The Effort of Being in a Fictional World: Upkeyings and Laminated Frames in MMORPGs

Abstract

On the basis of ten months of fieldwork studying a role‐playing guild in the game World of Warcraft, this article shows that contrary to the idea that virtual worlds are seductive illusions, technology does not necessarily support players' feelings of being immersed in fictional worlds. Applying Goffman's frame theory, the author explains how role‐players in the game actively upkey elements from primary frameworks in order to create and uphold the frame of being in a fictional world. This kind of narrative immersion is rather hindered than facilitated by technology.

Walter Benjamin on the Video Screen: Storytelling and Game Narratives

“…But, in all cases, for these virtual realities to be effective, they have to provide an experience of immersion. There are well-known enemies to immersion-games that are too easy or too difficult readily lose players who grow bored or frustrated and many games require strenuous effort from players wishing to occupy the fictional world (Linderoth 2012). Ultimately, I suggest that Benjamin's storytelling model offers a potentially powerful model for the development of effective storytelling games that offer players not just information, but counsel-and, because of this, Benjamin's classic essay is a useful resource for game designers and writers who strive to produce meaningful experiences in new media.…”

Embracing social media for educational linguistic activities

“…Even if participants do not know who will view the interaction online, they frame the interaction by acknowledging 'a more specific conception of [the] audience than 'anyone' to choose the language, cultural referents, style, and so on' (Marwick & Boyd, 2011, p. 115). Although previously the concept of frame analysis has been mainly considered for face-to-face contexts, quite a few scholars now utilise this approach for analysing online interaction (e.g., Boyd, 2008;Linderoth, 2012;Lantz-Andersson, 2015;Lantz-Andersson et al, 2013;Pietraß, 2009, Rosenberg & Egbert, 2011Vigmo & Lantz-Andersson, 2014;Ytreberg, 2002). In line with this, frame analysis is employed in this study for exploring the characteristics of social media interaction and the relationship between authors and audiences.…”

Manipulation in Board Game Interactions: Being a Sporting Player

“…However, few studies have investigated how games function as games for the players, during live gaming. The main exceptions are studies of participant orientations to rule use (Kew ; Liberman ), and management of roles in role‐play games (Linderoth ; Waskul and Lust ). These latter are especially relevant for this study, as game rules ostensibly exist to manufacture fairness, and yet the studies found that players frequently treat rules as flexible and changeable according to the desires of the players in that sitting.…”

“…Frame analysis (Goffman ), for instance, has limits when analyzing real interactions that cannot be paused and examined. While players report “taking on the role of the other” (e.g., in chess, Puddephatt , and in role‐playing, Waskul and Lust )—which is especially relevant for attributions of manipulation as in this paper—how that is achieved and negotiated in situ through the interaction requires far more attention and detailed analysis (the closest to examining this is in online role‐playing adventure, Linderoth ).…”