The Warcraft Civilization: Social Science in a Virtual World

by William Sims Bainbridge

World of Warcraft is more than a game. There is no ultimate goal, nowinning hand, no princess to be rescued. WoW contains more than 5,000 possiblequests, games within the game, and encompasses hundreds of separate parallel realms(computer servers, each of which can handle 4,000 players simultaneously). WoW is animmersive virtual world in which characters must cope in a dangerous environment, assume identities, struggle to understand and communicate, learn to use technology, and compete for dwindling resources. Beyond the fantasy and science fiction details, as many have noticed, it's not entirely unlike today's world. In The WarcraftCivilization, sociologist William Sims Bainbridge goes further than this, arguingthat WoW can be seen not only as an allegory of today but also as a virtualprototype of tomorrow, of a real human future in which tribe-like groups will engagein combat over declining natural resources, build temporary alliances on the basisof mutual self-interest, and seek a set of values that transcend the need for war.Bainbridge explored the complex Warcraft universe firsthand, spending more than2,300 hours there, deploying twenty-two characters of all ten races, all tenclasses, and numerous professions. Each chapter begins with one character'snarrative, then goes on to explore a major social issue--such as religion, learning, cooperation, economy, or identity--through the lens of that character's experience.What makes WoW an especially good place to look for insights about Westerncivilization, Bainbridge says, is that it bridges past and future. It is founded onWestern cultural tradition, yet aimed toward the virtual worlds we could create intimes to come.

Genres: Nonfiction, Gaming, Sociology, Game Design, Games, Social Science, Academic

361 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 29, 2010

Reviews

[John Carter McKnight · Rating 3 out of 5]

Highly entertaining, but solipsistic. Bainbridge doesn't, to my mind, adequately connect his analysis of WoW-as-text to the experience of other players.

For the most part, the book is a depiction of his engagement with the text/world from a fairly deep roleplay perspective. Given that few players do, his work seems more in the realm of humanities than social science.

I found myself asking, does any of this - the richness of WoW as text/world, really matter to players, who seem ever more focused on achievements and gear scores, regarding the RPG elements as an annoyance to be brushed aside on the swiftest route to the level cap and raid content?

The world of Bainbridge's WoW would be a better one than that I see from the majority of players, and of WoW blogs, one in which roleplay mattered, where the world was an object for moral and aesthetic consideration. It is not, however, the world of most all of the millions of WoW players, and for a book labeling itself as social science, this is a critical flaw.

[Eman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid 3. Probably not the only book in service to the overlapping armchair anthropologist / WoW player, but definitely one that ventures to corral these two interests into one book while never quite settling on which one's language to speak. Sometimes you're reading from the perspective of one of the fictional characters the author played as during his research, and other times he takes back the reigns to legitimize himself as the knowledgeable expert you've entrusted him as. It's interesting, but even as someone familiar with the topology of the world he illustrates and the many references to it, the novelty starts to wear off a little bit and I found myself wishing he would just stick to one perspective.
I can't imagine reading this without already having knowledge of WoW and actually enjoying it. Which I do and so I did.

[Cee · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was under the impression this book would discuss the wonderful digital communities that are formed in World of Warcraft from a sociological perspective. Instead, this book is a ridiculously detailed discussion of Warcraft lore and the author's roleplaying.

[Fresno Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting considerably more on the economics and social structures of WOW, and much less on the lore and leveling challenges of the author

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 1 out of 5]

The more i peruse Bainbridge

the most nuts i'm starting to think he's getting
From Spaceflight, to Cults, to Religion to Nanotechnology and Gaming

he's obsessed with all these oversimplifications about society and religion so he can cookie cutter things, and fuck man, is he hot and heavy with the whole

Artificial Intelligence - Computer Gaming - Nanotechnology - Transhumanist bullishit

Basically, that weirdness got him a cushy posiition
He is co-director of Cyber-Human Systems at the National Science Foundation.

I would trust Ted Taylor with his Xandau proto-inter-tubes-wackiness to be way more sensible, as Biden puts on his Total Recall VR Helmet, as Trump turns into Crash Bandicoot trapped in a Tron-like universe.

And Brain-Bridge is even freaker than what i just said!

///////

From the Diaries of an Amazon from Amazonia!

How NOT to do Video Game Research

I had such high hopes for this book. I heard about it through the hive of the social media universe and couldn't wait to get my hands on it. When I received it from Amazon I dove right in thinking I would devour it's content in just a few sittings; I have been craving a book like this and would devour it's words like a hungry person... or so I thought.

I soon found myself reading in snips and junks because I was drowning in the foolishness of it all.

It didn't take long to realize this book was written by someone who doesn't clearly have a firm grasp of video games or what they mean realistically to those who play them.

I couldn't help but think I was reading the work of a madman.

I kept waiting for the final chapter that said, "Ha! Gotcha! This entire book was a joke... a grand social experiment to see if people would finish it".

But alas, that wasn't to happen.

It became more clear as you moved through his book that he just didn't understand the game. A game is made of more than just the AI and backstory.

Designers, story, game mechanics and players all work in a strange discordant harmony to produce the final outcome, especially in a fluid game like World of Warcraft.

His understanding of the game (holistically) was so limited that he has mad moments of brilliant insight that disappeared as fast as they appeared, like lighting.

Don't get me wrong, his observations of the game story was so expansive it was indeed impressive. I learned more about the Warcraft story in his book than the years of playing it since beta came out. He payed attention to certain things with a sharp observant eye. I won't deny him this.

What Bainbridge missed though was the players and what this game means with that sort of interaction.

Without the players there is no game so unless this was research about design mechanics it needed to have that spark.

This book has "social science" in it's title!

World of Warcraft really consists of layers of "game". I have yet to see a researcher give a really detailed account of it from a player perspective especially as it concerns the end game.

The game begins as a player goes from level 1 to level 80. But a different game emerges once you hit level 80 and it's like the previous levels were just a warm up to come.

Bainbridge was so focused on those early few levels that he really misses the mark of what the game holds later on.

Bianbridge focused far too much on the Role-playing servers. It was like he himself had built an entire world in his mind and then wrote the entire strange story down on paper and called it research.

I was disturbed by the dual boxing events and conversations with himself.

My mind reasoned that his "research assistants" had to be actual, living, honest to god people but no... they were just more inhabitants of the game world manifest through Bainbridge's play and eventual writing.

You could strip the actual insights down to a nice paper or conference topic.

This book should be read with trepidation. If video game scholars want to be viewed seriously then we need to steer clear of this sort of writing.

Be warned, if you read it, you're peering into the abysmal maw of one strange mind.

Erica M. Ruyle

[Ben · Rating 2 out of 5]

For how many hours apparently spent in World of Warcraft, it's odd how much there seem to be huge omissions of knowledge, as in seemingly the entire end-game. People can't play games "wrong", but it's hard to take this as authoritative.

The entire perspective will be alien to a typical player, that is for sure.

DNF at page 98 of 227, though I skimmed the rest.

[Arif Abdurahman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beragam teori sosialnya masih dasar (mungkin karena sayanya yg rada condong ke kiri) dan penceritaan soal semesta Warcraft-nya membosankan. Saya banyak skimming.

[David Ramalho · Rating 3 out of 5]

really interesting overall, the role play like writing made it slightly weird for me, but I get the intention and context.

fun or work, William pulled a lot of hours to do this, impressive

[Tiffany Taylor Attaway · Rating 1 out of 5]

Someone's master thesis that they then tried to turn into a book? Boring, bloated and hard to read, even for a fellow gamer.

[Erica M · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had such high hopes for this book. I heard about it through the hive of the social media universe and couldn't wait to get my hands on it. When I received it from Amazon I dove right in thinking I would devour it's content in just a few sittings; I have been craving a book like this and would devour it's words like a hungry person...or so I thought.

I soon found myself reading in snips and junks because I was drowning in the foolishness of it all. It didn't take long to realize this book was written by someone who doesn't clearly have a firm grasp of video games or what they mean realistically to those who play them. I couldn't help but think I was reading the work of a madman. I kept waiting for the final chapter that said, "Ha! Gotcha! This entire book was a joke... a grand social experiment to see if people would finish it". But alas, that wasn't to happen.

It became more clear as you moved through his book that he just didn't understand the game. A game is made of more than just the AI and backstory. Designers, story, game mechanics and players all work in a strange discordant harmony to produce the final outcome, especially in a fluid game like World of Warcraft. His understanding of the game (holistically) was so limited that he has mad moments of brilliant insight that disappeared as fast as they appeared, like lighting. Don't get me wrong, his observations of the game story> was so expansive it was indeed impressive. I learned more about the Warcraft story in his book than the years of playing it since beta came out. He payed attention to certain things with a sharp observant eye. I won't deny him this. What Bainbridge missed though was the players and what this game means with that sort of interaction. Without the players there is no game so unless this was research about design mechanics it needed to have that spark. This book has "social science" in it's title!

World of Warcraft really consists of layers of "game". I have yet to see a researcher give a really detailed account of it from a player perspective especially as it concerns the end game. The game begins as a player goes from level 1 to level 80. But a different game emerges once you hit level 80 and it's like the previous levels were just a warm up to come. Bainbridge was so focused on those early few levels that he really misses the mark of what the game holds later on.

Bianbridge focused far too much on the Role-playing servers. It was like he himself had built an entire world in his mind and then wrote the entire strange story down on paper and called it research. I was disturbed by the dual boxing events and conversations with himself. My mind reasoned that his "research assistants" had to be actual, living, honest to god people but no...they were just more inhabitants of the game world manifest through Bainbridge's play and eventual writing.

You could strip the actual insights down to a nice paper or conference topic. This book should be read with trepidation. If video game scholars want to be viewed seriously then we need to steer clear of this sort of writing. Be warned, if you read it, you're peering into the abysmal maw of one strange mind.

[brian tanabe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a brilliant book. And a brilliantly ridiculous book. Yet despite buying this $28 “sociological” examination of a computer game, I never felt duped or cheated or thought ill of MIT Press.

The following 4 quotes sum up the work for me –I quietly leave them for you not in an effort to give away the entire story, but as a gentle argument why the author is brilliant (but the story is not):

“I studied the World of Warcraft through ethnographic participant observation for two years…”

“I tabulated the major professions for 1,096 characters in [a guild:]…”

“ With more than a little shyness, I do conclude it is worth explaining how I constructed the personalities of my twenty-two WoW characters, beginning with the ones I lavished the most time on.”

“At Bohannon’s encouragement I had organized this conference to explore the potential of virtual worlds as meeting places for scientists as well as laboratories for doing scientific research.”

[Doc Kinne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not shocked; there were several low ratings for this book.

I was hoping for a book illuminating aspects of sociology reflected in the Warcraft game, background, and culture. What this book actually is is a description of the heavy role playing of the author, who happens to be a sociologist of some note, apparently, within the World of Warcraft game.

When at one point the author spoke of one of his characters becoming "aware that I was in communication by mysterious telepathic means with others who lived at great distances, possibly even in other worlds. My studies in old books in the priest salon in Silvermoon had uncovered a legend that some people could communicate indirectly, via a being called a 'player' and a channel called 'Internet.'" and another character starting a treatise off with, "When in the course of human events," it become clear this book was not worth reading.

[Timothy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bainbridge is a very well-established sociologist who logged hundreds (maybe thousands?) of hours playing WoW, so you'd think that this book would be good. It's not entirely clear to me what went wrong here, but most of the book is not interesting and barely counts as sociology. He spends page after page detailing the minutiae of quests that he undertook, and most of the social interactions that he chronicles take place BETWEEN HIS OWN CHARACTERS! This tells us nothing of value, and it strongly hints that Bainbridge has taken leave of his senses. I give this two stars only because it contains some useful details about game mechanics and content, along with good references to other sources. Particularly helpful is his survey of novels set in the Warcraft universe.

[Jared Della Rocca · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting sociological look at World of Warcraft through the various prisms that entail a culture: religion, economy, law, etc. Bainbridge uses WoW to reflect back on world society, but I felt that part was a little short. While he does an excellent job examining the internal society of WoW, I didn't feel he drew parallels properly to today's society. Additionally, while his study was thoroughly interesting, it's sometimes hard to understand without a deeper knowledge of the WoW worlds and characters.

[Crossett Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting sociological look at World of Warcraft through the various prisms that entail a culture: religion, economy, law, etc. Bainbridge uses WoW to reflect back on world society, but I felt that part was a little short. While he does an excellent job examining the internal society of WoW, I didn't feel he drew parallels properly to today's society. Additionally, while his study was thoroughly interesting, it's sometimes hard to understand without a deeper knowledge of the WoW worlds and characters.

[David Holtz · Rating 2 out of 5]

The introductions and epilogues to each chapter, written from the perspective of one of Bainbridge's WoW characters, are torturous to get through. Some interesting economic and sociological ideas are presented here, but most of it is just rehashing known theory through the lens of WoW.