Restorative Magical Adventure or Warcrack?: Motivated MMO Play and the Pleasures and Perils of Online Experience

dc.contributor.authorSnodgrass, Jeffrey G.
dc.contributor.authorDengah, H.J. Francois II
dc.contributor.authorLacy, Michael G.
dc.contributor.authorFagan, Jesse
dc.contributor.authorMost, David
dc.contributor.authorBlank, Michael
dc.contributor.authorHoward, Lahoma
dc.contributor.authorKershner, Chad R.
dc.contributor.authorKrambeer, Gregory
dc.contributor.authorLeavitt-Reynolds, Alissa
dc.contributor.authorReynolds, Adam
dc.contributor.authorVyvial-Larson, Jessica
dc.contributor.authorWhaley, Josh
dc.contributor.authorWintersteen, Benjamin
dc.date.accessioned2011-06-06T18:49:07Z
dc.date.available2011-06-06T18:49:07Z
dc.date.issued2012-01
dc.description.abstractCombining perspectives from the new science of happiness with discussions regarding “problematic” and “addictive” play in multiplayer online games, we examine how player motivations pattern both positive and negative gaming experiences. Specifically, using ethnographic interviews and a survey, we explore the utility of Yee’s (2007) 3-factor motivational framework for explaining the positive or negative quality of experiences in the popular online game World of Warcraft. We find that playing to Achieve is strongly associated with distressful play, results that support findings from other studies. By contrast, Social and Immersion play lead more typically to positive gaming experiences, conclusions diverging from those frequently reported in the literature. Overall, we suggest that paying attention to the positive as well as negative dimensions of inhabiting these online worlds will both provide both for more balanced portraits of gamers’ experiences and also potentially clarify pathways toward problematic and addictive play.
dc.format.extent39 pages
dc.identifier.citationGames and Culture, 7(1)
dc.identifier.issn1555-4120
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10524/11907
dc.language.isoen-US
dc.publisherSAGE
dc.relation.urihttp://gac.sagepub.com/
dc.rights© The Author(s)
dc.subjectmassively multi-player online games (MMOG)
dc.subjectWorld of Warcraft
dc.subjectmotivation
dc.subjecthappiness
dc.subjectInternet addiction
dc.subject.lcshEthnology
dc.titleRestorative Magical Adventure or Warcrack?: Motivated MMO Play and the Pleasures and Perils of Online Experience
dc.typeArticle
dc.type.dcmiText

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