are posted… fingers are pointed… and that person quickly finds themself unable to find groups… they become something of an exile.

Its almost like a tribal society of sorts, so I can see how there are similarities between social situations in the real world and the virtual.

I havent seen this as much in games like Counterstrike, Quake, Unreal, and many other “shooters” where people tend to be teamkilling @#%&tards more often than not.

I Still think WoW is way too expencive, how ever good it is.