Overview

Objectives and Motivations

My history in gaming began at an early age. As I matured, my interests progressed from playing on consoles to online games; and eventually MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games). As soon as I began playing, I was absolutely captivated by the complexity of the gameplay and particularly enthralled by community formed from social networking between players.

The MMORPG industry is currently booming and pouring billions of dollars into the world economy. Its popularity is rising at a significant rate, with new subscribers entering this virtual reality daily. With the recent and most successful MMORPG, World of Warcraft - which has over six million players extending to all parts of the globe, MMORPG communities are accelerating at an alarming rate. Due to the fact that there are millions of players online and engaged at any given time, a myriad of interrelationships are formed through intricate interactions during gameplay.

After immersing myself in two MMORPGs (Final Fantasty XI Online and World of Warcraft) over the last few years and experiencing what this genre of game entails first-hand, I decided that doing my research project on this particular subject would not only have my upmost interest, but also be relevant to me personally and answer the inquiries I, along with many others, may have.

Project Statement and Methodology

This research topic will focus on global social collaboration and the formation of elaborate and complex relationships within a MMORPG. The data on this website is reflective of the research journals written by renown academic scholars on this particular field of study. The benefits of the networks of interrelationships and its effects on the individuals will be examined. Moreover, it will explore whether or not there are any pitfalls in associating with this type of social interaction. This project will suggest improvements to the in-game social infrastructure.

Hypothesis

People from throughout all parts of the world use the online gaming community formed within a MMORPG as a medium to create a network of multifarious relationships. Thereby, skills and characteristics acquired and enhanced in-game can be applied to the real world.