A Final Retrospective on World of Warcraft Identities

By Ian Alejandro Hunter for Sociology 150, Social Psychology

Introduction

The field of social psychology heavily focuses on studying human interaction in the present world setting. However, as technology becomes increasingly prevalent in our lives, it is important to also consider how humans present themselves in a digital setting. I believe there is much to learn from virtual "third worlds" where people engage with each other in fascinating ways that offer insight into social dichotomy, human social presentation, and the development and expression of identities similar to those found in modern venues. World of Warcraft is a MMORPG that creates a socially rich environment for players to develop unique digital identities. The choice between the game's two main factions, the Horde and the Alliance, allows for players to adopt distinct identities that guide their social interactions within the game. Through analysis of player data, interviews, and personal involvement in-game, I will explore how identities are developed and internalized in virtual worlds similar to real-world identities.

Art from World of Warcraft's seventh expansion, Battle for Azeroth, where the battle between Horde and Alliance comes to a head. Art credit to Blizzard.

Study Design, Study Site, and Procedures

When I was designing my research project, I knew that the current pandemic would make studying social identities challenging. But the pandemic also pushed me to think creatively and find a topic that was more impactful in terms of insights on virtual communities in video games. I had always been interested in studying identities within the realm of video games and the people who play them. However, the circumstances of the pandemic would have prevented many of the in-person interactions that I had planned. So, I decided to shift my focus to the digital landscapes that gamers occupy, where they can safely interact with one another. This led me to take a dynamic approach to the way we interpret social identity.

The virtual landscape of the World of Warcraft became the venue at the center of my study. It is home to millions of players and houses one of the largest and most diverse communities in the industry currently. As a video game, much of the focus lies in how players interact with the various quests and challenges in-game, as well as with other players. Within the virtual land of Azeroth, players have been subject to an almost infinite number of tasks and world events that have allowed for a consistent development of what is now a vast, expansive world that is teeming with life and opportunity.

The players themselves present a wide range of socially significant traits that have allowed for a detailed study that is able to encompass a set of data that would rival real-world studies on social interaction. I believe that the focus on characteristics offers more importance when it comes to the personalities and identities that our subjects develop in-game in comparison to their real-world identities.

As an avid gamer myself and a long-time fan of the World of Warcraft, I had a foundation that would give me easy access to the research venue. However, I chose to approach the community from the perspective of a beginner. I felt that this would prevent previous biases from conflicting with my study, and I would have the potential to discover a much wider range of social interaction from the community when it came time for our research through interaction and activity. While there was still much insight to be gained from long-time friends within the game itself, I did not want to neglect any fresh faces that came forward in my experiences with either the Horde or the Alliance.

I came across a piece by Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann in Jodi O’Brien’s The Production of Reality titled “The Internalization of Society.” What struck me the most was the quote, “In primary socialization, then, the individual’s first world is constructed. Its peculiar quality of firmness is to be accounted for, at least in part, by the inevitability of the individual’s relationship to his very first significant others…” (Berger and Luckmann 160). This is insightful not only in regards to my understanding of others' social foundations, but also in its potential application to the concept of a virtual "third world." While the authors were discussing one's social development in their first world, I believe this concept can be extended to virtual worlds and the social interactions that occur within them. As such, I am interested in exploring the insights that come from investigating virtual communities and the social dynamics that exist within them.

Findings

During my preliminary field visit to World of Warcraft (WoW) on September 19th, my main objective was to establish a foundation for consistent data acquisition for my research project. I spent about 6-8 hours playing the game and found that involvement in guilds, one of WoW's primary social features, was essential to understanding the social experiences of players in-game. I was able to join a guild and a few members even offered their time to assist with my project. However, I noticed a bias and hesitation from some members towards my project, possibly due to stereotypes surrounding video games in society. This reminded me of Claude M. Steele's "Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do," where she explains the damage stereotypes can have on our identities and social relations:

…identity threats—and the damage they can do to our functioning—play an important role in some of society’s most important social problems…that persistently plague and distort our society to the equally persistent intergroup tensions that often trouble our social relations. (Steele 15)

I believe that these virtual communities and identities developed within video games are just as important as real-world relationships. The fact that these players welcomed me based solely on a mutual interest in WoW's social dynamic and the Horde faction showed that they value social development above all else.

During my research, I conducted two in-depth interviews with members of my personal guild named "Ryan" and "Luke". In my interview with Ryan, we discussed his initial formation of his identity in the game as either Horde or Alliance. He shared that while his intention was to align himself with one faction, he found that the potential for gameplay opportunities was a crucial aspect of the way he wanted to play the game. As a result, he developed his identity to flex between both factions while still being deeply immersed in the culture of each. This approach showed me how World of Warcraft offers a unique freedom of expression in one's identity, allowing individuals to shift between personalities, unlike the real world where it may be seen as negative.

In my second interview with Luke, I discovered a completely different personality from Ryan's, which showcased the dynamic differences that can stem from the two identities. Luke took a more serious approach to his objectives in-game and was aligned strictly with the Horde faction based on skill advantages and overall look and feel. His virtual personality reflected his competitive nature and his choices were dictated by the rewards he would receive. What fascinated me was that he was at the forefront of leadership in our guild and strove to make a name within the WoW community as a whole. When asked about this approach, he stated that he intended to encourage those around him to activate their fullest potential in a competitive sense. It was interesting to see how his in-game identity related to his real-world identity, as he felt held back in his average life and saw WoW as an opportunity to express his true nature.

Image captured from World of Warcraft's eighth expansion, Shadowlands, released in 2020. Art credit to Blizzard.

Discussion, Analysis, and Interpretation

My argument is that the dynamic nature of this virtual "third world" allows individuals to express a personality that they may not be able to in reality. This concept tends to bring out many individuals' desired or true natures and identities. The instances of Ryan and Luke demonstrate the unique level of social development that can take place in a digital forum. Cooley's piece, "Looking-Glass Self," resonates with our interviewees, showing how they have developed their "alternative" identities in the freedom of WoW's open virtual world. His ideas help to discern the reality that comes about when looking at the development cycles that we can then apply to our digital "third worlds."

As for my last two visits to WoW, they were particularly significant given their dates, November 23rd and 24th. On the 23rd, the game released its eighth expansion, Shadowlands, and with it came a plethora of new content for players. During my two visits, I focused on analyzing the newfound and potential future interactions that could occur with the influx of new and returning players flooding the servers.

Through my brief observations, I gained great insight into the adaptability of identities and how their distinct alterations shaped the dynamic of players' own identities. I found that many players used the new content as an opportunity to reform their core values and their approach to the game, which was no surprise given the new elements introduced in the expansion. There were four new side-factions that players could pledge themselves to, each with their own unique style and set of goals within the game's newest campaign. As a result, I saw many players embracing these new sub-factions and shifting their alignments towards the aesthetics of said factions. While many still held an allegiance to either the Horde or the Alliance, they also saw the merit that comes from embracing the newest additions to the game's series of identities.

In my further analysis of these final findings, I referenced Jodi O'Brien's piece, The Production of Reality, and specifically her section, "Who Am I? Developing Character." O'Brien encapsulates the mentality of the players when she describes her notion of "possible selves" and particularly when she states, "However, it’s not enough to have a general idea of the social position that you would like to occupy; rather, you need to be able to imagine the actual process of getting into that position." (O’Brien 240) This quote highlights the novelty and importance of our conception of social image. In the new factions introduced in the expansion, players underwent a necessary development and understanding of their identity, which allowed for such a shift. Making the drastic change in-game involved players not necessarily abandoning their previous identities, but rather putting an enhanced emphasis on their new sub-faction, with many of their in-game goals and quests centered around bringing their faction to its highest potential and embracing a high-standing role within said faction.

The symbols of both warring factions in World of Warcraft, the Alliance on the left and the Horde on the right. Art credit to FaithShifter on DeviantArt.

Conclusion

I feel that my main overall goal with this paper was to look at the importance of a virtual world and the identities associated with them, with heavy emphasis on World of Warcraft and video games as a “third world.” I wanted to showcase how the social elements that make up these diverse worlds and the players that inhabit them allow for a social development cycle that rivals that seen in our real-world setting. As a whole I feel that I have done so, whether it was through a detailed overview of the background of WoW and its design, or through the curated examples of my experiences in-game that allowed for a spotlight to be shed on important social factors that have caused a significant growth in this community.

As someone who took great care with this project based on my passion for video games and my respect for the industry as a whole, this was a perfect opportunity to express my opinions on why these identities matter and just how effective they can be in the grand scope of sociology and the study of social interaction. And in an industry that does not seem to be stopping its growth anytime soon, I look forward to the future potential that video games have when it comes to concepts such as virtual reality and the extension of our current social spaces into a more digital world with a seemingly endless number of possibilities for research and discovery.

This blog post was adapted from a full-length essay written for Sociology 150: Social Psychology, taken at the University of California, Berkeley. The full paper can be found under the "File Share" section of this portfolio. This is Part 2 of 3 in a blog series on the social sciences as depicted in video games.