Paper Information
| Title | Magic: The Gathering in material and virtual space: An ethnographic approach toward understanding players who dislike online play |
| Presenter(s) | Aaron Trammell |
| Session | Multiple Media, Third Spaces, & Magic |
| Time | Thursday, October 21, 11:00a-12:00p |
| Location | Green Room |
| Format | Paper Presentation |
| Description | This paper explores the results of a qualitative study on how Magic: The Gathering (M:TG) players perceive the use-value of simulated play environments. It is important to cultivate a thick description of how player communities evaluate, utilize and understand the games they play. Understanding the cultural protocols surrounding player communities allows game designers to develop games better suited to integrating player interests with pedagogical goals. This study utilizes ethnographic methods to understand the reasons why players choose to use or ignore Magic Online, an almost perfect simulation of the offline, tabletop card game. Simulated cards, spaces and rooms present the only major differences in play between the two environments. By exploring whether practice at Magic Online is understood by player communities to improve gameplay in an offline environment, this study hopes to discern: 1) How players believe that skills translate from Magic Online to an offline environment, 2) what reasons players cite when validating or invalidating online play, and 3) the use-value players attribute to virtual skill sets. |
| More | View PDF of full paper |