The Mafia Everquest Connection

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to the 2003 Melbourne Digital Arts And Culture Conference site, where a large selection of new academic papers about videogaming have been disseminated online. This includes The Sopranos Meets Everquest - Social Networking In Massively Multiplayer Online Games (PDF file), which discusses why "instead of having Gandalf as a role model, [Everquest players] would be better off trying to think as Tony Soprano, a present day mafia boss in New Jersey from the American TV show The Sopranos."

Comments

Good Lord, what is the world doing?

[saskboy]

"academic papers
about videogaming"

Dream job, or make-work project?

Re:Good Lord, what is the world doing?

[SkArcher]

Strange, at the last party I was at gamers outnumbered non-gamers. We ended up having a big arguement/conversation about what makes a good MMPORPG, with people who had played everything from UO right up to one who is beta testing Star Wars Galaxies.

The non-gamers got exiled to the kitchen, and were talking about Big Brother :) stereotypes, huh?

Re:Good Lord, what is the world doing?

[Anonymous Coward]

" "academic papers
about videogaming"

Dream job, or make-work project?"

Next thing you know, they are going to start claiming that playing video games can be beneficial to people.

Oh wait.

Re:Good Lord, what is the world doing?

[wza]

Sorry, LANparties don't count.

Re:Good Lord, what is the world doing?

[Shanoyu]

I believe this isn't the first time silly papers have been written. I can illustrate better using quotations. Let the source remain unknown.

[@ e] Shan, they play EQ all day long, they figure why not write their dissertation on it.
[@ Shanoyu] That's a possibility.
[@ e] Some guy at UCSB apparently spent all his time at the beach smoking out, so his dissertation wound up as a documenting of a "freeform community art project", i.e. some walls covered in graffiti.
[@ e] He even used my new favorite phrase in the entire world...
[@ saltygirl] lol
[@ saltygirl] heirachies of access
[@ saltygirl] +r
[@ e] Yes!
[@ e] +r is short for IS RULEZ
[@ saltygirl] =P
[@ e] Hierarchies of access are my new favorite thing.

Hmmm...

[JayBlalock]

So the more experienced users should be shaking down newbies for gold if they don't want to get spammed? Form a gang and charge local businesses a tithe as "insurance"? Basically do everything possible to make sure all wealth flows to the top and the little guy has nothing? I thought games were supposed to give us a break from reality...

Re:better still:

[i.r.id10t]

Yes... but I don't think there are red Swingline staplers in EQ....

That poor little looter...

[bluemeep]

"While Phrank had quick benefit from this loot/linkdeath scam, a not uncommon one, the question is if he knew the larger repercussions from this kind of action. Needless to say, none of the members is ever likely to invite Phrank into a group again except perhaps for the chance to punish him. Several members took the time to inform their guildmates that this character was not to be trusted."

And now not only does that guild know, so does everybody that's read the paper through Slashdot. If he hasn't deleted that character by now, I'd say he's about to!

Yeezus.

[Freston Youseff]

I can't even imagine the combination of smells in that conference room: horrible body odor from the Everquest people mixed with the excessive stink of aftershave that the Sopranos guineas wear. I predict a big rumble taking place, namely the Everquest people sucking fist and nursing head wounds.

Badda...

[ctve]

Ping?

After killing your level 9 Dwarf

[PS-SCUD]

It's nothing personal, just business. Capish?

prediction

[TrippTDF]

Sony online's next release: EverSoprano, where you get to swear, shoot guns and get into legal disputes with HBO.

The Possibilities

[Malicious]

With the recent Shadow Bane hack, prompting legal battles in virtual worlds, it would be incredibly funny to see Extortion, and Murder charges coming from higher level characters, threatening or pkilling lower lever characters.

Q: Whadda you in for?
A: Virtual Murder 1.

Organized crime and diseases

[martissimo]

Dargon "I only wanted to have an alt for awhile he is a STD"
TL "A what darg?"
Dargon "A STD super twinked dwarf"

Tony needs to keep his ring of ladies a lil cleaner, STD's are no laughing matter ;)

Hmm....

[c3rb]

Gandalf...Gandolfini...

Coincidence? I think not.

What a Load of...

[Quaoar]

Don't you remember what happens in Return of the King? When Gandalf cuts off Frodo's head and hands, and hurls him into Mt. Doom?

Re:'bada-bing' department?

[Anonymous Coward]

shadda up you face ok? badda-bing!

I prefer to think more like...

[Whispers_in_the_dark]

... Fat Tony from the Simpsons myself.

Re:I only skimmed the paper so far

[drdale]

To see who would expose themselves as the biggest hypocrite on /. through posting an even less necessary complaint. Congratulations. Watch for your prize coming in the mail.

Do As Your Told Or...

[Caraig]

you're gonna sleep wit' da krakens!

Re:Mob/clique behavior

[Shanoyu]

Nah, it's easy for an e2 newbie to get the right connections. The problem with e2 is that the level of hate that users hold for one another end up being grudges that never, ever, ever fade.

Obligatory monty python joke

[gijoel]

"Nice dark horde you got 'er Sauron." "Yeah, very nice" "Yeah, be a shame if some'int happened to it?" "Yeah, real shame" CRASH. TINKLE. "Ohh. I'm so sorry." "Yeah sorry guv, my brother's so clumsy, he didn't mean to break your ring." "Yeah, real sorry."