Our essay/article on globalization and gaming

[Canyarion]

I'm doing a Master in Tourism, Leisure and Environment, and at the moment we're following a course on globalization. We have to write an article, based on other scientific articles.
It happens that the 2 of us are both gamers, so I came up with the idea of global gaming networks and/or MMORPGs. I don't think our teachers know anything about that yet, but that doesn't mean we can just write some simple introduction.

We need a good problem statement or research question. We're trying to come up with one, but I thought it couldn't hurt to get some outsider input. Have any ideas? :)

[Canyarion]

Ok we had this idea about how games (especially MMORPGs) change the way we (think about) leisure. And how games start to look more like real life, with social rules etc.

We haven't really pinpointed something very usefull though.

[Dyne]

Well have you done search journals for your topic yet? There's a literal ton of stuff on games. After you've done your research a little bit you could write a more accurate thesis.

[Canyarion]

We looked around a little bit, but the link with globalization is pretty new or simple.

I came up with some things though. We'll discuss tomorrow and decide on the topic. :) Thanks btw.

[Canyarion]

Ok this is our proposal. Basicly we're gonna argue that virtual worlds as in MMORPGs have a lot in common with tourism, since they provide places to visit etc.

As we have proceeded into the 21st century, new forms of leisure have gained a place in our lives. One of the biggest new industries is that of computer/video games, growing more rapidly than the film industry. Today, millions of gamers from all over the world are connected to each other, playing the same games simultaneously in the same virtual environment. Virtually any type of game can be played through these online networks, from racing games (controlling virtual cars or other vehicles) to strategy games (controlling an entire army) to first person shooters (controlling a single soldier or warrior of some sort). The recent development of one particular type of computer game has taken the gaming experience to another level: in Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG’s) gamers can experience what it’s like to live in a huge alternative fantasy world, playing as characters from different races (for instance elves and dwarves) and interacting with the characters of other players in many different ways, from exploring dungeons with a group to simply having a drink in a virtual bar.
In our article we will argue that the process of globalization has been very important in shaping these virtual gaming environments by connecting millions of players from all over the world to them. Furthermore we will argue that virtual gaming environments can perform a similar function as tourism destinations because they fulfill the tourists need to find something authentic, exotic and different to their everyday lives. And although these places aren’t real in a physical sense, the fact that within them one interacts with other real people makes them very real and in many aspects a reflection of the physical world (for instance: in some of these virtual worlds economies exist that function in much the same way as real economies). We would even argue that this virtual tourism provides a more authentic experience than a physical tourism destination, because it actually lets people become someone else who has abilities (all kinds of super powers) they don’t have in the physical realm. They can also very easily become part of the community they visit, which is very hard for visitors to physical tourism destinations.
We think the article will be of scientific relevance because it links a relatively new type of environment (the virtual) to tourism processes which, according to our research, has not been done before in this way, but might be of great importance to the future development of tourism. We will justify our arguments by using scientific literature that addresses the tourists’ search for the exotic, authentic and the other (an example of a scientific article about this subject is Aitchinson’s article called: Theorizing Other discourses of tourism, gender and culture: can the subaltern speak (in tourism)?, published in Tourist Studies in 2001). Background knowledge on the nature of global gaming networks in general and MMORPG’s in specific will be sought in scientific journals, professional journals, newspapers, websites and personal experience.

[MrCoffee]

wow thats pretty sweet...i cant right liek that..probably cause im in gr10...

[Canyarion]

You replied. Good boy.
You type like a monkey. Bad monkey.

[MrCoffee]

=D haha yeah sorry, i dislocated my thumb and so its all swolen and blue so its difficult to type and i really dont care right now :(

[Dyne]

I can't imagine hurting my thumb. No Gamecube or DS? I couldn't do it.

[MrCoffee]

I can't imagine hurting my thumb. No Gamecube or DS? I couldn't do it.

nice,

[Canyarion]

We finished our article. :)
Title:
Virtual Worlds as Tourist Destinations: Current and Future Possibilities for Cybertourism

Abstract:
This article describes the phenomenon of virtual worlds, environments that do not exist in the physical world, but only in cyberspace. Some of these virtual worlds, like the ones of Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs), offer such experiences that a comparison with tourism can be made. First of all, several characteristics and different forms of virtual worlds will be discussed. The main focus will be on why virtual worlds can act as tourism destinations, with arguments based on theoretical ideas and literature research. Additionaly, several consequences and future possibilities of cybertourism will be looked at. The conclusion includes some suggestions for further research.
Keywords: cybertourism, virtual tourism, virtual worlds, MMORPG.

If you're interested, read the article in the attachment. :) Please do comment on it! We have this dreamy hope of publishing it, but then we'll need to improve it. Thanks and enjoy! :D