Learning Conversations in World of Warcraft

1 Learning Conversations in World of Warcraft Bonnie A. Nardi, Stella Ly, and Justin Harris University of California, Irvine forthcoming in Proc. HICSS 2007 Abstract We examine learning culture in a popular online game, World of Warcraft. We analyze the way players learn this complex game through chat conversation with peers. We describe three kinds of learning: fact finding, devising tactics/strategy, and acquiring game ethos. We investigate learning in the zone of proximal development as specified in cultural-historical activity theory. We examine the emotional tenor of learning conversations, noting their drama, humor, and intimacy. 1. Introduction World of Warcraft is one of the most popular online video games, with 6. 5 million active subscribers in North America, Asia, and Europe [1]. Produced by Blizzard Entertainment, it is a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) in which players are connected through the Internet in persistent worlds. Players develop characters that explore, fight, socialize, make money, take up professions, and advance through 60 levels of play. Play is complex, requiring the development of strategy, discovery of thousands of game facts, and subtle choices about character development [see 4, 12, 13 on the complexity of some video games]. Despite this, the manual that comes with the game is a slim 4 x 5 inch volume. No teachers, coaches, or curriculum explain the game. None of the familiar supports of formal education are in evidence—but no one fails World of Warcraft. We have been engaged in ongoing ethnographic fieldwork in “WoW” since late 2005. The fieldwork is comprised of participation in the game, in-depth interviews (face-to-face and online), the collection of chat logs, and reading documents such as WoWrelated forums and websites. Our research is guided by Vygotsky’s notion of the zone of proximal development. Vygotsky understood learning as a social practice situated in the zone of proximal development in which a learner advances by taking on a challenge and using resources supplied by a teacher or more experienced peers to meet the challenge. The zone is the difference between what the learner can do with and without the aid of the teacher or peers [15]. Our analysis focuses on peer learning. Vygotsky specified “more experienced peers” in his formulation. For convenience, we will simply refer to “peers” assuming that if they can instruct they are more knowledgeable, unless otherwise noted. We attempt to unpack what happens in the zone of proximal development (ZPD) as players learn the game. Vygotsky sketched a general notion of the zone of proximal development without developing it in detail [9]. Therefore empirical accounts of what transpires in the ZPD are needed. Many excellent accounts have been provided [see 9] but the vast majority involve learning based on a defined curriculum as a planned set of learning experiences. Such a curriculum might be a traditional school-based curriculum, or the more informal “learning curriculum” [7] or “situated curriculum” [5]. Our goal in this paper is to describe learning activity that is devoid of curriculum. We examine learning enacted in spontaneous chat conversations initiated by participants pursuing their own playful objectives. Although we utilized the ZPG in this analysis, we also followed a grounded theory approach [6] to identify key areas of learning in World of Warcraft. This analysis uncovered three key areas: fact finding, tactics and strategy, and game ethos. By ethos we mean “the distinguishing character, sentiment, moral nature, or guiding beliefs” [8] apparent in the game. Through conversation, players acquire basic knowledge needed to play the game, guidance on tactics and strategy, and initiation into the moral order or ethos of the game. Chat conversation is a key means of learning in World of Warcraft but not the only means. Players also make use of player-created content on the Internet in forums, FAQs, guides, and commentaries. We do not have room in the scope of this paper to analyze those materials but