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."