(Person) Percentage - Sabanci University Research Database

The Asian Media & Mass Communication Conference 2010 Osaka, Japan
deny and proceed with the reimbursement. In such a case, no single member of the institution that
deals with any part of the process knows exactly the entirety of it. The knowledge of the entire
process lies on the institution as a whole and not to a single member. The same is true in WoW.
Every single player has a character to perform and a process to follow in order for the whole group to
operate according to its goal. Although a specific process is only known by a specific member who
implements that process, it has to be performed in harmony with accordance to the overall
expectation of the group. This type of tacit social knowledge includes groups working together on
“how decisions are made” and “how communications flow” (Linde 2001).
4.3. Creativity, Recognition, Challenge and Acquisition of New Skills in Modding
Since WoW began in November 23, 1994, it has developed over time through the collaborative
efforts of the players who test and challenge the game’s limits while the game designers alter the
game through patches in response to players’ feedback. Currently, nineteen major patches have been
introduced to rebalance the game. Despite efforts of WoW’s developers to immerse its players
through the graphical details of the game, some efforts still fall short to impress and provide a
satisfying experience for the players.
The graphic details of WoW may offer confusing and dazzling visual effects to players especially in
group raids. In a raiding group of at most forty characters, the cast of spells and attacks produces an
array of light that may bewilder the players. Fortunately, Blizzard Entertainment released an
Application Program Interface (API) that allows its players to “tweak” the game. The story doesn’t
just end with players altering the game experience, but their intention of devoting their time, skills,
and knowledge without any getting any compensation from the game developers. Terranova (2000)
explored the prevalence of the “gift economy” performed by knowledge laborers in an era of
productive consumption. Currently, laborers are willing to give up any financial benefits in exchange
of pleasurable productivity, which in the long run, will lead to non-financial rewards. Hardt and
Negri (2004) hypothesize the same thing by saying that we are now living in the age of “immaterial
labor” where there is a thinning boundary between work and leisure and that financial compensation
is no longer the ultimate measure of productivity. These ideas of free and immaterial labor have led
to the concept of “knowledge communities” by Jenkins (2006) on which the information is traded
and social capital is earned. The most important contribution of these knowledge communities is not
its agility but intelligence and passion.
Gamers are the best examples of free laborers and are best exemplified in the fan culture that is
created as a result of it. In the concept of any media forms, fans are important knowledge workers
who rely on information and interpretation to collectively produce modifications for their favorite
media (Baym, 2000). These fan-programmers have been sutured onto the theories of convergence,
where the role of the fans and producers is slowly blurring and sometimes overlapping. Fanprogrammers
contribute strongly on the design and gaming experience of a game. In WoW, fanprogrammers
have specific designations depending on the add-on or modification they intend to do.
These modifications can range from changes to visual effects to extension of game levels. Modders ,
on one hand, are in-charged of “mods” to a game that can range from visual effects and texture to
changes in story line. Mappers, on the other, design new game levels or “maps” to extend the gaming
experience of the players. In general, these changes are referred to as add-ons or modifications
(“mods” for short).
91