The Virtual World: A comparison of virtual and consumer culture

oai:ojs.openjournal.cc.umanitoba.ca:article/19Video games have become a form of entertainment rivalling and surpassing other forms of electronic media such as television, movies, and radio. The difference between games and other electronic media however, is that video games are an active media and the player participates and interacts with the device. In the Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) game World of Warcraft (WOW) players are no longer simply interacting with a virtual environment, they are interacting within a distinct virtual community comprised of thousands of players within the same “world” environment. Through the virtual rewards and systemic setup of these communities a distinct virtual culture has emerged, with unique values, beliefs, and ways of interacting. This paper will look comparatively at aspects of this the virtual culture within the “world” of WOW and their relation to the more traditional or “real” consumer culture, ranging from the results of systemic design to the functionality and social role of small groups of players.ÂÂ