The Gathering of Uru: Birth of a Hood written by Celia Pearce examined the nature of player community in great depth. The article is about a group of players who beta tested a game called Uru. As the beta testing progressed, the game developers wanted the players to explore the MMO concept of Uru. The author created a community called The Gathering and attracted over 100 players to join. Unfortunately, the game only lasted for a year and was forced to be shut down. However, the players that belonged to The Gathering or TGU were disappointed by the situation but they held together as a group by starting a forum.
The sense of identity these players created by playing the game was very shocking. Even after they moved on to either There.com or Second Life, these players are still keen on preserving and recreating the world they remembered back in Uru. What bewildered me even more was the “intention” of the players. If they bonded because of the connections they built over the years then environment shouldn’t be much of a factor. However, these players were so keen on recreating the old environment that they forgot about the community itself. The community, in my opinion, is created by the players and not the game engine/ game environment.
The first MMORPG I played was called StoneAge, it was popularized in Taiwan. I made many friends through the game and progressed fairly far over the course of two years. Early on in the game, there wasn’t a clan or guild structure, so my group of online friends formed an unofficial clan. The game allowed nicknames other than your ID, so that’s where we put our clan name. The popularity of StoneAge declined significantly after the introduction of other MMO’s in the market. Eventually, the company decided to stop funding the game and eventually, it was shut down. It was disappointing but not as dramatic as the article. Our clan members simply moved on to other games and formed the same guild. Environment, in my opinion, should not be the main concern when the purpose is to socialize and find your own group identity. Though not all of the clan members from StoneAge played some of the subsequent MMOs but we still kept in touch either through forums, emails or chat systems.
My question for you is: do you keep in touch with people you meet in the game? If yes, do you meet them in chat rooms, forums, or even in person? If no, why not?
Well, I never meet people from the game is person because I feel that game and real life should still be seperated. Since we all have very different backgrounds, I would feel awarkard when meeting them. I also think it is sometimes dangerous to meet them by myself.
ReplyDeleteWhen playing with people consistently like in a guild or clan, I'll keep in touch with them within the game if something happens and we have to split. But outside the game I wouldn't keep talking to them, mainly because I feel like the game is the main link. Also it's hard for me to form strong relationships without actually being in person or having a face to match the username.
ReplyDeleteI made a few friends in game world because having friends is always helpful whether it is in the real life or in the virtual game life. However, I've never met those game friends in person because I feel like it's kinda awkward. And also some of these game friends live far away, share a very different culture and background than mine, or even a lot older or younger than me.
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