The Proteus Paradox (34 page)

modders (modding community),
169
–170

money sinks,
92
–93

monsters: as focus of online games,
18
; health points,
11
–12; and raids,
18
–19,
68
–72; Rotface,
70
–71; spawning/respawning,
43
–45; targeting certain players,
55
–56.
See also
mobs (mobiles)

Moore, Bob,
160

MOOs (MUD Objective Oriented),
203
–204

moral panics,
3
–4,
22
–23

Moses, Robert,
114

motivations: achievement,
29
–31; diversity of,
28
–29; escape,
34
–36; gender differences in,
97
,
108
–110; immersion,
32
–34; social interaction,
31
–32

MUD (Multi-User Dungeon),
13
–14,
19
–20,
203

Nakamura, Lisa,
84
–85,
214

Nardi, Bonnie,
4

Nass, Clifford,
51
–52

Neuroticism personality factor,
167
,
174

NeverWinter Nights,
15
,
16

Newsweek,
23

New Yorker,
175

New York University Stern School of Business,
154

Nickell, Eric,
160

Nozhnin, Dmitry,
171
,
172

OCEAN (Big Five personality factors),
166
–168,
173
–174; Agreeableness factor,
167
,
173
; Conscientiousness factor,
166
–167,
173
; Extraversion factor,
167
,
173
; Neuroticism factor,
167
,
174
; Openness to Experience factor,
166
,
174

Ohio State University,
113
,
154
–155

Oliver, John,
165

online dating websites,
126
–127,
136
–137,
153

online games: addiction to,
36
–38; altruism in,
181
–183,
184
–188,
194
; as antisocial,
27
–28; character independence versus social interaction,
184
–188,
190
–192,
195
–196; core gameplay of,
17
–19; criticism of/warnings about,
3
–4,
22
–23,
27
–28,
37
–38; and data accessibility,
159
–161,
189
–194; death penalties in,
179
–183; early multi-user games,
13
–14; early networked games,
12
; emphasis on war and combat in,
20
–21; fantasy literature and,
10
–11; first role-playing games,
11
–12; gameplay motivations,
28
–34; graphics capabilities of,
12
–13,
14
–15; history of,
9
–17; integration of, into real life,
5
,
75
–77,
199
–202,
204
–206; massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs, MMOs),
15
–16; miniature wargames,
9
–11; personality expression in,
168
–176; as primary implementation of virtual worlds,
20
–21; promises of,
2
,
4
–5,
174
–176,
209
–210; reliance on avatars,
21
; and romance (
see
romance); rules/laws and social interaction,
179
; simultaneous and independent evolution of,
19
–21; success/popularity of,
16
–17; superstitions in (
see
superstitions); using repetitious formulas when designing,
206
–207; who plays (
see
gamers); as work,
73
–75,
193
–194.
See also
gamers; virtual worlds;
specific games

ooze creatures,
70
–71

Openness to Experience personality factor,
166
,
174

operant conditioning,
39
–43

Oregon, University of,
165

over-enchanting,
47
–48

Palo Alto Research Center (PARC),
79
,
111
–112,
160
–162,
164
,
171
–176

personality: assessment of (Big Five factors),
165
–168,
173
–174; digital expression of,
168
–176; notion of personality traits as myth,
187
–188

Personality Factor Questionnaire,
165

personality psychology,
162
–165,
187
–188

personal space,
52
–53

physical disabilities,
209

Pirates of the Burning Sea,
191

placeholders,
43

PLATO (Programmed Logic for Automated Teaching Operations),
12

PlayOn,
162
,
164

power-leveling services,
80
–83

Power of Habit, The
(Duhigg),
174
–175

protein-folding game,
77

Proteus Effect,
2
,
152
–153

Proteus Paradox,
4
–5,
54
,
75
,
95
,
114
,
117
,
138
,
175
,
195
,
197

psychology,
162
–165,
187
–188

PvE (player-versus-environment),
19

PvP (player-versus-player),
19
,
30
,
224
n.6

QuestHelper,
192

Ragnarok Online,
48
,
128

Ragnaros,
72

raids,
18
–19,
68
–72

“Rape in Cyberspace, A” (Dibbell),
203
–204

Ray, Sheri Graner,
105

Read, Leighton,
76
,
199

Reality Is Broken
(McGonigal),
4
,
76

Realm Online,
27

Reeves, Byron,
51
–52,
76
,
199

relationships.
See
romance; social interaction

Retirement Confidence Survey (2012),
153

retirement savings experiment,
154

reward systems,
39
–43

role-playing games,
11
–17,
33
.
See also
online games

romance,
117
–137; and communication outside the game,
123
–124,
130
; deception and risk and,
117
–119,
129
–131,
134
–137; declarations of affection,
122
–123; face-to-face meetings,
124
–125; geographical distances and,
124
–125; happy and unhappy endings,
125
; incubation periods for,
122
; initial meetings,
120
–122; meeting in online games versus dating sites,
126
–127; openness and honesty and,
127
–129; shyness and,
131
–132; stigma against,
119
–120; and taking looks out of the equation,
132
–134

Romine, Morgan,
101
–102

Rosedale, Philip,
200
–201

Rotface,
70
–71

San Francisco Chronicle,
3

Second Life,
53
,
139
,
199
–201,
214

Seduction of the Innocent
(Wertham),
22

seeding the instance,
45
–46

self-perception effect,
150

Seriosity,
199

sexism.
See
gender and sexism

sexuality issues,
209
–210

Sherry, John,
97

shyness,
131
–132

SimCity,
21

Sinclair, Heather,
49

Skinner, B. F. (Skinner box),
41
–42

social interaction: and altruism,
184
–188; versus character independence,
184
–188,
190
–192,
195
–196; down-time and,
184
; hyperpersonal interactions,
128
–129; as motivation for playing games,
31
–32; rules/laws and,
179
.
See also
romance

Southern California, University of,
22

Spacewar,
12
–13

spawn dances (spawning, respawning),
43
–45

Srivastava, Sanjay,
165

Stanford University Virtual Human Interaction Lab,
1
–2,
142
–143,
148
–153

Star Wars Galaxies:
death penalties,
180
; entrepreneurship in,
59
–63; rules and social interaction,
179

Steiner, Peter,
175

Super
8
,
57

superstitions,
37
–58; about over-enchanting,
47
–48; dungeon seeding,
45
–46; and game developers as gods,
54
–57; high risk/low probability events and,
49
,
50
–51; as indication of engagement,
57
–58; interaction with new technology and,
51
–54; lucky charms,
46
–47; persistence of,
49
–50,
51
; psychological triggers and,
51
–54; reward systems and,
39
–43; spawn dances,
43
–45

surveillance,
162
–163,
174
–176

Sutherland, Ivan,
197

Synthetic Worlds
(Castronova),
4
,
96

Tabula Rosa,
192

Taiwan cybercafés,
98
–99

Tale in the Desert, A,
27

Talon,
72

tank classes,
18

Target,
174
–175

targeted advertising,
77
,
115
,
157
–158,
174
–175,
211
–212

Taylor, T. L.,
97
–98,
120

technology, human interaction with,
51
–54

Terranova, Tiziana,
77

Texas, University of,
168

Thottbot,
189
–190,
193

Toledano, Gabrielle,
115

Tolkien, J. R. R.,
10
–11

Total Engagement
(Reeves and Read),
76

Trubshaw, Roy,
13
–14

Turkle, Sherry,
4
,
194

Ultima Online,
16
,
20
,
48
,
69
,
73

US presidential elections,
141
–142,
212

Valins, Stuart,
144
–146

video games,
9
,
14
,
21
,
22
–24,
25
,
28
,
212
.
See also
online games

Village Voice,
203
–204

virtual classrooms,
143
–144

virtual currencies,
80
–83,
91
–94

Virtual Human Interaction Lab, Stanford University,
1
–2,
142
–143,
148
–153

virtual reality,
148
–153,
197
–199,
207

virtual worlds: computer system mediation of human interactions,
141
–142; funding of,
214
–215; influencing reality,
211
–213; online games as primary implementation of,
20
–21; promises of,
2
,
4
–5,
174
–176,
209
–210; and reimagining reality,
213
–214; and replicating reality,
197
–201,
204
–208,
210
–211; social norms in,
52
–53; and social science research,
1
–2,
162
–164; versus virtual reality,
197
–199.
See also
avatars; online games

Voodoo Doll,
203
–204

VPL Research,
198

Wade, Mitchell,
75
–76

wallet-dropping experiments,
177
–178

Walther, Joe,
129

war simulation,
9
–10,
12
–13,
20
–21

Washington Post,
3

Wells, H. G.,
9

Wertham, Fredric,
22

West, Mark,
177
–178

Wi Flag,
55
–56

Winner, Langdon,
114

women.
See
gender and sexism

work: commercial activity in games,
59
–63,
64
–65; corporate use of games at (gamification),
5
,
75
–77,
199
–202,
204
–206; online communities and free labor,
77
; online games as,
65
–75,
193
–194

World of Warcraft:
Armory,
169
–171; character independence in,
184
,
186
–187,
195
; and data accessibility,
159
–162,
169
–171,
189
–191;
death penalties,
180
; demographics,
25
–26,
108
–109; gender-bending in,
111
–112; gold farmers and ethnic stereotypes in,
78
–79,
82
–89,
91
–94; guilds,
65
–66,
67
,
69
,
72
,
73
,
74
,
75
; in-game plague,
211
; in-game protest and account suspensions,
176
; launch of,
17
; leveling-up times in,
79
; Mila Kunis and,
23
–24; number of players,
195
; number of subscribers to,
3
; personality expression in,
171
–176; power-leveling in,
80
; and romance,
117
,
122
,
123
,
124
–125,
126
,
127
,
128
,
130
,
132
,
133
; Rotface,
70
–71; and sexism,
102
,
105
,
110
; and social interaction,
179
,
184
,
186
–187,
190
–193; superstitions,
45
–46,
46
–47,
50
; virtual gold sales,
81