This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Mortensen, T. E. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

WoW is the New MUD

Social Gaming from Text to Video

Volda College, Norway

With the immense popularity of massively multiplayer games such as World of Warcraft (WoW), other media as well as game research have discovered gaming as a topic of discussion and study. These discussions, however, tend to ignore the history of both games and of game studies. This article addresses the connections between one of the old and, today, obscure forms of using computers for multiplayer gaming—the text-based Multi-User Dungeon (MUD)—and the current, highly visible and massively used graphic interface game World of Warcraft. These connections range from player style through game-play options to social interaction and player-controlled social modifiers within both types of games. The comparison is based on play, observation, and interviews with players in MUDs and in WoW.

Key Words: MMORPG • MUD • game studies • role-playing games

References

• Bartle, R. (1996). Hearts, clubs, diamonds, spades: Players who suit MUDs. Journal of MUD Research,1(1). Retrieved August 8, 2006, from http://www.brandeis.edu/pubs/jove/HTML/v1/bartle.html
• Bartle, R., & Trubshaw, R. (1980). MUD1. Retrieved August 8, 2006, from http://www.british-legends.com/
• Blizzard. (2004). World of Warcraft [Game]: Blizzard Entertainment Inc.
• Blizzard. (2005, December). World of Warcraft® Surpasses Five Million Customers Worldwide.Retrieved February 21, 2006, from http://www.blizzard.com/press/051219.shtml
• Caillois, R. (2001). Man, play, and games. Chicago: University of Illinois.
• Castranova, E. (2001). Virtual worlds: A first-hand account of market and society on the cyberian frontier. The Gruter Institute Working Papers on Law, Economics, and Evolutionary Biology,2. Retrieved August 8, 2006, from http://www.bepress.com/giwp/default/vol2/iss1/art1/current_article.html
• Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: HarperPerennial.
• Dahl, H. F., (Ed.). (1996). Kinoens mørke, fjernsynets lys: levende bilder i Norge gjennom hundre år (The darkness of the cinema, the light of the televesion: Moving images in Norway through one hundred years). Oslo, Norway: Gyldendal.
• DMA design Limited, D. (1997). Grand Theft Auto (GTA) [Game]: BMG Interactive.
• Ducheneaut, N., Yee, N., Nickell, E., & Moore, R. J. (2006). "Alone together?" Exploring the social dynamics of massively multiplayer online games. Unpublished manuscript.
• Entertainment Software Association, ESA. (2006). Game Player Data. Retrieved February 2, 2006, from http://www.theesa.com/facts/gamer_data.php
• Gibson, W. (1993). Burning chrome and other stories. London: Harper Collins.
• Grant, K., South, A., & Dick, M. (1995). Dragon Realms [DIKU-MUD, Computer Game].
• Holmevik, J. R., & Haynes, C. (1997). enCore. Retrieved August 8, 2006, from http://lingua.utdallas.edu/
• Jenkins, H. (2004). Reality bytes: Eight myths about video games debunked. Retrieved February 23,2006, from http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/impact/myths.html
• Kent, S. L. (2001). The ultimate history of video games. New York: Prima Pub.
• Mortensen, T. E. (2003). Pleasures of the player: Flow and control in online games. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Department of Humanistic Informatics, University of Bergen and Faculty of Media and Journalism, Volda University College, Norway.
• Mortensen, T. E. (2005). The False Arch Druid, in thinking with my fingers. Posted December 15, 2005, retrieved August 8, 2006, from http://torillsin.blogspot.com/2005/12/false-arch-druid.html
• Pratchett, R. (2005, December). Gamers in the UK: Digital play, digital lifestyles. Retrieved March 2, 2006, from http://open.bbc.co.uk/newmediaresearch/files/BBC_UK_Games_Research_2005.pdf
• Robinson, K. S. (1992). Red mars. London: HarperCollins.
• SWOP-USA. (2006). SWOP Statement on Grand Theft Auto. Retrieved February 27, 2006 from http://www.swop-usa.org/
• Valve Corporation, V. (2000). Half-life: Counter-strike [Game]: Sierra On-Line, Inc.
• Walker, J. (2006). A network of quests in World of Warcraft. In N. Wardrip-Fruin & P. Harrigan (Eds.),Second person: Role-playing and story in games and playable media. Boston: MIT Press.
• Wikipedia. (2006). DKP (Point System). Retrieved April 2, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DKP_(Point_System)

CiteULike

Connotea

Del.icio.us

Digg

Reddit

Technorati

This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Mortensen, T. E. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?