World of Warcraft as a virtual community


World of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer game released in 2004 by Blizzard Entertainment. World of Warcraft is a massively-multiplayer online role-playing (MMORPG) game and it has evolved with the genre for its networking capabilities (Williams,  2019). This online game involves participation where users interact with each other digitally and emergent cultures also interact with each other (McLean, p. 177, 2017). With this being said, anybody can participate in the virtual community of World of Warcraft and interact with each other by speech, general chat channels or VoIP (Whippey, 2010). Any type of gamers can network with each other in various ways and can perhaps build a second life apart from reality where they meet and network with gamers and gain trust in them to benefit each other in the game. The group chats and VoIP that occurs in World of Warcraft demonstrates how networks “amplify the scale, progression, and geographical reach of play communities” (McLean, 178, 2017). With this being said, World of Warcraft involves the users trust-building and problem-solving skills to be displayed in the interaction with other gamers. Networking is vital in the game where players practice their networking skills to meet and participate with other users on guilds and raiding parties in order to level up. With this being said, the World of Warcraft game has created a network culture where users of all skill level must network with other gamers so you can help each other improve your levels of skill in the game.


Works Cited

Whippey, C. (2010). Community in World of Warcraft: The fulfilment of social needs. Totem: The University of Western Ontario Journal of Anthropology, 18(1), 15.

Williams, M. (2019, January 16). How World of Warcraft Was Made: The Definitive Inside Story of Nearly 20 Years of Development. Retrieved from https://www.usgamer.net/articles/how-world-of-warcraft-was-made-the-inside-story

McLean, P. (2017). Culture in networks. John Wiley & Sons.

Comments

  1. Tyler CApril 18, 2019 at 6:02 PM

    Thank you for this interesting post! When I was very young I played this very game and noticed that networking was an important factor in the World of Warcraft. In the game, players could meetup and go through gigantic dungeons filled with enemies. If one attempted to enter one of these dungeons alone, they would inevitably get defeated as hoarders of enemies and boss battles are not designed to be handled alone. Thus, one with social or networking skills within the game could join teams of clans to take-on these dungeons together. Further, the game has a literal economy. There are supply and demand prices of certain items in the game (I personally became in game rich from selling copper ore for gold) in which you would place items in the in game auction house, and players would bid on your item with in game currency. It was a fun way to learn about the true dynamics of the real world!

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