Understanding social interaction in World of Warcraft

Research has argued that social interaction is a primary driving force for gamers to continue to play Massive Multiple Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs). However, one recent study argues that gamers don’t really socialize with other players but play alone. Part of the confusion over whether players socialize much and/or enjoy socializing while playing MMORPGs may be due to the lack of a conceptual framework that adequately articulates what is meant by ‘social interaction in MMORPGs to understand how users experience interactions within the game. This study utilized ethnography to map out social interaction within the game World of Warcraft. It provides a broad framework of the factors affecting social interaction. The framework developed can be further verified and modified for future research.