Features Reporter
Picture a world where monsters are everywhere and the majority of the population of this world is not human. This world is so big that it, at times, can make our own feel small. It is a place where people work together toward common goals or combat each other. Some people stay for short periods while others stay for many hours on end.
This realm is the online gaming sensation World of Warcraft. Commonly referred to as WoW, the game was created by Blizzard Entertainment in 2004 and is one of the largest online games in the world with millions of players logging on and playing each week.
“The story is as involved as the Tolkein books,” CMU anthropology professor Greg Batchelder said. “There is a huge legend.”
WoW has something for everyone and is why Batchelder started his research project four years ago. His advisor at Colorado State University helped him to become interested in this world.
Little research has been done around WoW, even though 10 million players are subscribed to the game. Nick Yee is one of the few researchers out there who has.
“He found that the average age is 26, which goes against the stereotype of the 12-year-old sitting in his parent’s basement,” Batchelder said. “Yee also found that only 25 percent of WoW players were teens, 50 percent worked full time and 80 percent play with someone they know in the real world.”
Yee created a strong base for Batchelder’s research.
“I’m a noob, for those of you who have experience playing WoW,” Batchelder said.
Batchelder knew nothing about WoW going into this research project.
“It’s an online culture. They have shared and socially inherited patterns of thought and practice,” Batchelder said.
The research methods Batchelder primarily uses puts him as a fly on the wall. He doesn’t interact with the group but just shadows them as they play in the world. Batchelder would visit player’s homes just to watch them play.
One of the largest aspects of the game is the social groups.
“Players can play solo, which is usually people with introverted personality style, or they can play with a party or a group of other players,” Batchelder said.
There is a dungeon finder tool, which allows players easily to find a group looking to do a dungeon together.
“A dungeon or an instance is space cornered off from the rest of the world,” Batchelder said. “Raid groups are similar, but Raids are much harder. They are part of what is called end game material.”
“In the gaming world, addiction is used in a positive way,” Batchelder said. “When the player says, ‘I’m so addicted.’ It means, ‘I’m immersed and know what I’m doing.’”
It is labeled as problematic engagement when a player becomes addicted. Those who play just for the social aspect are least likely to have problematic engagement, where players who play for achievements are the highest likely. For players that have it, the game is hard to quit and they have trouble finding a good balance with it and life.
There are good aspects to playing the game though.
“It can help to improve and maintain a good mood,” Batchelder said.
Players also feel connected since there are so many other players that are online at any given time.
Batchelder has studied a lot about WoW and psychology, but there is always more.
“I want to get a portable MRI machine,” he said.
A Magnetic Resonance Imaging machine will help Betchelder study the brain while players are in this world.
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