ABSTRACT
This chapter utilizes Sherif's concept of conflict theory to analyze author's experiences in World of Warcraft (WoW). The core of his argument rests on Man, Play and Games, Caillois's expansion of Huizinga's theorization of play in Homo Ludens. He discusses Caillois's definition of play alongside the actuality of productive play within the digital space. In particular, he emphasizes the detrimental role of heavy-handed dramaturgical manipulation on the player's ability to immerse within the game world. Warcraft's developers use the pre-history of the game to create a central conflict with familiar colonial roots. His experiences during The Culling of Strathlome serve as an example of what happens when the game designers attempt to force players out of the moral turpitude that pervades this particular game space. His inability to emotionally engage with what should have been a terrifying situation in Strathlome marks how detrimental attempts at forced empathy can be in Massively Multiplayer Online (MMOs).
