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UCI to dissect ‘World of Warcraft’ in new book
March 30th, 2009, 3:00 am · 16 Comments · posted by Gary Robbins, science writer-editor
image courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment
All those hours — days, really — that UC Irvine anthropologist and informatics professor Bonnie Nardi has spent exploring the different ways that Americans and the Chinese use and play the computer game “World of Warcraft” has provided fodder for an upcoming book.
Nardi, a hardcore WoW fan, says she’s writing a book titled, “My Life as a Night Elf Priest: An Anthropological account of World of Warcraft.” The book “explores ideas about play, and how digital technology shapes play. It will be awhile before it’s out — I hae one more major round of revisions,” she says.
Last year, the National Science Foundation awarded Nardi $100,000 to study why Americans go to greater lengths than the Chinese to modify WoW, the multi-player game produced by Blizzard Entertainment in Irvine. (Read story). The story set off quite a debate about the cultural differences of game playing.
UCI anthropologist Bonnie Nardi
Nardi has spent a lot of time at Internet cafes and other spots in Beijing and other parts of China studying how the Chinese play WoW, which have more than 5 million players worldwide. She is a widely published author, having written or co-written such books as, “Information Ecologies: Using Technology with Heart.”
She’s also published research on WoW. In one study, says a campus release, (Nardi and co-author Justin Harris, a former graduate student in informatics, published a study called “Strangers and Friends: Collaborative Play in World of Warcraft” challenging the notion that the Internet leads to isolation. Through face-to-face interviews with players, they found the Internet breaks down barriers between strangers and encourages collaboration with those outside one’s usual economic and social realm.
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What do you think can be learned, culturally, by studying the way Americans and Chinese play WoW?
That Jane Goodall is right.
Nerds!!!
Can I get $100,000 to travel between the US and China simply to watch others play a game.
http://www.nsf.gov/
Our tax dollars at work
Apparently looking for a cure to cancer was too easy…sooo we study nerds and the games that they play. Talk about a waste of time and money. I’m a WoW fan myself, but really? A book? Did Blizzard pay you under the table for the media and marketing? Come on, seriously, with your credentials you couldn’t find anything to better society?! What’s next? The sequel? My life as a Blood Elf….geez. I can’t believe sucker….errrr…I mean people pay you to do this research and publications. Apparently they couldn’t find anything better to invest in either. (or were just too lazy) Kudos and best of luck with the book I guess…
One word…UNPLUG!!…LOL
Cutspending: You use the word nerds like it’s a bad thing. It was “nerds” who invented the pharmaceutical drugs we take, and modern aircraft, and the Internet. You know, things like that.
Ok Im gonna write my book titled “My life as a Nerfed Gnome Rogue” Hey Gary your wrong. It is the Geeks that did all that not nerds. I’ll send you a free copy of my book LMAO
Blizzard’s Diablo was always my preference, it was the crack of Korea for a few years, 100,000’s on line at all times. As to the popularity of these MMPORGS it is apparent ppl are less creative in discerning dragons and fight virtual ones instead.
It’ll be amazing to see what this book comes up with. It will also be interesting to see how different players of different culture play the game specially given that WoW is heavily censored in China.
Wow, look at all the hate. People just like the previous posters also criticised Galileo and Tesla for the SAME reasons (’No use for a moon’, and ‘we already have a light bulb!’) Fact is, NSF>You and your silly comments. This might prove to be valuable research in a modern age; who are you to say otherwise? Good luck, Bonnie!
Typical of the way the ex- Info & Computer Science
dept has decayed under Dean Richardson.
What a waste.
Major Variola: The ranking of UCI’s ICS program has risen under Richardson, not declined.
Occhiefs: Geeks, nerds. You say tomatto, I say tomatoe
The study of societal differences at the micro level is important for understanding macrosocietal issues: both cause and effect. I find Nardi’s results very interesting. If indeed US players customize their games more than Chinese, this could identify why the US still leads in number of patents per capita as well as cutting edge technologies. In particular, if Nardi’s results indicate that Chinese society is stiffling their desire to be creative, then the specific causes are factors the US should avoid. More importantly, what societal features drives the US players to be unique and creative? Understanding these factors can help the US maintain a strong economy and attempt to regain its leadership in Science and Technology.
A minor disclaimer, I am a PhD physicist, not a psychologist; but, I spend a significant amount of time advising US Government on international policy issues.
Interesting, I never even stopped to consider the differences in how different cultures play WOW. That must have been a fun project to undertake and determine those differences at the same time as meeting and interacting with WOW players across the ocean!
Hmm… WHO CARES!!!!!!!!!