Serious research? Exploring the information behaviour of avid players of a Massively Multiplayer Online game.

摘要

This study used in-person interviews and observation sessions to explore the information behaviour of four players of the popular Massively Multiplayer Online video game World of Warcraft. The goal of the study was to present gaming profiles of players, in order to understand how they find, use, and share game-related information to enhance their enjoyment of gameplay and develop their identity as knowledgeable participants within the affinity space of the game. Findings indicate that even though there was a core set of familiar strategies and resources used by all four participants to navigate the game, actual information use varied greatly according to each individual's motivations for play and level of commitment. Furthermore, information behaviour was bounded to enrichment of the gaming experience, complicating the issue of assessing how these practices would transfer over to academic or professional contexts.