Asherons Call: Dereth and its Inhabitants - A Study of Asheron's Call

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MSc Thesis in Interaction Design
Dereth and its Inhabitants - A Study of Asheron's Call with a User-Centric Perspective
by Marie Eneman
Abstract

There is tendency in our society to dismiss computer games as just games and nothing more. If this is so, why do so many people spend so much time in these game environments? The purpose of this thesis was to gain a deeper understanding of how the users feel about their playing, whether they experience the game environment and its activities as "real" or "fake". The study also explores to what extent the users feel that the activities they carry out in the virtual environment have an affect on their lives. This work is part of a larger user-centric study carried out in the massively multiplayer online role-playing game called Asheron's call. An effect of this study is to hopefully make a contribution to the marginal academic debate and to improve the general level of understanding of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games. The approach used in this study was to take a step into the environment that was studied, with the purpose of obtaining the users point of view of the studied phenomenon. This approach resulted in a deeper understanding for the users and how they feel about the activities that take place within the game environment and for the environment itself. There are many prejudices against computer games, this study discuss whether these are based on inadequate understanding and knowledge of the concept of what computer games really are. As this thesis will show, a majority of the users experience the game environment and its activities as a meaningful occupation, which has effects on their lives and they also consider Asheron's Call to be "real" and not "fake". This thesis will also stress that it is important that designers, who develop these kinds of environments, have adequate knowledge of how the users use the environment and what kind of activities that take place within the environment. Designers must be aware of the power they possess and consider the social consequences that are generated from the developed environments.