Ethnography Assignments: Autoethnography of Gaming (EA3: MMO Project) World Of Warcraft
Discipline:
– Computer Science
Type of service:
Term Paper
Spacing:
Double spacing
Paper format:
APA
Number of pages:
3 pages
Number of sources:
1 source
Paper details:
REMINDERS REGARDING REQUIREMENTS: Approximately 1000 words. Data: The assignment must use (3 minimum) pictures and/or chatlogs from your own play, with detailed descriptions/explanations (make sure you contextualize each). You must cite (paraphrase or quote directly) at least one author we have read who has talked about this or something similar. It’s best to be absolutely obvious about both the focus of your assignment (the question and answer) and the readings you are engaging; make this information clear/obvious. Remember that the best grades will be given for assignments that follow instructions, contain lively narration and attention to detail, correctly employ citations and effectively use of concepts (rather than events/definitions) from readings, support analysis with good data from your own experience, and offer evidence of care and creativity/verve. None of these things can be faked. In short: answer a question using evidence from course readings and your own experience playing your MMO. Lastly, some of these topics are covered in readings late in the semester . . . so have a look at the list early and if you’re interested in a topic that comes late in the semester, do those readings early so you can get some context for the assignment.
A.Forum discussions and other game related web pages: One characteristic of “worldness” according to Klastrup and others is that other online environments are important to game play (which Taylor and Nardi also discuss). The fact that most gamers will have multiple windows open during play is sometimes called “augmented play.” There are web sites that have walk-throughs, discussions of lore, and forum discussions of specific aspects of the game. Sometimes these will be hosted by a player guild, others will be hosted by the company; there may also be a wiki page (or several). One way to approach this material would be as follows: Go to forums for your game (open access forums only) and try to see what kinds of things players are talking about there. Find at least three different forum discussions, and try to discover what the topic of each discussion is and provide actual quotations from different participants. How/why are they using the forums? How do the forums intersect and affect the game?
