An Instructional Designer Looks at
World of Warcraft
Katie Livingston Vale, Ed.D.
MIT
What is World of Warcraft?
• MMORPG published by Blizzard
• Most popular game (3.5 million users)
• Monthly usage charge in addition to game
price
• Not intended to be an educational game
WoW Sample
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WoW Overview
• Variety of character choices
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2 factions (Alliance and Horde)
4 races for each faction (M/F for each)
9 classes (1 unique per faction)
Each class has multiple talent trees for further
customization
WoW Overview
• Players can adventure in solo content
• Grouping encouraged
– Instanced dungeons need groups
– Instances designed for 5, 10, 15, 20 and 40
person groups
– Better “rewards” for larger group instances
WoW Overview
• Servers have different world rule sets
– Player versus Environment (PvE)
– Player versus Player (PvP)
– Role Play (PvE/PvP)
• PvP enables Alliance and Horde character
to battle each other
• Role Play tries to keep chat and behavior
appropriate to the game world
WoW Overview
• Groups are encouraged to have balance of
classes
• Players can join together as a Guild
– Characters show guild name
– Special chat channel
– Typically set up external guild web site
• Professions allow for gathering and
creation of materials for a player
WoW Overview
• Each server has its own economy
• Players can sell dropped items, resources
and crafted items
• Game has built in money sinks to take
money out of economy (repairs, regents,
epic items/quests)
• Players must save or earn money to
continue to quest
Overview of this research
• WoW is an immersive and engaging game;
what lessons can it offer to education?
• Qualitative survey of World of Warcraft
players
• Ethnographic observation of players in
game
Survey Demographics
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35 individual respondents
5 female (~15%), 30 male (~85%)
Age range 12 - 60 (average 34.4)
Occupations of respondents varied widely:
software engineers, students, housewives,
retired, doctors, biophysicists, graphic
designers, foremen, marketing directors,
college professors, retail managers
Demographics, cont.
• At least 27 of the respondents had reached
level 60 (max) with a character
• Each player has an average of 4 characters
played (range 1-12 characters)
Why did players begin playing WoW?
• Sent invitations during closed (free) beta
• Ability to solo or group (other games are
group-only)
• Knew Blizzard brand
• Prior experience with gaming guilds, D&D,
MMORPGs or MUDs
• Ability to personalize characters
Why did players begin playing WoW?
• Friends or family brought them into game
• Looking for games with cooperation as well
as competition
How did players learn to play WoW?
• Trial and error; hints
• Through online or in person real-time
instruction from other players
• Online forums: thottbot, allakhazam,
Blizzard
• Online tutorials and beginner areas
• Documentation
Why do players like WoW?
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Problem-solving
Interaction with others
Fantasy element
Creating own characters
Lifelike quality - there are rules and
formulas that make sense
• Advancing characters/levelling up
Why do players like WoW?
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Sense of community; social networking
Can solo or group
Quest model of goal-based work, progress
Exploring a virtual world
Shared mutual goals with “tangible”
rewards
What players dislike
• Amount of time needed; “addictive” nature
of game
• “Unruly kids”
• Rude players
• After level 60, game can feel like job
• “I dislike the way my wife looks at me when
I want to play it.”
A quote:
• “ I love the social aspect of the game. I like fighting evil and feeling
like I'm accomplishing something tangible when my real-life goals
and objectives are often more long term and not immediately
reinforcing. I like kicking the heck out of evil. I like beating things
up. I like smiting evil soundly about the head and shoulders. So
benefits include release of tension, enjoyable community, and a sense
of accomplishment. I dislike it when people take the game too
seriously, or forget the the folks behind the characters are real people
with real feelings. Sometimes people can be rude and pushy, and that's
not my idea of a fun leisure activity.”
What do players think they learn
from WoW?
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Communication and social interaction skills
Teamwork
Group decision-making
Strategy
A better sense of the real people behind the
characters
• Sacrifice and learning from mistakes
• How to run a business/ basic economics
How does World of Warcraft apply to
real life?
• Helps in learning to deal with different kinds of
people
• Gives experience in working in teams and
managing people via electronic communication
• Requires mastery of basic economics to level up
• Trains you how not to be annoying in electronic
communication
• Offers “the ability to research, strategize, and
then execute a plan to overcome a game obstacle”
How might aspects of WoW be used
in formal education?
• Concepts of questing, levelling up
• Ability to try ideas that might fail - and
then try again without serious consequence
• Teamwork for a common goal; anonymity
and or “special powers” of team members
important; choosing team composition
How might aspects of WoW be used
in formal education?
• Economics and business management learning how to manage your money
• Making modifications via WoW macro
language increases exposure to
programming
• Group problem-solving
• Encouragement for reading and math skill
development for younger children
How might aspects of WoW be used
in formal education?
• Ethics demonstrations (thieving, looting)
• Gender communication studies
• Learning about professions through
characters (e.g. herbalism and biology)
• Teaching patience and delayed gratification
A quote:
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“I've learned teamwork, tolerance,
communication. As the leader of a large guild
I've learned mediation, psychology, empathy, and
patience. Managing 130 by simply typing to
communicate is a challenge but also very
rewarding.”
Key Points to Consider
• Creating an environment similar to World
of Warcraft would cost millions of dollars
• Game players expect a high level of
graphical and game design sophistication.
• Probably best not to try to create your own
“game” unless you have significant
resources.
Pedagogical Themes
• Social learning theory and
phenomenography (communication, guilds)
- Vygotsky, Bandura, Marton et al.,
Laurillard
• Constructivism (characters) - Dewey,
Whitehead
• Group Problem-solving (raids) - Thelen
Pedagogical Themes
• Exploratory learning (PvE) - Papert
• Inquiry learning (quests) - Bruner
• Mastery learning (levelling up) - Carroll,
Bloom
• Situational learning/ role play (all) Lave,
Brown et al., Shaftel
Salient themes
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Economics and personal finance
Teamwork and team formation
Problem-solving and patience
Time management
Fantasy/pretend element
For further research
• How to use the same pedagogical methods
outside of the fantasy/sci fi element (Second Life,
Sims Online)?
• Can real information be incorporated into game
play without it being “dumbed down”? Will it be
as compelling as a fictional environment?
• How to get past the “partial anonymity” of
games to encourage teamwork in real life?
Special thanks to the Reservoir Dogcow guild of Whisperwind. Moof !