Mode of access: World Wide Web.

System requirements: Adobe Acrobat reader.

Part of: Synthesis digital library of engineering and computer science.

Series from website.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 91-104).

1. Introduction: 1.1. Types of online multiplayer games; 1.2. Preserving game history; 1.3. Intellectual approaches to games; 1.4. Research topic areas -- 2. Historical-cultural origins: 2.1. A Tale in the Desert; 2.2. Dark Age of Camelot; 2.3. Age of Conan; 2.4. Lord of the Rings online; 2.5. StarWars Galaxies -- 3. Technical constraints: 3.1. Latency; 3.2. Sharding; 3.3. Graphics -- 4. Rolecoding and social control: 4.1. Systems of rules; 4.2. Deviant behavior; 4.3. Game masters and mentors; 4.4. Legal regime -- 5. Personality and motivation: 5.1. Psychological theories and typologies; 5.2. Game-based theories; 5.3. Theoretical debates; 5.4. Non-player character personality -- 6. Avatars and characters: 6.1. Building a bond with an avatar; 6.2. The quality of avatar relationships; 6.3. Secondary avatars; 6.4. Facing the end -- 7. Virtual professions and economies: 7.1. Work in StarWars Galaxies; 7.2. Production in World of Warcraft; 7.3. Division of labor in professions -- 8. Social relations inside games: 8.1. Emergent social organization; 8.2. Examples of guilds; 8.3. Quantitative research on guilds -- 9. Implications for external society: 9.1. The online game penumbra; 9.2. What people learn in online games; 9.3. Research opportunities -- Bibliography -- Author's biography.

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This lecture introduces fundamental principles of online multiplayer games, primarily massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), suitable for students and faculty interested both in designing games and in doing research on them. The general focus is human-centered computing, which includes many human-computer interaction issues and emphasizes social computing, but also, looks at how the design of socio-economic interactions extends our traditional notions of computer programming to cover human beings as well as machines. In addition, it demonstrates a range of social science research methodologies, both quantitative and qualitative, that could be used by students for term papers, or by their professors for publications. In addition to drawing upon a rich literature about these games, this lecture is based on thousands of hours of first-hand research experience inside many classic examples, including World of Warcraft, The Matrix Online, Anarchy Online,Tabula Rasa, Entropia Universe, Dark Age of Camelot, Age of Conan, Lord of the Rings Online, Tale in the Desert, EVE Online, Star Wars Galaxies, Pirates of the Burning Sea, and the non-game virtual world Second Life. Among the topics covered are historical-cultural origins of leading games, technical constraints that shape the experience, rolecoding and social control, player personality and motivation, relationships with avatars and characters, virtual professions and economies, social relations inside games, and the implications for the external society.

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