So I'm echoing C.K.'s jealousy regarding why I didn't have classes as cool as "Games for the Web: Ethnography of Massively Multiplayer On-line Games" when I went to college (biochemistry seemed practical at the time… who knew?), and pointing you to a collection of student blogs (mostly LiveJournal) from this course. Undergrads at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas conducted ethnographic studies from inside the World of Warcraft virtual world for four months, and kept blogs on the progress of their research. They look at things like gender and sexism inside the game, colonial themes, sociological and psychological factors of play, real world transactions of digital items, etc.

I was wondering earlier about the long-term trajectory for these kinds of virtual worlds, and I think that sooner that we realize there will come a point where it's more unusual not to have a presence in one (for those of us privileged enough to live in the developed world). More game companies developing MMOs need to break out of the "let's band together to kill stuff" archetype (Second Life being a prime example of one that breaks this mold) and start brainstorming ways to appeal to non-gamers, which is the approach Nintendo is taking with its next-generation Revolution console. The gaming industry currently appeals to its large yet still relatively narrow market — but everybody loves to play. And there is something inherently fascinating about the realtime simulation and simulacra of a virtual world. Smart companies would be wise to tap into the concept of "life as play" (as the Flickr ludologists clearly grok) and work towards breaking down the distinctions between computing, gaming, and living.

[Via WoW Insider]