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Guild Leaders as Cognitive Resources in MMOGs

Explore the cognitive aspects of guild leaders in MMOGs, emphasizing distributed cognition and collaborative problem-solving. Learn the relevance of social and material factors in MMOG communities.

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Guild Leaders as Cognitive Resources in MMOGs

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  1. MMOG Guild Leaders as a Com/Dev Resource(with a preamble on cognition in MMOGs) Constance A. Steinkuehler University of Wisconsin–Madison

  2. Traditional Cognitive Science • Study of philosophical questions using scientific methods • Posits a level of analysis wholly separate from the biological or neurological • Mind-as-computer as dominant metaphor • Preoccupation with mental representation • Preoccupation with computer models of cognition • Deliberate decision tode-emphasize certain factorsthat may be important but complicate things • context • tools / artifacts • language • body • culture / history • affect

  3. Humans vs. Computers Similarities Differences

  4. Cognition is context, not cognition in context Humans vs. Computers

  5. Uhoh… need new model • Human dependency on context allows forlearning & adaptationto take place • The ‘problems’ with memory allow us to think ofnovel solutionsto problems • Information is indifferent to meaning • Hence… emphasis speciously shifted from construction of meaning to processing of information • Whoops… what got left out matters • context – memory, processing context-dependent • tools / artifacts – extended cognition • language – inherently social semiotic system • body – embodiment theory, metaphors • culture / history – mind is inherently social • affect – reason breaks down without of emotion

  6. Distributed Cognition • Cognition is (inter)action in the social & material world • Cognition is “a complex social phenomenon…distributed — stretched over, not divided among — mind, body, activity and culturally organized settings(which include other actors)” (Lave, 1988) • Unit of analysis = intact activity systems… • Individual person • Social relationships • Physical and temporal contexts • Symbolic & material resources • Historical change • Activity Systems as Discourses – ways we humans integrate language with non-languages stuff so as to enact & recognize different identities & activities, give the world certain meanings, make certain sorts of meaningful connections in our experience, etc. (Gee)

  7. So why studyMMOGs?

  8. They are rich sites of distributed social & material cognition. Socially & materially distributed cognition

  9. Collaborative Problem Solving Complex collaborative problem-solving.

  10. Multiple Attention Spaces  Across multiple attention spaces.(Lemke, nd)

  11. Where meaning is negotiated… Negotiation of Meaning

  12. Within comm.of practice Within / across emergent communities of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991)

  13. With rich systems of peer apprenticeship & enculturation. Apprenticeship & Enculturation

  14. Overview of Research • Theoretical perspective • Socially / materially distributed cognition • Discourse theory (Gee,1999) • Research Questions • What are the cognitivepractices of MMOGaming? • What does it mean to be literate in this activity space? • How does one become a member of this community? • What import does participation have for the situated (on- and off-screen) identities of its members? • Context: Lineage I & II (swg, eq)  • Method: Virtual Cognitive Ethnography

  15. Virtual Cognitive Ethnography • Primary Data Sources • Participant Observations (video/audio data) • Ethnographic Fieldnotes • Individual Case Studies • Interviews with Informants • Collection of Community Documents • Fieldwork To Date • Princess Adeleide, LegendsOfAden Blood Pledge Lineage I: 19 months, ~10-50hrs/week • Lineage II: 2 months, ~10-50hrs/week • 30+ formal/informal informants • Employ cognitive methodologies 

  16. Interpersonal talk • Virtual material activity • Personal state change Directed GraphArticulates the temporal interconnections among categories of talk/activities e.g. pledge hunt

  17. Think Aloud Protocols

  18. Repertory Grid Interviews Knowledge Elicitation Phase • Elicit elements • Present elements in random triads in order toelicit dimensions of similarity/difference Rating Grid Phase

  19. Discourse Analysis Away from keys got to go to Elven Forest to regenerate no mana pots Just a sec. I’m out of mana potions. I have to go to the Eleven Forest to regenerate. Account(Interpersonal) Request(Interpersonal) Construal of events (Ideational) Acknowledges the intact activity structure Coordinates the other participants who remain Displays community standing as ‘beta vet’ Identity Shared values & activities • afk g2g too ef ot regen no poms

  20. What the devil does this have to do with guild leaders?!

  21. Admin Advertising/PR Data Analyst Content Generator Unpaid GM *cough babysitter cough* Guild Leader Activities • Sort tons of mail • Attend meetings • Maintain massive website • Monitor online discussions . • Kiss booboos • Recognize achievement . • Monitor members stats/participation  • Monitor pledge taxes / armory  • Schedule pledge events  • Create / maintain alliances • Record pledge history  • Plot dramas & stories • Augment identity scheme  • Settle pledge disputes • Reprimand & reward .

  22. Reconceptualizing the Princess • Guild leaders are a hybrid between developers & normal gamers • IF MMOGs 20% designed material world 80% emergent social world • THEN guild leaders are crucial to what constitutes the very nature of gameplay • Hubs in a social network, structure that 80% • Core role in enculturation into game • Cognitively complex transmedia gameplay • Often function w/little designed-in support • Tools to support web content & metagaming • Access to data on members, participation patterns • Tools for generating narrative/activity content

  23. Final Note on the Fear of User Generated Content… “A big hurdle is going to be getting the large companies to surrender their fear of user-generated content. Right now, everyone is terrified of it for legal reasons and for customer support reasons. But the entire premise of the Internet is distributed, user-generated content. I see it as inevitable that this become the dominant form of online world. A big question, though, is how one makes money off of it. 90% of everything is crap…” – Raph Koster • MMOG communities are hermeneutic communities, just like other fandoms • Purported problem: profit & quality control • Deeper problem: who is going to own the semiotic raw goods out of which culture is made?(ouch)

  24. steinkuehler@wisc.eduwww.sit.wisc.edu/~steinkuehler

  25. Lineage 1 screenshot

  26. Lineage 2 screenshot

  27. Monitor Member Stats

  28. Monitor members participation • Tally attendance at events(ever try writing while gaming?) • Rank based on participation

  29. Monitor pledge taxes/armory

  30. Schedule Pledge Events

  31. Record pledge history

  32. Record pledge history

  33. Augment identity scheme LinI Given Dimensions: • Class • Gender • Stats

  34. Augmenting Identity Scheme My Pledge Augmentation: • Pledge Rank • Reputation • History

  35. Augmenting Identity Scheme LoA Members Page: My Augmentation: • Pledge Rank • Reputation • History

  36. Augmenting Identity Scheme My Augmentation: • Pledge Rank • Reputation • History

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