My life as a night elf priest : an anthropological account of World of warcraft /
Nardi, Bonnie A.,
My life as a night elf priest : an anthropological account of World of warcraft / Bonnie A. Nardi. - 1 online resource. - Technologies of the imagination . - Technologies of the imagination. .
Includes bibliographical references and index.
What is World of warcraft and who plays it? -- An ethnographic invetigation of World of warcraft -- Play as aesthetic experience -- A new medium -- Work, play, and the magic circle -- Addiction -- Theorycraft and mods -- Gender -- Culture : WoW in China-and North America.
"World of Warcraft rapidly became one of the most popular online world games on the planet, amassing 11.5 million subscribers -- officially making it an online community of gamers that had more inhabitants than the state of Ohio and was almost twice as populous as Scotland. It's a massively multiplayer online game, or MMO in gamer jargon, where each person controls a single character inside a virtual world, interacting with other people's characters and computer-controlled monsters, quest-givers, and merchants. In My Life as a Night Elf Priest, Bonnie Nardi, a well-known ethnographer who has published extensively on how theories of what we do intersect with how we adopt and use technology, compiles more than three years of participatory research in Warcraft play and culture in the United States and China into this field study of player behavior and activity. She introduces us to her research strategy and the history, structure, and culture of Warcraft; argues for applying activity theory and theories of aesthetic experience to the study of gaming and play; and educates us on issues of gender, culture, and addiction as part of the play experience. Nardi paints a compelling portrait of what drives online gamers both in this country and in China, where she spent a month studying players in Internet cafes. Bonnie Nardi has given us a fresh look not only at World of Warcraft but at the field of game studies as a whole. One of the first in-depth studies of a game that has become an icon of digital culture, My Life as a Night Elf Priest will capture the interest of both the gamer and the ethnographer."--Print version back cover.
English.
9780472026715 0472026712 1282639137 9781282639133 9786612639135 661263913X 9780472900435 0472900439
99950023842 10.3998/toi.8008655.0001.001
57C7EBCA-AD58-418C-A553-32F6491010AA OverDrive, Inc. http://www.overdrive.com 22573/ctvnbphgb JSTOR
2020707025
World of Warcraft (Game)
Computer games--Social aspects.
Virtual reality--Social aspects.
Visual anthropology.
Computer games--Social aspects.
Social aspects.
Virtual reality--Social aspects.
Visual anthropology.
World of Warcraft (Game)
Role-playing, war games & fantasy sports.
Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography.
Virtual worlds.
SOCIAL SCIENCE.
Anthropology / Cultural.
GAMES--Fantasy Sports.
GAMES--Role Playing & Fantasy.
SOCIAL SCIENCE / General
Social Sciences.
Recreation & Sports.
Korea (South)--Social aspects.
Korea (South)
Electronic books.
Electronic books.
GV1469.25.W64
793.93
My life as a night elf priest : an anthropological account of World of warcraft / Bonnie A. Nardi. - 1 online resource. - Technologies of the imagination . - Technologies of the imagination. .
Includes bibliographical references and index.
What is World of warcraft and who plays it? -- An ethnographic invetigation of World of warcraft -- Play as aesthetic experience -- A new medium -- Work, play, and the magic circle -- Addiction -- Theorycraft and mods -- Gender -- Culture : WoW in China-and North America.
"World of Warcraft rapidly became one of the most popular online world games on the planet, amassing 11.5 million subscribers -- officially making it an online community of gamers that had more inhabitants than the state of Ohio and was almost twice as populous as Scotland. It's a massively multiplayer online game, or MMO in gamer jargon, where each person controls a single character inside a virtual world, interacting with other people's characters and computer-controlled monsters, quest-givers, and merchants. In My Life as a Night Elf Priest, Bonnie Nardi, a well-known ethnographer who has published extensively on how theories of what we do intersect with how we adopt and use technology, compiles more than three years of participatory research in Warcraft play and culture in the United States and China into this field study of player behavior and activity. She introduces us to her research strategy and the history, structure, and culture of Warcraft; argues for applying activity theory and theories of aesthetic experience to the study of gaming and play; and educates us on issues of gender, culture, and addiction as part of the play experience. Nardi paints a compelling portrait of what drives online gamers both in this country and in China, where she spent a month studying players in Internet cafes. Bonnie Nardi has given us a fresh look not only at World of Warcraft but at the field of game studies as a whole. One of the first in-depth studies of a game that has become an icon of digital culture, My Life as a Night Elf Priest will capture the interest of both the gamer and the ethnographer."--Print version back cover.
English.
9780472026715 0472026712 1282639137 9781282639133 9786612639135 661263913X 9780472900435 0472900439
99950023842 10.3998/toi.8008655.0001.001
57C7EBCA-AD58-418C-A553-32F6491010AA OverDrive, Inc. http://www.overdrive.com 22573/ctvnbphgb JSTOR
2020707025
World of Warcraft (Game)
Computer games--Social aspects.
Virtual reality--Social aspects.
Visual anthropology.
Computer games--Social aspects.
Social aspects.
Virtual reality--Social aspects.
Visual anthropology.
World of Warcraft (Game)
Role-playing, war games & fantasy sports.
Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography.
Virtual worlds.
SOCIAL SCIENCE.
Anthropology / Cultural.
GAMES--Fantasy Sports.
GAMES--Role Playing & Fantasy.
SOCIAL SCIENCE / General
Social Sciences.
Recreation & Sports.
Korea (South)--Social aspects.
Korea (South)
Electronic books.
Electronic books.
GV1469.25.W64
793.93