GLS 2008 - An Elf, A Knight, And A Princess...

What an awesome fireside chat!  Hayes, Phipps, and Steinkuehler discussed their experiences as guildmates over the course of the past seven years playing Lineage, Lineage 2, and World of Warcraft.  It was very interesting to hear a discussion of many of the social issues I’ve encountered as a guild leader over the past eight years.  There are truly some fascinating social issues that arise in a virtual, somewhat anonymous environment like the ones you find in MMO’s.  I found the discussion of community-maintained ethical/moral norms, in game, particularly interesting especially when comparing the social systems that grew up in Lineage (in many regards similar to my experiences in Dark Age of Camelot) versus those that have arisen in World of Warcraft.  The social dynamic of MMO’s has clearly changed.  The discussion of how we perceive individuals based on our online experiences with them and how that changes when we hear their voice with a voice-com. system like Ventrilo or even more dramatically should we meet them in real life was also intriguing.

The education implications for these issues are equally fascinating.

-Lucas