Hello,
My name is Yumä, I’m a researcher at University of Chicago. I’m currently working on a project involving game narratives in MMORPGs. I’m interested in how players relate to stories in on-line games, especially through their character’s personal story.
I’m posting questions here in hopes of getting more insight through player feedback about their experiences in MMORPGs. There are 9 questions, most of which focus on character and story. Feel free to answer all, some, or even one of the questions. Keep in mind your answers may be used in my project, and are always kept anonymous through screen names (which I will change if included in the project to protect your identity). I would greatly appreciate getting only serious responses. Thank you for reading this, and thank you to those who choose to respond. If you have any questions, feel free to post them here and I will gladly respond to them. Feel free to post about World of Warcraft, or any other MMORPG experience you feel is relevant.
1) What is your age? Gender?
2) How important is a game’s story to you? Why?
3) Within a game’s story, are you more interested in individual characters, or in bigger events and groups?
4) In regards to your own character, do you identify with them? In other words, do you view your character as yourself? Or do you view your character as a separate entity which you created?
5) Do you view your character’s progression as something you create/determine, or something the game itself creates/determines?
6) What do you view as your character’s ultimate goal? Is it different from the goal of defeating the final dungeon or raid boss?
7) How effective do you find personal story in MMORPGs (usually done through personal instances/quests)? Do you find it disjointed from the rest of the game, or do you feel it fits well with the rest of the game?
8) How do you view the idea that many other players are also playing through the same personal story?
9) How do you view your character’s personal story in relation to the larger stories in the game, or the lore of the game? Do you see a difference between individual story and group story in the game?