[MD] Food for Thought

[ARLO J BENSINGER JR]

[Case]
We have touched on 1337 speak before. But gamers also have a whole vocabulary of
words to describe situations and activities that are unique to virtual space.

[Arlo]
Online groups, like any groups, are in effect "discourse communities". They all
have their own subtle nuances in vocabulary, grammar, lexicon and syntax. They
all have parameters of engagement and (what I call) "gravitational markers",
expected symbolic behavior. Sometimes the exclusivity of the group discourse is
quite overt, like 1337, other times it involves subtle discourse patterns. 

[Case]
While people may or may not intellectualize identity construction online, it is
what they are doing.

[Arlo]
Most definately.

[Case]
Exactly, there is no there in virtual there. The planet shrinks to a point.
Games can and do provide instant interaction with people on opposite sides of
the planet not to mention political spectrum.

[Arlo]
I think its important to keep in mind that much of what we are saying sounds
almost panaceaic (how's that for word creation?). Online groups have power
dynamics, demonstrable exclusivity, evidence ridicule and taunting, and the
same less-than-desirable parts of "face-to-face" interactions. There is
bullying, for example, even at the university level. 

[Case]
But social groups tend to form in typical primate fashion with dominance
hierarchies, and social roles determined by both real world personality factors
as much as in game traits.

[Arlo]
Agree, but want to clarify. Often what are "successful" real-world traits are
hinderances in online environments. The bully is no longer the one with the
biggest muscles, but the one who knows how to control the online environment.
Like in South Park's parody, the "awesome warrior" was "in the real world" a
fat, chip-eating slob. I have seen students personally who become quite popular
"class clowns" in a real classroom, almost having the other students eating out
of their hands, become reduced to annoyances that are ignored in online
environments. The "humor" with which they negotiate their identity just failed
in the online world. And I have personally seen that kid, that every teacher
has, that sits in the back and won't participate for fear of ridicule, become
_the_ person to be online.

All this is reflective on one simple thing. The rules and the outcomes don't
change, only the social-environmental details do. Those who rise and those who
fall may be different, but the underlying social realities that determine the
process are not.

[Case]
Then one player Leroy Jenkins disregards everything runs into a room and gets
everyone kill. Pulling a Leroy Jenkins is now a term of derision in all games.
Leroy is a legend.

[Arlo]
That's a funny bit. Available on YouTube to anyone who hasn't seen it.

[Case]
It is called machinima and virtual actors play their roles on a virtual stage.

[Arlo]
Here are some Halo-based favorites.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQgptkb8fho
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7ZjskNvQ-E

Halo characters enacting the closing bit to Benny Hill.

And of course.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bQM5r-_8aw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhEHDct2SG0

Halo characters enacting Monty Python's "How Not To Be Seen" and the French
castle skit from "Holy Grail"

Hehe