Battlefields of Negotiation: Control, Agency, and Ownership in World of Warcraft

221 Pages·2013·1.15 MB·English

by  René Glas

The massively multiplayer online role-playing B
m
game World of Warcraft has become one of a ed
t ia
the most popular computer games of the t m
m past decade, introducing millions around lef atter
e the world to community-based play. Within ie s
d
l
i the boundaries set by its design, the game d
a encourages players to appropriate and shape s

o
m it to their own wishes, resulting in highly
f
a diverse forms of play and participation. This N
t illuminating study frames World of Warcraft e
te as a complex socio-cultural phenomenon g
o
r
defined by and evolving as a result of the
s t
i
negotiations between groups of players as a
t
well as the game’s owners, throwing new i
o
light on complex consumer-producer rela- n
tionships in the increasingly participatory
but still tightly controlled media of online
games.
René Glas is assistant professor of new r
e
media and digital culture at Utrecht n
é
University.
g
l
a Battlefields
s
of Negotiation
Control, Agency, and Ownership
in World of Warcraft

www.aup.nl

ISBN 978-90-896-4500-5

9 789089 645005 amsterdam university press amsterdam university press rené glas
AUP MM 08.Battlefields. rug12mm v02.indd 1 20-12-12 12:23
Battlefields ofNegotiation
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Battlefields of
Negotiation
Control, Agency, and Ownership
World of Warcraft
in
René Glas
AmsterdamUniversityPress
The publication of this book has been supported by NWO (The Netherlands Or-
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Contents
Acknowledgements 7
Introduction 9
Part I: Framing theGame
1. TheDefinitionGame 19
Gameswithoutend? 19
TracingtheMMORPGgenre’sroots 21
2. TheManyFacesofPlay 23
Themovementofplay 24
Ludicvs.representationalrole-playing 25
Problematizingsocialplay 27
3. TheContractsofPlay 30
Socialcodes,norms,andboundaries 30
Playingonalicence 33
4. Playand/asParticipation 36
Everyplayerplaysitspart 36
Participationasexploitation? 39
5. BattlefieldsofNegotiation 41
Part II: Controlling the Game
6. TheSetupofPlay 47
Networkplay 47
Playingmachines 49
Configuringplay 53
7. TheRulesofPlay 59
Designingplay 59
Designingcooperation 62
Facingtheother 65
8. PlayingwithFiction 72
RepresentingAzeroth 72
5
Thespaceofplay 77
Stuckintime 79
Part III: Gaming the Game
9. It’sAboutTime 87
Paratextsascheatingtools 88
Fromemergencetoprogression 92
Hyperproductivedemystification 99
10.Twinking,orPlayingAnotherGame 103
Theluxuryoftwinking 104
Goingfortheeasykill 107
Agamewithinagame 111
11.PlayingtheInterface 116
Modsassocialsurveillancetools 117
Controllingcodethroughtheorycrafting 119
Exposingtheinside 123
Part IV: Claiming theGame
12.VirtualThievery 131
Play,workorcrime 131
Thepowerofsmallprint 135
Partofthegame? 139
13.PerformingontheEdgeofRulesandFiction 144
Ourstory,yourstory 145
Lookingtheotherway 150
Explorationorexploitation 154
14.TheFragmentedandtheMultiple 159
Communitycontrol,controllingcommunity 161
Withgreatpowercomesgreatresponsibility 163
Playingidentityandcommunity 167
Conclusion 173
Notes 181
Bibliography 195
Index 209
6 battlefieldsofnegotiation
Acknowledgements
The evolution and realization of this book could not have been possible without
the contribution of many friends, colleagues and institutions who I am greatly
indebted to. Overseeing the research itself, José van Dijck and Jan Simons have
been indispensable from the start. José’s emphasis on structure and argumenta-
tion and her inspiring enthusiasm helped tremendously in shaping my work.
TogetherwithJan’ssharpobservationsoncomplextopics,theirguidanceproved
invaluable throughout the research process. The book you have in front of you
would not have been possible without support from the Netherlands Organiza-
tionforScientificResearch(NWO),whichfundedthe“TranformationsinPercep-
tionandParticipaion:DigitalGames”projectfromwhichtheresearchoriginates.
Byhelpingmefocusmythoughtsandframingmyargumentsinaseriesofmeet-
ingsandconferences,themembersoftheDigitalGamesprojectcontributedcon-
siderably,especiallyintheearlyphasesoftheresearch.LedbyRenéevandeVall,
thegroupalsoincludedMaaikeLauwaert,MartijnHendriks,JackPostandJoseph
Wachelder.MygratitudealsogoesouttoKarinWenzandSallyWyattforprovid-
ingvaluablefeedbackasexternalexpertsontheproject.IalsothanktheAmster-
damSchoolforCulturalAnalysis(ASCA)attheUniversityofAmsterdamfortheir
continuedsupportandadviceinvariousstagesoftheresearch.
Writing a book like this can be a solitary experience, but my colleagues at the
Department of Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam and, later, the
DepartmentofMediaandCultureStudiesatUtrechtUniversitymadeforexcellent
company.Forsharingoffices,discussions,ideas,conferencesanddrinksIwould
like to thank Joyce Goggin, David Nieborg, Dan Hassler-Forest, Maryn Wilkin-
son, Jennifer Steetskamp, Andrea Meuzelaar, Imar de Vries, Ann-Sophie Leh-
mann, Mirko Tobias Schäfer, Michiel de Lange, Marianne van den Boomen, and
manyothers.IwouldliketoespeciallythankJoostRaessensandSybilleLammes
who, next to being wonderful colleagues and fellow adventurers in the study of
digitalgamesandplay,weresokindtoprovidefeedbackduringthefinalphaseof
the writing process. Another proofreader I must thank for his thoroughness on
shortnoticeisMichaelKatzberg.Iwouldalsoliketoshowmyappreciationtothe
students I have had the pleasure of teaching in courses in game studies and
beyondforinterestingdiscussionsandinspiringinsights.
7
A very different group of individuals I would like to thank are The Truants, a
guildof“roguescholars”ImetinandaroundWorldofWarcraftandplayedwithfor
years. Under the lively leadership of Torill Mortensen, the members of The
Truants did not just play – in an often endearingly chaotic way – but they also
convened during international conferences to share their work on World of War-
craftandgamesingeneral.Beingpartofthisgroupprovedtobeaninspiringand
enjoyablepartofmyresearch.AmongthemanyTruantsIwouldliketothankfor
theircompanionshipareLuca,Kristine,Espen,Valter,Hilde,T.L.,Jessica,Ragn-
hild, Charlotte, Peter and Emma. Special mention goes to Ivo Mulder, a friend
who also joined The Truants and with whom I shared many online adventures.
Ivo is responsible for this book’s wonderful cover design, for which I cannot
thankhimenough.
Finally, I would like to thank all my family and friends for their warmth and
support, and for putting up with my endless banter about World of Warcraft. Last
butnotleast,IwishtoexpressmydedicationtoNynkeandourdaughtersMade-
lief, Hente and Dagmar for offering love, guidance, and distraction (in a good
way)duringalltheupsanddownsofthewritingprocess.Idedicatethisbookto
them.
8 battlefieldsofnegotiation
Introduction
World of Warcraft is considered the pinnacle of massively multiplayer online role-
playinggamesorMMORPGs,agenreofcomputergamesthatofferfictionaluni-
verses where thousands of individuals play with or against each other or simply
hang out to socialize. World of Warcraft, developed by Blizzard Entertainment
basedinIrvine,California,facilitatesawiderangeofplaystylesandpreferences,
ranging from casual role-playing to pursuing hardcore cooperative challenges.
Thegameisconsideredeasytolearnbuthardtomaster,andissurroundedbya
huge,player-drivencultureofferingeverythingfrominformationwikistofanfic-
tion, fromuser-interfacemodifications toguidesexplaininghowbest tolevelup
and even how to learn a profession or how to earn virtual gold through the in-
gameauctionhouse.
Since its release in November 2004, World of Warcraft (WoW) has attracted a
massivecrowdofplayers,peakingattwelvemillionin2010.1Theexpansionpack
entitledCataclysmreleasedthatyearsoldmorethan3.3millioncopiesinthefirst
24 hours after release, making it the fastest-selling PC game of all time. Even
though the game has since shed some of it vast user base, with around ten mil-
lion players in early2012 the game remains one of the mostpopularMMORPGs
intheworld.Withitsongoingsuccess,thegamehasbecomeaposterchildofthe
progressively collaborative relationship between consumers and producers
observed in the larger media landscape. As media theorist Henry Jenkins notes,
‘game designers acknowledge that their craft has less to do with prestructured
stories than with creating the preconditions for spontaneous community activ-
ities’ (2006: 159). According to EDGE magazine, one of several game industry
sources that crowned World of Warcraft the ‘game of the decade’, the game is
exemplary of a larger change in how we consume media ‘not as individual
packagespickedfromtheshelf,butasservices,alwaysevolvingtomeettheneeds
of their growing audience’ (2010: 68). To obtain this service, however, players
need to pay a monthly subscription fee in addition to buying the game itself.
These subscription fees provide Blizzard with the financial means to constantly
updatethegame.AgamelikeWorldofWarcraftisnotastableobjectbutanobject
influx;itiscontinuouslytransformedthroughpatchesandexpansionpacksthat
express what Blizzard thinks the player community wants next. Players them-
selveshavecreatedavastnetworkofwebsites,informationdatabases,blogs,for-
introduction 9