Where Dreams and Dragons Meet. An Ethnographic Analysis of two Examples of Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs)

Abstract

The virtual ethnographic study by Kathryn Stam and Michael Scialdone seeks to understand social interaction through the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG) communities of Furcadia and Runescape. Their article on “Where Dreams and Dragons Meet. An Ethnographic Analysis of two Examples of Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games“ attempt to understand some key aspects of this genre of online activity and interaction. Using an adaptation of Grounded Theory and analytic induction methods, they explored the nature of these two online communities and the interaction between characters. In this context they discuss some of the main methodological and ethical issues such as the difference between public versus private spheres, the concept of consent in challenging environments, new considerations of reciprocity within the game, the building of online trust, and representation of the researcher of him- or herself.