Captains Log: Stardate 65208.1

I get far too excited everytime I log into Star Trek Online (STO) and load the U.S.S. Stiletto-B for a new mission. Yes, I know. It is super super nerdy, but whatever.

This excitement is for a multitude of reasons.

First, I will be the first to admit that I am already (after a mere week of gameplay) more invested in the STO world than I ever was in World of Warcraft, in part because of my love for the Star Trek television shows and movies. It feels awesome to be in control of my own ship, to explore the systems in the galaxy that I remember from specific episodes (or have only heard about through hearsay in other episodes). I get a lot of satisfaction from successfully destroying a Borg Cube, or fending off a Klingon invasion force or making First Contact with an alien species in a distant part of the galaxy. While my grad student work (homework, thesis proposal work, etcetera etcetera) doesn't allow me to play the game as much as I want to (and, trust me, a few times in the past week I have sacrificed my sleep schedule to complete just one more mission), reopening the window is like reentering a familiar world and has come as a greater respite than WoW ever did.

I love this game because it is much more complex than your run of the mill MMORPG (not necessarily in mechanics, but we'll get to that later). After completing a long and complex space battle, and looting the dropped items from the mobs, I am forced to figure out which modifiers, if any, my ship actually needs from the new gear. Is the Tachyon Deflector Array Mark II really that much better than my regular Deflector Array Mark II? Is the drop of 2.5 points from my Emmitter modifier going to make that much of a difference? Are disruptors going to be more effective in this mission, or should I arm my away team with phasers?

As I progress through the gameplay, I find myself tempted to rely upon meta-game resources (such as the many forums discussing PC build strategies, the releases from bloggers and game producers discussing the various benefits of each weapon type, the charts that show what modifiers benefit what systems), yet, when it comes down to it, I find it much more exhilirating to rely upon my own Star Trek knowledge to try and piece together what will or wont be relevant.

Like WoW, there are multiple forms of currency to keep track of (Energy Credits, Starfleet Merit, and Exploration Badges), but in STO, each of these three forms of currency is more important from the beginning of the game. [Should I buy this ship upgrade with my Merits, or should I use Energy Credits for a less-awesome version?]

As introduced in my first post, my current Captain's name is Lt. Commander Laquifa Jaran of Betazed (yes, I got a promotion!). First, I almost always play female characters in RPGs and MMORPGs when possible (the easiest explanation for this is that it's like being in drag, only without the pain and the work). As such, the the U.S.S. Stiletto/U.S.S. Stiletto-B (the two ships currently in my possesion) are, at least in my head, ridiculous queer paradises.

Imagine my surprise when I selected a new bridge officer (a Klingon Female!) and her name was Sass.

Now, I added the eye-patch and the skirt uniform, but really. Lieutenant Sass from the U.S.S. Stiletto-B? Such a perfect fit.

To diverge, yet again, I have currently primarily been exploring the game world as a solo player. While I have been moved into instances with other players occasionally (and had to coordinate away teams or space battles with another ship or two), I have completed the majority of the missions on my own thus far. There is a certain anxiety involved in playing an MMORPG (at least for me there is), and this is most definitely left over from my WoW experiences. For the most part, even if one is in a supportive Guild/Fleet, there are always the assholes who will throw a tantrum if, even as a noob, you don't perform your role in the group action perfectly (or you are not properly spec'd for the role you are playing). Too many times was I enlisted as the Tank for a dungeon crawl, and too many times I decided to drop out rather than deal with the harrassment for my less-than-perfect gear and tank abilities. This anxiety has, in all honesty, prevented me from seeking out the PvP areas of STO and has also, in many ways, spread to anxiety about joining a Fleet (STO's version of WoW Guilds). Yesterday, I declined three fleet offers. Today, I declined seven.

There is another reason why I have declined fleet offers (rather than just the left-over MMORPG anxiety). I've decided to be a little bit vain about my fleet choice. In my WoW time, I joined the first guild that invited me and, while it proved to be a great experience overall, it wasn't until I was talking to other WoW-gaming friends and my brothers that I realized how much my guild choice colored my integration into the WoW world. If one joins a raiding guild, for example, one has the resources (both guild-wise, player-wise, and meta-game wise) to become an expert at going through dungeons. If one joins one of the free-spirited "We're Gaming! YAY!" guilds (like mine was), the social experience of the guild becomes emphasized but at the expense, in some cases, of developing strong game skills. For example, I was one of the few people in my WoW guild that participated in PvP combat on my server; as such, when I had a question about specs or gearing, I was forced to troll through millions of websites of information and then try to piece it all together on my own.

So, yes, the Stiletto is being picky about deciding what fleet to join. Maybe by this time next week, I'll have made a decision.

Markers of Class in the Gaming Environment: Part One

One thing that never ceases to surprise me about being an avid MMORPG gamer is the extent to which in-game and meta-game class structres are apparent and actively expressed throughout the course of the online session.

For the purpose of this post, I am using the term "class" in a way that is divergent from the normative/traditional terminology present within role-playing games (RPGs). In an RPG, the term "class" generally refers to the player character's (PC's) profession and/or skill sets that structure the way in which the PC and the player approach the gaming world. For example, in World of Warcraft, one's class might be a Shaman, a Fighter, a Priest, a Death Knight, or a Mage. In Star Trek Online, one's class could be an Engineer, a Science Officer, or a Tactical Officer. In these instances, the idea of "class" is linked to the PC's in-game abilities.

But there is a second layer of class present within gaming in an RPG and an MMORPG environement that reflects upon socio-economic status (SES) in both the in-game and meta-game worlds.

The most consistent factor of all RPGs and MMORPGs is the concept of "levelling". The levelling structure creates an in-game SES manifestation by coordinating PC abilities and combat with the acquisition of goods. Generally speaking, the higher level ones PC is, the more valuable and expensive equipment one will be able to find. As such, the higher PC level is reflective not only of superior abilities but also superior purchasing power. In the RPG/MMORPG environment, the physical/virtual representation of the PC's SES is incredibly apparent. For example, in World of Warcraft, the quality and design of a particular PC's armor is a marker of both level and of wealth. In Star Trek Online, the starship of which one's PC is the commanding officer is an additional marker of level and wealth. As a player progresses through the in-game world in an attempt to level her/his character, the player is continually shown the possibilities and rewards of advancement and dedication to the game itself. The more time one spends playing the game, the better equipment, mounts/ships/transportation, and abilities one gains. Furthermore, the more time one invests in the aquisition of these goods, the larger gameplay options are opened to the player. (For example, many RPGs and MMORPGs have level-restricted areas that require not only a specific amount of PC skill but also require a certain investment in gear and equipment for the PC).

But MMORPGs also have a second meta-game layer of class representation. In both World of Warcraft and Star Trek Online, the Player's ability to spend money upon in-game commodities becomes a visually and socially manifested marker of the Player's own SES (and, consequently, the PC's SES, too). A player can spend money in the meta-game market to purchase a specific pet, a specific costume set, or a specific modification of the in-game goods that mark the PC as unique (and, thus, show the unique levels of dedication the Player has to the game world).

Both of these representation of class and SES converge upon the phenomenon of the gold-farmers. While I have yet to find any gold-farmers in the Star Trek Online game-world, one cannot exist within World of Warcraft for more than five minutes without recieving a message regarding Gold Farmers. Generally speaking, a gold farmer is someone (often affiliated with an overarching online company) who sells in-game currency to the players for meta-game money (20,000 gp only cost you a PayPal payment of $39.95 USD!). While this form of meta-game gold acquisition is illegal within the World of Warcraft game and meta-game worlds, it is, in many ways, representative of the non-virtual blackmarket. Those who can afford to purchase the illegal markers of the upper class do so in order to present the image of achievement.

Now presenting Lieutenant Laquifa Jaran, the Betazoid Lady-Captain of the U.S.S. Stiletto. After her exemplary performance fighting against the Borg attack (and her ability to take command in unexpected situations), Starfleet decided to let a mere Ensign become the Commanding Officer of a vessel. Now that she has sufficiently proven her abillity in defending Vulcan from Species 8472, fighting off Klingon raiding parties in the Orion sector, and defending helpless mining stations and colonies from Nausican, Orion, and Gron raiders, she is on the verge of a promotion and is about to be able to buy a new starship.

Laquifa represents a very large part of my nerdiness. I will admit that I am a trekkie. After having grown up watching Star Trek: The Next Generation with my father (and watching Star Trek: Voyager on my own), my integration into the world of Star Trek Lore is almost complete. Combine my already obsessive watching of the television shows with my two-summers spent at the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center (a space camp that consists of one part astronomy and one part Star Trek LARPing), my obsession with Star Trek is almost all encompassing.

It is no wonder that I am incredibly obsessed with Star Trek Online after a mere 10 hours of gameplay.

Throughout the rest of this blog, there are a multitude of projects and perspectives that I hope to undertake and adequately explore. (Being a blog, however, these projects and perspectives might fade into the background or might provide a basis for further auto-ethnographic exploration of my habits as a gamer).

• I hope to compare and contrast my experiences as a semi-avid World of Warcraft (WoW) gamer and an invested Star Trek Online (STO) gamer.
• I hope to explore the ways in which each game experience has socialized the player into the gameworld (and the meta-gameworld), both in how each game is similar and how each game is different
• I hope to explore the ways in which massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) are constructing their own societies, nations, and economies through the medium of Internet gaming
• I hope to explore the affective qualities that are involved in the gaming experience through the lens of socialization: why am I more commited to one game than another? Why am I socially, emotionally, spiritually, and physically invested in a virtual world? What causes me to value my experiences in the virtual world over my experiences in the non-virtual world (at the points in time when I am experiencing internal conflict over them)?

There are many more issues that will come up in this blog (and in my exploration of my individual gaming experience); as such, view these positions solely as a reading guideline.

In the posts to come, I will be exploring and comparing my experiences as a gamer in both WoW and STO; I will be using both experiences to re-write and re-explore previous papers I have written about online gaming, and I will (hopefully) help to expand all of our perceptions of the importance of gaming in the present world.

So, I now embark upon my mission into cyberspace and gaming. And no one has ever expressed what I hope to get out of this research better than Captain Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation:

"Space... the Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before."