Analysis

Over the course of this project I attempted to find answers to questions that I had about World of Warcraft. I wanted to know if it was possible for people to interact with one another on World of Warcraft and still build meaningful relationships even though they were not physically interacting with one another. I wanted to know if playing World of Warcraft was a rejection of our society for something that was virtual and fabricated. Using several sources of materials ranging from blogs to actual game play, I believe that I have found answers to these questions. World of Warcraft is a phenomena. The reason why people play World of Warcraft so passionately is because World of Warcraft is an extension of our society, and not a rejection of it. World of Warcraft is a medium that allows millions of people to interact with one another at any given point in time. The fact that avatars have fantastical abilities like sorcery or flight, have little bearing on the actual relationships that develop amongst people who play World of Warcraft together. My collection of research and my own personal experiences with World of Warcraft reinforce the notion that all of our interactions with one another are mediated in some way. The World of Warcraft community is just another form of mediation in our society that happens to take place over the internet.
World of Warcraft is the most popular massively multiplayer online game in history, and that is because it encourages interaction. Players are able to achieve more when they work together, as opposed to working alone. One gamer wrote, “World of Warcraft is revolutionary because it is one of the only places in existence that allows one person to interact with any one of 15 million people. I can’t even do that in some of the largest cities in the world.” This quote is possible because there are actually meaningful interactions occurring on the World of Warcraft server. Although the gamers are interacting with avatars, there is a person controlling that avatar. People on World of Warcraft associate people to their avatar. The reputation and the perception of the person controlling the avatar to the World of Warcraft community are based on how the gamer conducts themselves in the game. If a gamer has a bad attitude than other gamers will be less likely to interact with them, which is similar to interactions that take place in our physical realm. The interactions that take place on World of Warcraft are just like our own. People with bad attitudes tend not to have too many friends in our physical realm as well because there are societal norms that dictate how someone should behave.
World of Warcraft gives people the opportunity to act out their imaginations actively. A 50 year old man could be an ogre that specializes in hunting and be best friends “in game”, with a 12 year old boy whose avatar is an undead that specializes in fighting. Although the two people are not interacting with one another face to face, they are still having interactions. They are still able to converse with one another and share their thoughts about the game or life in general. “Although World of Warcraft has the visual style of a cartoon, it is a game that people of any age can enjoy. All age groups play it, from children to seniors. This leads to an interesting online environment, as younger players interact with older gamers. It is a real mix of people, as children and teenagers share the game’s world with twenty year olds and more mature, middle-aged players and older. It is a friendly, lively environment and tends to be good-natured and welcoming.” (Crowell) This quote shows that when gamers interact with Azeroth, the World of Warcraft home world, they are interacting with one another. It is not uncommon to see avatar parties or avatar weddings. While reading the various blogs about World of Warcraft on the internet, one could vividly see a sense of camaraderie. The authors of these blogs were eager to share their wealth of knowledge with anyone would wanted to know. I do not believe that people would care so much if something real was not occurring while people played World of Warcraft.
Over the course of my research the theme of addiction also arose. It is not uncommon for gamers to play 30-50 hours a week of World of Warcraft. I met one gamer that stated when World of Warcraft first came out he played 120 days worth of World of Warcraft in a calendar year. The gamer played so much that he actually developed tangible relationships with other gamers in his guild and considered them his friends. In one of the youtube videos titled "World of Warcraft game addiction documentary: Game OVERdose", one gamer comments that one plays World of Warcraft actively because they have developed lives on the server. If the gamer does not play a certain amount of hours a day, than he or she won't have the ability to interact with their guild members and lose their skills. World of Warcraft provides entertainment value and social value. World of Warcraft is a game that continues infinitely, which opens up a realm of possibilities for those who play it.

There are certain aspects of the World of Warcraft game, which lead to the development of strong relationships. When a player becomes more advanced in the game, they have the opportunity to join guilds. Guilds allow gamers to interact with one another and get items that they need to continue their success in the game. There are many different types of guilds on the World of Warcraft server and they have different themes, which correspond to the interests of the members of the guild. From my limited interaction with a guild run by a friend, I was able to discern that there was a strong bond between the members. The members of this particular guild raided together and shared the frusturations about life in general. They talked about everything from leveling up tips to not being able to pay the rent on time. It was obvious that I was a outsider to their social circle. The guild leader told me that everyone in the guild trusted one another because when it came to raid they needed to trust in each other's abilities to get the job done. Being in a guild was similar to being in a fraternity or very close group of friends, but the only difference is the way in which the people are interacting with one another.

My own personal experience with World of Warcraft furthered my findings about the social interactions that occur through World of Warcraft. I was new to the world and I had to interact with people in order to get information. It was almost impossible to be antisocial. I could see some of the people that I interacted with during my short time on World of Warcraft actually being my friends in this physical realm. My own experience showed me that there is a blurry line between what we perceive as reality and virtual reality. Descartes said "I think, therefore I am." The ability to think allows us to exist, that is our reality. At the same time we think about our avatars and create them out of our own imaginations, so doesn't that make them real?

World of Warcraft is a medium that allows people to interact with one another and build relationships. The fact that the interactions take place over virtual reality do not belittle the interactions. My evidence suggests that people can indeed have meaningful interactions through World of Warcraft because it is ultimately just another form of media. It is possible for people to build relationships through World of Warcraft because they are still interacting with actual people on the other side of the computer. The World of Warcraft community is a fascinating subculture that shows what happens when imagination and the means to express that imagination collide.