What makes an orc? Racial cosmos and emergent narrative in World of Warcraft

Joseph Packer

doi:10.1177/1555412013512420

What makes an orc? Racial cosmos and emergent narrative in World of Warcraft

Joseph Packer

Communication

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

6 Scopus citations

Abstract

This article offers a new method of reading racial narrative in massive multiplayer online games. Rather than looking to the game text or the behaviors of individual players, it focuses on collective emergent behavior and demographics. From this perspective, the various racial group in World of Warcraft (WoW) take on their on unique characteristics that inform the broader WoW narrative. These differences result from the collective playing decisions of millions of gamers, influenced by the text, and also popular culture, game mechanics, and innumerable other factors.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	83-101
Number of pages	19
Journal	Games and Culture
Volume	9
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412013512420
State	Published - Mar 2014

Keywords

World of Warcraft
cosmos
emergence
massive multiplayer online games
narrative
race
spontaneous order

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10.1177/1555412013512420

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abstract = "This article offers a new method of reading racial narrative in massive multiplayer online games. Rather than looking to the game text or the behaviors of individual players, it focuses on collective emergent behavior and demographics. From this perspective, the various racial group in World of Warcraft (WoW) take on their on unique characteristics that inform the broader WoW narrative. These differences result from the collective playing decisions of millions of gamers, influenced by the text, and also popular culture, game mechanics, and innumerable other factors.",

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N2 - This article offers a new method of reading racial narrative in massive multiplayer online games. Rather than looking to the game text or the behaviors of individual players, it focuses on collective emergent behavior and demographics. From this perspective, the various racial group in World of Warcraft (WoW) take on their on unique characteristics that inform the broader WoW narrative. These differences result from the collective playing decisions of millions of gamers, influenced by the text, and also popular culture, game mechanics, and innumerable other factors.

AB - This article offers a new method of reading racial narrative in massive multiplayer online games. Rather than looking to the game text or the behaviors of individual players, it focuses on collective emergent behavior and demographics. From this perspective, the various racial group in World of Warcraft (WoW) take on their on unique characteristics that inform the broader WoW narrative. These differences result from the collective playing decisions of millions of gamers, influenced by the text, and also popular culture, game mechanics, and innumerable other factors.

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KW - narrative

KW - race

KW - spontaneous order

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What makes an orc? Racial cosmos and emergent narrative in World of Warcraft

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Keywords

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