ABSTRACT
The previous chapters conveyed how one should not limit observations of a MMORPG such as World of Warcraft to one perspective. It does not do justice to its complexity, potentially limiting one’s understanding of the game. I have therefore tried to frame World of Warcraft through four main perspectives. First, I discussed World of Warcraft from a game design perspective, framing the MMORPG genre as a problematic type of game, as it defies classic game definitions. While part of the virtual worlds family, I argued that it is a gameworld first and foremost, with individualistic and instrumental play being important characteristics. I then discussed the game play perspective, giving more attention to these characteristics. Play was furthermore framed as movement: players constantly change play styles between and even during play sessions. This movement extends from play styles to levels of immersion or engrossment, making game play in World of Warcraft highly diverse in nature and experience. In the following game contract perspective, I have shown how this diverse nature of play is still regulated to some extent by a range of social codes of practice and legal documents describing the accepted boundaries of play. Lastly, I discussed the game culture perspective, in which I framed World of Warcraft in terms of participatory culture, showing how the boundaries between player and designer are contested.
