How MMORPGs as a digital medium can influence and inspire education and community relations？
When it comes to technologies that contribute to media literacy in everyday life, I would like to introduce MMORPGs. MMORPGs, or massively multiplayer online games, which are undoubtedly part of modern gaming and Internet technology, and as a form of digital media also encompass a range of media-related factors such as community rules, socialization, and avatars. Based on my interviews and personal experiences, I will explore the anthropological significance of MMORPGs for individuals and communities, as well as its inspiration for social education.
I interviewed three of my friends, all female college students and players of the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV (hereafter FF14). Our conversation centered on their role-playing experiences in the game, their social and literary creations based on the game, and the contribution of FF14 to identity, language, and information dissemination. I divided our discussion into two parts: avatars and identities.
Avatars, Socialization, and Context in MMORPGs.
The MMORPG, exemplified by FF14, creates a discourse space that is not part of the real world through the virtual world presented by technology and plot and the context of avatars created and maintained by players spontaneously, and establishes a community among players that approximates the real social group, and this community and its high level of immersion is a good platform for language learning and thinking skills exercise.
The development of contemporary gaming technology allows video games like FF14 to present players with virtual worlds with beautiful graphics, smooth movements, and immersive sound effects, and to offer a wide range of gameplay options, including multiplayer online socialization, farming and production, and a home system. Compared to past RPGs, such games clearly provide a better environment and foundation for players' role-playing. In MMORPGs, players can create their own avatars not only for plot and personal achievement, but also for socialization, through which they can achieve self-expression and identity construction.
However, the sense of avatar and virtual context in MMORPGs is not only created by the plot, but also created and maintained by the players. Something that piqued my interest a long time ago was a play-style called RP created by the players of FF14. Based on a home system where each house is numbered and physical, and a high degree of freedom in the furniture and interior system, players can not only use their houses as "homes", but also run stores in them - not the kind of player store that opens a panel to trade goods, but an actual "store" that is completely decorated as a discotheque, a coffee shop, or a tavern, with some players staying in the store as managers and clerks, advertising on in-game bulletin boards, and waiting for other players to patronize.
A friend I interviewed had experience as a clerk in a store, and she briefly described some of her thoughts. "There are varying degrees of RP, from low to high I was basically low in RP, staying in the store, preparing various auto-response words so that customers could send answers directly after asking for related services, and then performing some escorting and escorting services." She said, "And high RP - you need to have a stable set of persona, from the name to the background of your life, and then go to a tavern or something that is decorated to fit the overall style of the game. There you can't address other players by their ID, but rather ask them for their name, profession, and guild (even if that information is already marked in the title and info panel), and then you can exchange 'travel insights' and plan your next adventure like real travelers." She also mentioned that in this context players can't use normal game talk, such as "I'm getting offline".
For high RPs, immersion requires a degree of creativity and learning ability to remember the game's worldview and plot, create their own characters, and maintain a tone of voice to communicate and interact with others. This is not an easy task, but players are strongly motivated to complete this sequence when they see it as part of the game. What if some part of the RP process could be replaced with learning knowledge, such as language learning, by incorporating educational content into the role-playing of RPGs? According to Przymus and Steve Daniel, immersion is an important factor in game play and language learning (primarily reading and writing), but speaking and listening may also be developed to some degree if players also use voice chat. Interaction is also key, as players are not just talking, but talking to people.
In language learning, immersion often means extensive (even exclusive) use of the target language to create an environment in which language is used naturally (Przymus, 252). For realistic learning, this might be simulating a discussion about a team or creating a greeting situation on the road, yet because it is so purposeful, students rarely become authentically immersed in the situation, and therefore such language practice is not as effective as it could be. However, for an MMORPG like FF14, it has a three-dimensional, beautifully crafted environment along with real other people to interact with, making the player (learner) feel that it is a different place rather than just a computer screen that can be left at any time (although it can indeed be left at any time), so when the player is in such a space, especially when talking to others using virtual identities, they are better able to go through the act of role-playing and even language learning - if a foreign language or dialect is required in a game, talking and playing with other foreign-speaking players may be more effective than learning from classes and memorizing words. "School is important, but it's often not enough on its own to motivate the average student."
However, Przymus also points out that games are not the perfect environment for language learning, just a great environment for communication, especially when students do it on their own time. It's this emphasis on communication that gives MMORPGs an advantage over single-player games: communities provide interaction, and playing like RP provides players with fun and motivation to learn and get language and thinking exercise out of it.
A screenshot from a video of a popular coffee shop in FF14
In addition to the possibility of using games as strong motivation to accomplish educational goals, MMORPGs have other revelations for language learning and transmission. From making friends, to trading between players, to forming teams, the way players learn and use language within the game (without relying too much on external social platforms) is noteworthy, and the establishment and smooth operation of such a system is quite educational and inspiring.
As we were touring one of the player home communities at the computer and discussing the player stores mentioned earlier, my friend was talking about how customers can hire "sales clerks" (also players) to go along with them on challenges, or simply to chat with them. "Wait, I noticed something." I said. I said, "Chatting, and hiring people to form teams? I feel like a lot of the things that need to be done on social platforms in other games, FF14 players can do in-game?" My friend laughed, "Indeed." She said, but she also showed me her in-game interface, including quick auto-reply commands and her own customary arrangement of shortcuts and function icons, full of symbols and notes I couldn't read.
I feel sincere admiration for players like her; playing a game that has been in operation for years, with a complex and in-depth system, and gradually learning and becoming familiar with all the terminology, black words and symbols is perhaps no less difficult than learning a dialect. From a research perspective, the ecology of symbols in MMORPGs can be used to explore aspects of language acquisition and linguistic communication. For example, researchers can study how players learn and use in-game terminology and hackneyed words, and how these terms and hackneyed words affect players' language acquisition and language use (an MMORPG can be an expansive online laboratory). In addition to this, game players participate in both virtual space and real-world settings, and researchers can also analyze in-game interaction processes to understand game players' linguistic communication behaviors and strategies. in their paper alone, Corredor et al. use symbolic ecology theory to show that game embedded texts, player-player interactions, and resources from sites external to the game constitute a game player/learner complex semiotic ecology, and this has important implications for second language development and research. (Corredor, Javier, and Matthew Gaydos, 112)
MMORPGs as shelters and safe spaces for identity.
MMORPGs break down the collection of different players' identities (race, age, creed) and allow players to escape from the reality of identity conflicts and divisions through fair game rules, in-game availability of racial and professional options, etc., and allow them to communicate in the virtual world with a more relaxed and equal mindset. This harmonious space of communication in fact makes up for some of the inevitable lack of reality in communication and education issues.
I heard two things from different friends in my interviews, and they are somewhat related to each other. "It had the effect of relieving and healing to some extent the psychological trauma and loneliness that was inflicted on me in reality, the macro otherworldly experience and the friends of players of all ages and professions that I never had contact with in reality made my views in reality less paranoid and extreme and met more people and perspectives." So answered one friend when I asked. Another friend mentioned their new identity in the game community and gave me a brief overview of the different races and professions players can choose from. "Does that create racism, or as a game, appearance discrimination?" I asked. She denied the existence of discrimination, though pointed out that there were harmless jokes about race, such as the fact that the diminutive race of Lalafell would be jokingly referred to as ingredients.
Together, these two conversations show an interesting phenomenon: the game first creates identities that are distinct from the real world (virtual countries and fantasy races, and players can also choose different genders), and gives the different identities to players semi-mandatorily (through a character creation system at the beginning), and then uses the virtual nature of these identities and their sharp distinction from reality to separate otherwise The two elements of MMORPGs are indispensable: online multiplayer servers provide a free social space, while RPGs provide players with an identity so that they do not have to be "themselves" (unlike multiplayer FPS and some competitive games); Communication and interaction are based on the player's virtual identity rather than on real identities and social roles, and this makes the gaming community a safe space that can dissolve the contradictions, exclusions and discrimination of the real world.
In his article Disidentification, Munoz suggests that the process of identity is non-linear: the lifestyle, implied relationships, ideologies, religious orientations, etc. in each person's identity create barriers to the process of identity. the MMORPG is a degree of Disidentification: it aims to provide a space to articulate non single or monolithic minority politics; by reshaping some new role-playing identities in the game and giving players the freedom to choose these more "relaxed" and "unbiased" identities, it removes the diversity of components of real identities and the way they affect It removes the diversity of components of real identities and the way they affect society, i.e., it avoids the problem of convergence and conflict between the various elements of identity.
From a personal and communal emotional perspective, identity and social networks in MMORPGs also provide a safe space where players can express their thoughts and feelings - either through choices about the plot or through communication based on the context of virtual identities, just as novelists express their views through essays as well, but the game would be much gentler than the comments sections of popular Hashtag and news videos. And this tolerant environment can then become a safe space, and when people feel rejected, lonely and unappreciated in real life, they often seek safe and sheltered spaces to gain psychological satisfaction. In reality, such spaces are not always easy to obtain, or it is difficult to find safe spaces that can meet individual needs (Przymus, 249). In this case, the gaming community becomes a safe space like a shelter that can alleviate the psychological trauma and loneliness of reality. This in a way sheds some light on present-day social and educational issues, the possible future development of metaverse, etc.; a virtual world and occasional detachment from the real-world context of political and social status quo might have positive effects in terms of socialization of interests and cross-cultural communication, providing a more relaxed and comfortable user based on an individual, rather than a group (a group meaning not fully detached from a certain identity) The MMORPG is a space for communication.
Overall, when looking at MMORPGs as a technology related to socialization and communication, it offers a number of compelling features and implications, including a virtual context maintained by players, a safe space created by a sense of virtuality, and a spontaneous system of communication formed by the community. These features represent a degree of innovation and contextual adaptation in language use, and are also useful for deepening the understanding and reproduction of "sanctuaries" and identity spaces, expanding the potential of games for language education, and warranting further research.
Reference
Przymus, Steve Daniel, et al. "From DACA to Dark Souls: MMORPGs as sanctuary, sites of language/identity development, and third-space translanguaging pedagogy for Los Otros Dreamers." Journal of Language, Identity & Education 21.4 (2022): 248-264.
Hutchinson, Emma Jane. Performative identity and the embodied avatar: an online ethnography of Final Fantasy XIV. Diss. University of Warwick, 2013.
Mennander, Jessica. "Video games as source of learning and upkeeping the English language skills: Final Fantasy XIV players’ point of view." (2021).
Turkle, Sherry. Life on the Screen. Simon and Schuster, 2011.
Naughton-Henderson, Elizabeth. Multiliteracy Practices of MMORPG Gamers: A Case Study of Ukrainian and Russian English Language Learners. Diss. Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, 2022.
ErkenBrack, Elizabeth. "Mediated personhood and World of Warcraft: An ethnographic and linguistic analysis." (2011).
Corredor, Javier, and Matthew Gaydos. "Language games: How gaming communities shape second-language literacy." Bridging literacies with videogames. Brill, 2014. 103-127.
（Plus: Interview Questions)
Questions
The premise is to look at MMORPGs as a technology equivalent to video conferencing or translation software. My topic (mainly using Final Fantasy XIV as an example) is how MMORPGs and roleplaying affect player/user socialization, learning, relationship building, and language/mantra learning and use.
Do you RP (role-play) in games?
What level of RP is it, low (like being a coffee shop waiter in a game), or high (having a full set of personas and story backgrounds, gossiping with other people playing adventurers in a tavern)?
Were your early experiences learning how to play FF14 and participating in roleplaying easy or difficult? Did you get help from others or participate in any instruction?
How has it (the game) changed or affected the way you communicate with friends, family, co-workers, and strangers on a daily basis?
In what ways do you think the game might make a difference for individuals, circles, communities, or even society:
1 Media Literacy and study
2 Writing, fiction and personal creativity (original characters based on the game's setting)
3 Virtual sanctuary and third dimension (perhaps some sort of meta-universe)
4 Second language (game slang & lingo, and the sense of belonging or something?)
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