The link to key entry:Computer Games - Ethics
Name: Chang I-Jung (Allen) Taiwan Taipei
About me: I am taking Mass communication and majoring in Advertising and Media and communication. I was doing aeronautical engineering in University of Sydney last year and transfored to QUT in the second semester.
Eladhari, M. 2003. Trends in MMOG development. http://www.game-research.com/art_trends_in_mmog.asp (accessed August 6, 2005)
The article provides the result of the author’s research on Massively Multiplayer Online Games. Eladhari, the author, illustrates some trends of MMOG after he conducted an ethnographic research in the MMOG. For example, Eladhari points out the main feature of the MMOG in which it enables hundreds or thousands of players to interactit in a very big 3D environment at the same time. In addition, Eladhari also shows his point of view about genre trend of the MMOG and compares MMOG to other type of computer games. On the other hand, he states that new communities in the MMOG is a result of cluster of various identities and freedom of acting differently.
--Chang I-Jung 23:02, 11 Aug 2005 (EST)
Humphreys, S. 2005. Productive players: Online computer games’ challenge to conventional media forms. Journal of Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies. 2 (1): 36-50.
The article is using EverQuest, a Massive Multiplayer online game, as a case study to explore the interactive relationships about developer and player in MMOG. The author first illustrates the online multiplayer game has created a social relationships and community networks. Although the player of the EverQuest do not actually have physical contact with one another, the player use the multiple chat channels to group with others people in the same server for exchanging information or even selling valuable items to other players. Then, the author turns to a point that the players are productive in which the players are actually creators of the EverQuest. Because the game is animated by player contributions such as time and money they have invested. According to the point, Humphreys raises an intellectual property issue in the case of the EverQuest. She argues that the copyright law seems to advantage developers of the game instead of the actual creators as the game players do not have the ownership of the EverQuest. Therefore, she does not tink the intellectual property and copyright should be applied in the play created content game.
--Chang I-Jung 23:02, 11 Aug 2005 (EST)
Jakobsson, M. and T.L. Taylor. 2003. Ezine. Social Networking in Massively Multiplayer Online Games. http://www.fineartforum.org/Backissues/Vol_17/faf_v17_n08/reviews/jakobsson.html
(accessed August 9, 2005)
The article illustrates that the social interaction has been playing an important role in massive multiplayer online game. The authors use EverQuest as a case study to show how the friendships between gamers work. The authors’s point of ivew is that there is similarities of social interaction occurring in both really world and visual space. They argue that the fundamental social network in the MMOG is based on human players rather than various characters played in the game. Moreover, a community is formed when an individual groups with others. Like any other communities in the real world, each group has basic hierarchical structure such as leadership. Among different groups, there are also three different important components of social system including trust, reputation and responsibility.
--Chang I-Jung 15:54, 8 Aug 2005 (EST
Friedl, M. 2003. Online Game Interactivity Theory. Massachusetts: Charles River Media, ISBN 1-58450215-0
As the title of the book implies, this book is focus on interactivity of the massive multiplayer online game in which the game is thought of as a combination of various cultures and age groups. On the other hand, the author is also aiming to guide readers through the process of creating multiplayer online games instead of teaching the readers how to program a MMOG. Basically, the content includes a discussion of the importance of understanding online game media and its unique characteristics. Furthermore, there is also a discussion of main differences between single player computer games and multiplayer online games.
--Chang I-Jung 22:43, 6 Aug 2005 (EST)
Moltenbrey, K. 2002. Gaming for the messes. Computer Graphics World, 25 (3): 12-17.
The article gives an introduction to Massive Multiplayer Online games evolution. The author divides the history of the development of the MMOG into three different eras. The first era was when the MMOG was just introduced twenty years ago. At the time the MMOG was called Multi-User Dimension (MUD) which was a text-based online game. The second ear was when the MMOG became more attractive to game players as a result of improvement of information technologies. The introduced of 3D graphic cards and 3D graphics engines has enhanced the capacity of displaying better visual effects and enables players to play in 3D environment. The third era of the MMOG is what people experience today. As the technology has made the MMOG a lot more fun and has made the games look more lifelike, the demand from game players for the MMOG are increasing.
--Chang I-Jung 01:19, 7 Aug 2005 (EST)
Carter, G. 2002. Adrenaline Vault. It's My Time and I'll Sell if I Want To. http://www.avault.com/articles/getarticle.asp?name=mmogsell (accessed August 7, 2005)
The article is focusing on who should own what is created in MMOG.
Carter, the author, uses Blacksnow, a company selling Camelot(MMOG) Online items for real world money, and Mythic Entertainment, the creator of Camelot, as case study. Carter argues that Mythic should not sue Blacksnow for stoping Blacksnow from selling Mythic’s virtual property. He thinks that the players should have right to decide whether to sell the products of their own time as the content of the MMOG is created by players investing huge amount of time. Moreover, Carter also argues that the meaning of ownership for the MMOG has been misconstrued and thinks that the gamers should be concerned that Mythic is actually claiming their virtual property legally belongs to them by using the end user license agreement to strip their rights.
--Chang I-Jung 02:26, 8 Aug 2005 (EST)
Fine, R. 2004. MMOG considerations. http://www.gamedev.net/reference/articles/article2100.asp (accessed August 7, 2005)
The article provides some important issues for people who are considering about creating a Massive Multiplayer Online Game. The issues include connection issues, operating platform issues, technology issues and business issues. By talking about the issues, the author indirectly illustrates some unique features of MMOG such as freedom of the game and the possibility of forming new community. The author also points out some potential problems in very detail which will be faced by both players and developers. Security, for example, would be one of an important issues. Not only the developers may need to prevent some malicious players from taking down the game server, but players may need to be aware of the possibility that their personal registed information may fall into the hands of others’.
--Chang I-Jung 22:39, 6 Aug 2005 (EST)
Burke, T. 2004. Play of State: Sovereignty and Governance in MMOGs. http://weblogs.swarthmore.edu/burke/?page_id=32 (accessed August 8, 2005)
The article is giving a comprehensive analysis about the role of developer and game players in Massive Multiplayer Online Game. The author defines the developer as natural holder of sovereignty over the gameworld. Like the official authority in the real world, the developers act as state and have right to set up law and govern the communities formed by players. For the reason, author argues that the use of intellectual property law is not appropriate in the virtual world and the content of the MMOG should belong to the players. Moreover, he defines the players as governor as some players are actually being given tools which allow them to structure and organize their own associational life. The most well known player governance in MMOGs is guilds (group leaders).
--Chang I-Jung 22:54, 8 Aug 2005 (EST)
Taylor, T. L. Unruly Play, History Lessons, and a Call for Non-Dichotomous Models. http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:Ndlx7QF2bJUJ:www.nyls.edu/docs/taylor-sopiiv3.pdf+MMOG+social+issue&hl=zh-TW (accessed August 9, 2005)
The article is focusing on the discussion of players’ social relationship in MMOG. Taylor, the author, illustrates that there is unruly nature of culture in the gameworld as the players have different identities from who they really are in the real world. He says the differences between online and off line lives do not seem to be strange to the players. Because they have integrated the social network in the MMOG into their everyday lives. Furthermore, the author states that there is a server culture in the MMOG in which the players are productive and unpaid labor working for their own sever. In addition, Taylor illustrates that the rules in the MMOG are often ambiguous and contradictory to the players as the rules are more likely to be influenced by everything from personal gaming histories to different server cultures.
--Chang I-Jung 01:25, 9 Aug 2005 (EST)
Taylor, T. L. 2004. The social design of virtual worlds: constructing the user and community through code.
http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:Vm7KBauvdagJ:www.itu.dk/~tltaylor/papers/Taylor-SocialDesign.pdf+MMOG+social+issue&hl=zh-TW (accessed August 10, 2005)
The article is to discover how people’s lives would be constructed in the virtual world. The author points out that unlike the structure of offline life which is made up by something people can see, the structure of online life is made up by digital code, such as one and zero. The author says that programmer is a god in the digital space as he or she has power to decide how will the virtual space look like. In addition, the author illustrates that space in MMOG is also constructed in a manner that the programmer has to think about almost everything such as politics, visual design and social networks for the players. Therefore, although the players are able to build their own community and create the content in the MMOG, they do not have power to modify the existing digital code.
--Chang I-Jung 01:28, 10 Aug 2005 (EST)
Squire, K. D. 2004. Generating Cyber Cultures: The Case of Star Wars Galaxies. http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:0gAkO2s0p68J:website.education.wisc.edu/kdsquire/manuscripts/squire-steinkuehler-final.rtf+MMOG+social+issue&hl=z-TW
(accessed August 10, 2005)
The article uses Massive Multiplayer Online Game Star Wars Galaxies as a case study to highlight aspects of the culture of gaming within the digital space. The author says that the Star Wars Galaxies is not just an online multiplayer game, it is also a designed world where new culture exists. Cultures in the game always arise at the intersection of several complexly interrelated factors such as communicating on the small text window, grouping, trading and battling with other players. In addition, the author states that in the MMOG world one unique thing about the culture is the use of new forms of language. For example, hundreds of new terminologies have been introduced in order to facilitate the game. Moreover, the author also points out that players’ behaviors consist of acting and interacting. Understanding players’behaviors in the game is the way to know how the MMOG culture form.
--Chang I-Jung 16:22, 10 Aug 2005 (EST)
Palm, T. 2003. Gamasutra. The birth of the mobile MMOG. http://www.gamasutra.com/resource_guide/20030916/palm_pfv.htm (accessed August 10, 2005)
The article provides the comprehensive analysis about the possibility of the mobile MMOG which is also called 3MOG. Palm, the author, states that as the mobile devices have had internet connected function, they have been able to work as platforms for multiplayer games. However, Palm argues that the development of the mobile technology is still not mature enough running interactive game properly. He believes that although three mobile MMOGs have been released, programmers will still have to face some challenges before the mobile MMOG becomes really successful. The challenges include overcoming problems of hardware and software. Besides those challenges, Palm’s attitude towards mobile MMOG is not always negative while he also illustrates some advantages of mobile MMOG compared to MMOG in PC.
--Chang I-Jung 18:56, 10 Aug 2005 (EST)
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