An Unexpected Font of Folklore: Online Gaming as Occupational Lore
2011; Western States Folklore Society; Volume: 70; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2325-811X
Autores Tópico(s)Artificial Intelligence in Games
ResumoImagine yourself transported to a far-off land that is populated by mythical beasts-dragons, ores, dwarves, elves, and gnomes. This is the world of Azeroth, a place where brave souls embark on epic quests to rid the world of evil and clash in titanic struggles with opposing factions. You, too, can come to Azeroth-daily, if you desire-to participate with millions of like-minded individuals as you explore the fantastic landscapes that await you. However, as you begin to immerse yourself in the ins and outs of this magical adventure, you discover a peculiar trend: the other-worldly fantasy-land of Azeroth bears striking parallels to the American workplace! Society in Azeroth is based on individual advancement, with each person jockeying for position in order to receive the best spells and items. A booming economy exists, where people can buy and sell their possessions. skills required to succeed in battle-especially while working with a team of allies-cannot be learned in any rulebook but must be absorbed on the job. To even participate with a successful team, one must submit an application and undergo a lengthy induction process! What kind of fantasy world would so closely resemble a job?Of course, the land of Azeroth is not an actual place but the setung of the game, World of Warcrafl (developed and distributed by Blizzard Entertainment), one of many Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) available on the Internet. MMORPGs are famous for their online communides that facilitate interaction between people in a virtual, fictional world. World of Warcraft, especially, fosters a high level of social interaction among its players-indeed, it is impossible to play the game without such interaction. However, as noted above, it is fascinating to observe how World of Warcraft (or WoW, to inductees) is part of a long tradition of games that generates an environment perfect for the development of folklore.FOLKLORE ON THE INTERNETIn today's changing environment of new, ever-faster methods of communication, modern folklorists must come to terms with their undeniable connection to today's number-one communication device-the Internet. By definition, the dissemination of requires interaction between individuals, and the so-called information superhighway of the Internet allows people to interact on an unprecedented rate from locations all around the world. However, despite this communications boom, some folklorists may be wary that mass devices such as the Internet compromise the integrity of by polluting it with the agenda of the institution that drives the device itself. Linda Degh, however, disagrees. The unites groups of common interest without physical proximity and supplies them with the proper information, the proper folklore, without hesitation, almost simultaneously with its actualization, she argues. The 'interference' of mass vehicles not only accelerates the process but also contributes to a numerical growth, indeed, a never-before-experienced inflation of folklore (1994:23-4). In Degh's view, such as the Internet helps, not hurts, the dissemination and authenticity of folklore. Mia Consalvo reminds us that the theory that such as World of Warcraft players were unquestioning 'groupies' of media is inherently flawed; indeed, researchers found that fans regularly take an active approach to interpreting texts (2003:68). Any text available online can be reshaped and adapted by interested parties in innumerable ways, and is often used to align itself with the center-value of the group, just like orally transmitted folklore.So if the Internet is indeed a vehicle for folklore, one would expect to find distinct folk groups therein. Players of MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft are obviously a group of Internet users, but are they truly folk? My assertion is that they are. Toelken's definition outlines folk as members of any group [that] interrelate on a high context level of attitude, reference, connotation, sense of meaning, and customary behavior (1996:58). …
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