"The Many:
social constructs in the World of Warcraft
Zachary Jean Paradis Institute of Design, Spring 2006 Social Human Factors with Judith Gregory
The Many:
social constructs in the World of Warcraft
why is it important to study the World of Warcraft? There are nearly five million paying subscribers to the Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) known as the World of Warcraft (WOW). These people are from all around the earth yet play, work and communicate cooperatively for much of their day in a virtual world, mostly in real time. The world has a very complex and nuanced set of real and virtual hierarchies, characters, symbols, totems (literally and metaphorically), taboos, rituals and lexicon that require participants to have a deep understanding of context and in-game societal structures not unlike the real world itself. At the heart of social structures in World of Warcraft is the concept of the guild. Joining together as a “guild” of players aligned around common goals and purposes, individual goals and aspirations, guilds provide a functional and emotional support system for individual players to develop and coordinate activities. In particular, guilds allow for the type of collaboration that the hardest parts of the game itself require. Some in-game challenges push groups of up to forty people to in a structured, complementary and cohesive strategy in real time to have success. As guilds develop, they have their own distinct cultures, styles and structures somewhat similar to those of a tribe or street gang. One such guild, “The Many” was , the subject of this research. The Many and the world in which it exits, Malygos, is filled with kindness, frivolity and cruelty. It’s a world where children, teenagers and adults interact in some ways at the same “level” because it is impossible to tell who controls the mouse and keyboard at the other end. The following page shows a census report on the specific world of Malygos. A few relevant
statistics include 22,354 players playing in the world, a much larger “Alliance” faction and a long list of guilds within the world at right. On a personal note, I feel like some of my best friends live in the world of WOW yet I have never met them face to face in RL (gamespeak for real life). In RL, I am a confident and in-control 32 year old who assumes leadership. In WOW, I am a player who regularly accept orders from teenagers without question or hesitation in highly intense situations because listening to them gives me and my group the best chance at survival.
the effects of place: As the World of Warcraft is a virtual world, one might think that space and place is less of an issue than in life on earth. This is far from the truth. In fact, the game developers themselves have set up a highly stratified world in which only the strongest can travel without fear of ridicule or death. Place is directly related to the world’s hierarchy in four ways: level, race, and faction. Level refers to the power of both some player character as well as an area and the monsters or non--player characters within it. Thus, a level 25 character could fairly easily match one and possibly two level 25 monsters, a whole group of level 10 but would be killed swiftly by a level 50. Level as a concept is fairly straightforward in that certain areas are filled with beings of a certain power so one must not venture into areas of significantly higher level without some trepidation. Race is an especially important consideration when starting the game. Picking a race determines where you will come from and what suite of experiences you will encounter first. Races include trolls, tauren (much like minataurs), orcs and the undead in the Horde faction with humans, elves, dwarves and gnomes on the Alliance side. Growing up in the land of the
undead in Silverpine and the Undercity is vastly different and dark compared to the green fields outside the human’s capital of Ironforge. As level rises though, race becomes less important and each faction experiences a similar set of trials and tribulations. Faction broadly represents if one is “good” or “evil” in WOW. There are four races under the Alliance banner and four under the Horde banner as noted previously. Faction has the effect in space of limiting one’s ability to venture only in cities and lands controlled by your faction. This has dramatic effects in game play as players from either faction have almost no experience with the “other” side. In the same way that people in the real world miscommunicate because of not having a common frame of reference, so do those in WOW. This lack of sociocultural experience adds to the issue that language cannot be understood between factions. Surface experience is totally and completely driven by which faction to which you belong. That said, these factors on place play out minimally with regards the The Many. We have no particular place to call our own. Instead our “place” as will be covered later is the , multitude of communications channels used to coordinate group activities. At some level you are always with your entire guild as long as you are online.
hierarchy and membership: WOW’s environment is a rich tapestry of symbolism and related meaning. The game developer, Blizzard, has made it easy for individuals to identify members of their own and other guilds as well as their rank. As is illustrated in the screenshot left, an individual’s name is proceeded by their overall rank within the world as well as their guild (shown below their name within a set of <>
brackets). The graphic itself shows several characters including Gibby and Seerli. Gibby is noted as a “Legionnaire” which signifies his overall rank in the world while Seerli is a “Scout” . These rankings are handed out by the game system itself related to how much honor one has accumulated by fighting the other Alliance faction. On the Horde side, rank is as follows from highest to lowest: Warlord, General, Lt. General, Champion, Centurion, Legionnaire, Blood Guard, Stone Guard, First Sgt., Senior Sgt., Grunt and Scout. Rank offers individuals status and an the ability to buy equipment which makes one more powerful. The highest levels of this overall world rank is extremely hard to attain and maintain and it is noted in game that it would require 10-14 hours a day playing literally every day to even have a chance. Thus, those who achieve it inspire awe in those who never could. Differing guilds place lesser or greater emphasis on world rank. The Many happens to put almost no emphasis on it and people have self-selected out of (left) the guild because The guild reference below one’s name is meaningful in many ways. As is noted in the picture above, Gibby is a member of <Silent Redemption> a large, well known and respected guild while Seerli is with <Praetorian>, a smaller and up-and-coming guild. Players learn about guilds, their exploits and styles through status symbols, communications channels and lore. The most organized guilds who are facing the hardest trials in the game carry considerable amounts of “elite” equipment much coveted by those who don’t have it. As one sees many individuals in a guild and, perhaps, has trade or group interactions with them, one develops a sense of what the guild represents. As will be illustrated, The Many is a guild which has accomplished much yet with aspirations for more.
the importance of gear: The status of having “elite” equipment can not be underestimated in WOW. It could be argued that the number one driver of grouping and guild formation is the fulfillment of equipment greed. The very best gear is designed to look as good as it performs so they make a visual statement of excellence. They are generally larger then lesser gear and display some “magical” looking qualities like a constant shimmering. It is a fairly regular occurrence (see the screenshot above left) to have new players to the game stop more established ones in awe of some piece of equipment. In fact, these conversations about happen over and over again and
drive much of the positive and negative social occurrences in the game. That equipment is served as both status symbol and hallowed artifact was partially designed into the game itself. There are four classifications of equipment and two ways in which they are “owned” by some individual player. Gear is classified as grey (normal and non-magical), green (barely magical and common), blue ( very magical and rare), or purple (highly magical and legendary or unique). Needless to say, there is a drive within the game for players to accumulate legendary equipment like the Aurastone Hammer referenced above and shown below right in all of its glory. The fulfillment of equipment desire and the way in which equipment binds to players is a real and forceful driver of group and guild formation. The very best legendary equipment can only be acquired by facing the toughest beasts in the most dangerous parts of the game like the Molten Core, Onyxia’s Lair and Black Wing Lair. These places are so difficult that it literally takes groups of forty individuals playing in real time and practicing weekly to have any success at all. Success in these “raids” requires planning, regular meeting times and communication in multiple levels of overall group and class strategies. If getting to the gear and having a chance to acquire it requires cooperation, then the distribution of it requires a whole new level. The very best pieces of gear are known to “bind on pick-up” This means that . as soon as some character has selected an item of gear and put it in his bag, it is his regardless
of whether he can use it or if the group wished to distribute it to someone else. Mistakes happen occasionally in the distribution of gear but far less so when playing with players in your guild who you trust. This time of distribution following a successful coordinated battle of what the world refers to as “lootz” is filled with anticipation, anxiety, frustration and happiness. Waiting for months for one shot at a piece of gear one covets as an individual can make normal well-adjusted people selfish and petty. The Many and other established guilds have even developed an auction system to facilitate distribution first to those who are more dedicated. As one spends more time in the harder areas working with the guild as a group, one acquires points used to bid on items that drop. Thus, if something like the Aurastone Hammer noted above drops, there is a time of bidding after which the winner and generally all of the group will be happy. There are few things more satisfying than seeing a cohort getting an item he or she desires or receiving one yourself.
grouping and raids - a trip to the Molten Core: As has been noted previously, there is nothing that requires the cooperation of groups and guilds like adventures into high level areas. Each week, The Many visits the Molten Core on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 7 - 11pm. Individuals arrive at a small outpost close to the entrance of the Core (as documented left) around 10 minutes prior to 7pm to determine which 40 guild members will go and who must stay behind. As The Many has over 100 active players, there are often instances where people get left out for the week. Determination of who goes and who stays is best done when directly related to skill and rank within the guild. While I noted world rank earlier which results from considerably time battling the Alliance faction, The Many puts essentially no stock into these type of activities because they do not support the group’s goals in high level areas but,
instead, individual rank and power. Guild rank is relatively flat going from Guild Master, the character on the right below known as Teeduad, to officers and class leaders, to the rank and file known as champions, soldiers, and finally the lowest level of rank, initiate. Officers and class leaders generally form the heart of a group which is then filled out with the rank and file. There is an emphasis to both get enough experienced people in a group to be successful but also to have some less experienced as well so that the guild is constantly getting better overall. While this sounds good in theory, the frustration involved in picking who goes and who doesn’t is regular and palpable. More than one argument has resulted in some individual getting picked or not. Once one is picked to be part of the raid group, you enter the entrance to the Molten Core and a whole new phase of preparations begin. First, the forty individuals are put into eight smaller five-person groups with a complementary class distribution. Depending on your specific class (druid, hunter, mage, priest, rogue, shaman, warlock, warrior), you have something specific to offer your group. Some classes, like warriors and mages are lead classes and generally engage enemies most directly while others, like druids and shamans, play more of a support role. Depending on one’s class and profession(s), one may have some unique offering to the larger group. As is shown left, a mage known as Wi is giving a potion
known as Crystal Water to my character for use in the coming evening’s activities. In each raid of this type, a mage is generally assigned to hand out this type of water to the group. Finally, the individual groups are given “buffs” or enhancements through spells, which will increase , their power for the next hour or so. Following these initial preparations, the raid attempts to move quickly and swiftly through the various trials, eventually battling difficult bosses who drop the legendary equipment everyone is so focused on. One such boss within the Molten Core is known as Golegmagg the Incinerator. Regardless of how much experience some group has, the fighting of major bosses at this level requires a dedication to your role and an absolute respect for the chain of command. If just one character does not accept his or her role, it can doom the entire group’s chance of success. Prior to each battle, some officer will generally give a run down of the overall group strategy while individual class leaders communicate class strategy. When the overall raid leader is comfortable with the group’s understanding, he or she will give the command to attack. In the instance documented at upper right, Teeduad, the overall guild leader of The Many, commands a mage known as Big Pepe to engage Golegmagg in ten seconds. Again, it can not be stressed enough how important coordination and playing one’s role perfectly is in fighting high level bosses. Each has a distinct and relevant strategy for success. In the case of Golegmagg shown above, he has two hounds which help him in battle. It took our guild some time to realize that the dogs were, in fact, impossible to kill. We spent several attempts trying to first defeat the dogs then to focus on Golegmagg with absolutely no success. Only when we realized that killing Golegmagg himself would cause the destruction of his dogs did we have some success. Thus, two sub-groups must keep the hounds busy while the larger group works to destroy the molten giant himself. Failure to
work in a coordinated fashion in high pressure situations can result in what’s know as a “wipe” and is documented left. Each and every member of the party is dead and the group must go through a lengthy process of resurrection and preparation to make another attempt and continue in the evening’s activities. The screenshot at right documents a time mid-battle in The Many’s second attempt with this particular boss on this particular evening. As the image illustrates, there is a chaos of activity and collaboration midbattle. One can see spells being cast all around as well as a dead body laying still in the foreground. Times like these produce feelings of focus, a collective consciousness, flow, anxiety and satisfaction like life few other occasions in the WOW or in real life for that matter. In fact, there are few things more compelling or more satisfying than a boss like Golegmagg being defeated. A boss down, as in below left, is a time of relief, joy and presents a rising anticipation of what equipment will be distributed and to whom. The post-boss ritual requires that each party member who died in battle is first resurrected. Then, all of the drops are announced. If an individual has interest in some item, he must understand how many auction points he has in relation to others who may also be interested in bidding. Anyone who has taken part in a real life auction can imagine the dynamic of competing individuals, limited resources and coveted items that these auctions produce. One by one, items are auctioned off and distributed to the winners
with each round generally involving considerable congratulations and virtual hand-clapping.
communication channels and their impact on developing social bonds: With luck, you are getting a sense of the richness and involvement inherent in entering and leading a virtual life in the World of Warcraft. That said, the most important aspect of the WOW is the communication channels used to facilitate group activity. As was noted earlier, The Many as a group doesn’t have a virtual “physical” space to call it’s own but does have a communication channel which allows members to live in a common “space” . Communication broadly exists in public and private spaces and is text based (Although there are third party solutions for audio chat, they will not be covered in this research.) The public forms of communication are represented by open channels which facilitate trade, the formation of groups, offering general opinions, among other reasons. Public communications do not require that you be in a group nor a guild and access everyone in some particular geographical region within the world. The screenshot above right illustrates examples of both public and private communications. As is illustrated,
differing communication channels are color coded in differing ways. More specifically, the white and red communication represent “say” and “yell” public communications channels. These channels are good for engaging many people simultaneously who are not in a group or your guild. This is especially helpful when looking for some professional services (like the enchanting or crafting of an item) that no one in your guild can perform. In contrast, the private channels shown on the previous page are “guild chat” (in green) and “whisper” (in purple), which broadly represent the most public and most private of all types of “private” communications channels. Guild chat is received by any and everyone within a guild regardless of level or class and a considerable amount of banter occurs pretty much constantly during normal playing hours. Personalities really start to develop as individual guild members interact in guild chat leading to certain types who seem to appear in most guilds. A few of these types include the “blabbermouth” who just can’t stop chatting, “the occasional chatterer” who when engaged , , in conversation will always have something to say, the “speak rarely but importantly” group who rarely interacts but does in tense situations and finally, the “silents” some members who , seem to live within the guild and its interactions almost vicariously as a lurker. Guild chat is the primary means for communication and the formation of smaller groups to tackle specific tasks. The image above left illustrates one guild member, Rafons, asking who has a “bot” which , is the piece of technology The Many uses to keep track of auction information. Moving from the most public of private communications, guild chat, there is a series of more selective and color coded text messaging moving from guild to class to raid level (orange) to party (the 5 man gro..."
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