According to Bordwell and Thompson (1997) Narrative can be best described as “A chain of events in cause-effect relationship occuring in time and space”. Looking at the model, it becomes clear that ‘Causality’, ‘time’ and ‘space’ are the key of narrative. Obviously a game or film is driven by narrative plots and sub-plots, but these chains of events are broken down into smaller elements which form part of the finer details. Some are not integral to the way the story works, they just help to create a better representation of the area and situations that occur within the narrative.

One way to look at a film, or even a game is to “think of movies as a string of lightbulbs. The light bulbs are the scenes or events, and the wire where the actual electricity comes from is the story. The story is the reason why the bulbs are connected at all”. (Wellins, M. Storytelling through animation.) I believe this statement to be correct, with past experience of screenwriting there are key elements which need to be implied for the narrative to work. These elements in turn aid the formation of the virtual world, in a game sense particularly. This excerpt was taken from an article about storytelling through animation, but does not necessarily solely apply itself to animation. This can come across in books, films or games also. The strands of a story could depict in a game the path of your avatar. Yet in something so open and vast as Blizzard’s World of Warcraft, you can choose your own path and -within reason- do whatever you want.

Bordwell and Thompson later explain in their article that ‘Diegesis’ is ‘the total world of the story’, so in short – Diegesis is not only the virtual world that is being portrayed, but the story, narrative and all ‘the parts of the story that are not actually shown on the screen’. They do not have to be centrally focused within the main narrative, nor talked about by other characters – this can be anything that is linked to something within the main story or represented in the virtual world. One way to see it is that it doesn’t have a specific importance, but it exists to make it feel more ‘real’. We notice it, but it doesn’t have to mean anything. This could be anything from less important characters, to plants to even details of architecture.

In looking further at narrative and the way it plays a role in both films and games, it is clear that there has to be certain relations between aspects of the narrative for it to run smoothly. For example, the relation between ‘story’ and ‘events’ in gaming helps to determine the mapping of quests and exploration of areas by players. If a game is made with knowledge of a pre-existing film of the same market – the consumer can then assume what to expect in the game in respect of the story. However, creating a virtual world from scratch enables the player to build their own stories if they wish.

Having connections between events allows for quest ‘chains’ – where a player can continue on a venture with a certain sub-plot – which may or may not even lead to anything major. In the way of storyline, the linear approach can be described as a ‘string of pearls’, each ‘pearl’ marking another event in the chain – whereas the multi-linear approach could deal with several stories stranded together, created from sub-plots.

Firstly I will demonstrate how representation of characters affects the character selection by the player in the set up and beginning of the game – for example on this main menu screen – you are able to choose basics such as male or female to begin with, and also give your character its name.

Amongst these extensive choices you can choose a race for your character to belong to, a class to follow – even hair colour and style. Here an individual can attempt to create a representation of themselves as an avatar within the virtual world.

It focuses heavily on choice, and attempts to give players optimum options to choose from to indicate variety and aid the player in being whatever figure they choose within this virtual world. One of the ways an individual could demonstrate ‘self’ within the character they choose is the path they take and attitude towards quests or the general story.

For example, being immersed into the game you can follow quest chains which lead you to new places – but you don’t need to necessarily follow such linearity. A player could choose to explore an entirely different area and level by killing mobs completely unrelated to a quest.

Essentially, fantasy related – you can be and do whatever you want in this virtual world, with potentially minimal restrictions. Discussing elements of realism in this way it seems fair to also mention the WoW Virtual World elements that replicate those that can be found in real life.

In relation to theorist Tanya Krzywinska’s article Games and Culture, 2006 where she talks about ‘one of the pleasures of playing in the “world” of Warcraft is becoming part of its pervasive mythology’,  and going on to then explain that the argument is based on the understanding of the gameplay and depth of respect for the world in terms of players’ actions, objects, objectives, aesthetics and furthermore; the ‘game play, morality, culture, time and environment’.

Different races, for example will take on different beliefs and conflicts to propose a balance support or imbalance with other races. For game play values, most races will have at least one aspect converse to another race, which runs currently in game play. Not all of these aspects are negative, for example – Orcs allowed Trolls to settle on Durotar, Kalimdor – one of the continents in Azeroth.

This is an instance that is recognised and respected in the ‘virtual world’ as a situation between races, implying that situations like this have occurred in real life at one point or another – and that they can be replicated as situations that occur in a game community.

Surrounding the game, players are invited to read further into the ‘World’ of Warcraft, and its mythologies that it implies. This allows for the element of realism and offers the player as much or as little information as they require for their personal gameplay experience, whether it be roleplaying or just leveling without too much attention or respect for the story.

Being able to read further about the history of the “World” of Warcraft allows players to be further engrossed in not only the game, but the myth also. There are books available, not to mention several websites and the fact that the game offers quest scroll windows with updates to major segments of the story line.

Here not only can the main plot be followed generally, but the player can learn about sub-plots that branch out the virtual world of Azeroth and make it feel that bit more realistic. This makes Azeroth – the ‘World’ in Warcraft feel a lot more realistic and adds to the notion of it being a ‘virtual world’. There is enough literature surrounding it, that individuals can appreciate it as being a ‘world’ rather than just a flat space with a beginning and end.

Krzywinska mentions that ‘aspects of myth and the mythic play significant roles in making the “World” of Warcraft.’ As she also goes on to mention, the most visible dimension of the aspects of myth are the narrative registration of style, resonance and rhetoric – which are contributors to the fantasy ambience clearly visible in the game.

One theory which she applies to her findings is Mythos – stating that it ‘plays a significant role in the experience of playing World of Warcraft in terms of the game’s major goals and is often also in play in the social dimensions of the game.’

This segment applies to the portrayal of ‘self’ and shows how the game allows for social happenings to occur like they would do in real life. Another thing to mention about this would be the events that take place in real life – such as Christmas and Valentines day – also take place in the game as ‘festivals’.

To mark these occasions, specialist quests are opened and special items are obtainable – mostly for fun. The fantasy universe that has been created in World of Warcraft offers relationships between the myth, fantasy, structures of gameplay and social affordances.

It also resembles the structure commonly shared between fictional worlds in different genres – namely fantasy, horror and science-fiction. The ambience aforementioned is demonstrated rather realistically throughout the games virtual world – almost everywhere you look represents this in some way or another.

Landscapes and areas can be pretty pointless, but entirely open for exploration to again make the world feel more realistic. You wouldn’t expect there to be mobs absolutely everywhere on the map, and if it wasn’t so vast or explorable then there would appear to be a problem with the realism of a ‘virtual world’.

Krzywinska makes a valid point about the meaning of myth in the consideration of the formation of a “world” or game “universe”, stating her argument that, ‘myth is, I would argue, intrinsic to the creation of a particular worldview in all these cases, whether that worldview is to be taken as “real” or as a form of make-believe.’ (Game Culture. 2006).

As she ends this particular point, I believe correctly – ‘Many of these mythical worlds extend beyond a single story, providing the basis for a range of stories.’ A point to mention here to back up her theory is the fact that the main story particularly in the World of Warcraft is the one which impacts ‘Azeroth’ – WoW’s “World” in its entirety (mainly the situation between Alliance and Horde factions), however, different areas and different quests suggest a range of story paths to take as a singular character.

The portrayal of ‘self’ within the player’s avatar decides which paths of these will be taken. The rise and sometimes fall of cultures are played through in events which take place in this “world”, and further updates suggest turns in story lines.

Krzywinska points out that ’Nonlinearity and importantly, player agency within the context of a game world make therefore for a significant material difference to myth-based narratives found in other arenas.’

The theory behind “worldness”, as Krzywinska puts it, is that ‘the world should have a unifying consistency; this applies to not only spatial coordinates, style, and physics but also to the past events that constitute the current state of affairs within the world and to which the player-character is subject.

This means that the world has to have a history, and in the case of World of Warcraft, it is realised in mythological terms.’ If you listen closely to the sound in World of Warcraft, you can hear stunningly realistic ambience – such as the whistling wind, footsteps over different surfaces and the splashing of water as you step, wade or swim through it.

If you pay close enough attention to the surroundings – each place tells a story and is represented specifically so. Undercity is home to the undead, and demonstrates it in its gloomy appearance. Silvermoon is home to the elves and is beautifully decorated in a rich ornamental look. Looking even closer, footprints are imprinted on certain surfaces such as sand or snow and even leaves can be found floating in the water.

The “world” is there for the taking, although it seems to be expressed better as a “world” or “universe” in an RP server – where players act and speak completely in character. Since there are a various different races, the mythos overarches as Krzywinska explains – the myth separates into secondary myths and histories surrounding the presentation of each race. Beginning a character on Horde Faction as an Undead character would place you in ‘Deathknell’, appropriate for the origination of the race.

Beginning a character as a Blood Elf would see you start in Sunstrider Isle, a beginners area of Silvermoon. To conclude, Azeroth – the universe in World of Warcraft has expanded its image and its capabilities and even narrative structure so much that it can be classed as a ‘virtual world’ and the point not be argued negatively.

It supports a social standing and allows for an individual to be as immersed in the game as they personally feel comfortable. It offers enough flexibility and choice to a player for them to decide for themselves what to do in the game world.

The fact that it also supports decisions about what genre of server to play also suggests that Blizzard want its players to feel as comfortable playing WoW as any other game of its kind.

It could also discuss the ways in which simple linear storylines are applied to certain games, based on new media material. For example, when a book is written, the film is made – the ‘brand’ is formed and released – there seems to be limited time to release a game alongside it, and so, in my opinion, it is not always as good as can be expected, mostly rather simple and as I mentioned, rather linear. (Although they still must make a fair amount of money). The same cannot be said for all RPG’s, in fairness. For example, not all RPG games or FPS’ follow storylines from books or other media forms. They are original media forms in their own rights and don’t seem to be as simple or as ‘rushed’, for want of a better word.

MMORPG’s, however, pay attention far more to detail. The storylines can go multidirectional, some being far stronger than others. In the World of Warcraft, for example – the main storyline follows the character of the ‘Lich King’ – which derives and continues from the storyline in Warcraft 3, yet the quests themselves which you pick up and complete are small fragments of storylines which overlap into quest chains and so on. Some memorable, lengthy and rewarding  – others can be utterly pointless, but as in class discussion it was pointed out, the game entices you to look in areas even without promise or reward, ‘just for the sake of discovery’. You can even gain ‘achievements’ for exploring a map or area thoroughly. Back to WoW narrative basics, with the main storyline there is rivalry – Alliance and Horde ’factions’, and with this come separate storylines also – each side telling their ‘story’ from their standing. Their point of view.

The relevance of the game ’universe’ or ‘virtual world’ in these different types of games varies. The way I would like to think of it and discuss now, is that MMORPG’s such as World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online and Rising Forces Online are vast with endless possibilities, compared to games such as Metal Gear Solid and Tomb Raider for example, which are very linear – they even have ‘walkthrough’ cheats. Not only does the narrative not really allow for much adventure, but when you save your game in Metal Gear Solid or Tomb Raider and turn off your console – the game ‘world’ stops as you stop playing. However, in World of Warcraft and other MMORPG’s the ‘virtual world’ continues without your presence – essentially continuing as the world would do if you went to sleep, in real life.

The complicated depth and history into the game which mostly derived from situations occurring in the prequel Warcraft 3 becomes apparent in the current World of Warcraft, where the maps and situations appear to have developed over time. Further expansions, such as Cataclysm – will see the ‘World’ contorted into an all new area with huge features aesthetically, just outside of the huge city of Orgrimmar. In terms of how the ‘World’ will cope due to the mythologies and gameplay – it will no doubt have a huge impact on Azeroth in general. Key figures that were introduced and followed in Warcraft 3 take pride of place – such as Thrall, the Horde Orc Warchief in Orgrimmar, in the Valley of Wisdom. Surrounding the game, players are invited to read further into the ‘World’ of Warcraft, and its mythologies that it implies.

Being able to read further about the history of the “World” of Warcraft allows players to be further engrossed in not only the game, but the myth also. There are books available, not to mention several websites and the fact that the game offers scroll windows with updates to major segments of the story line. Krzywinska mentions that ‘aspects of myth and the mythic play significant roles in making the “World” of Warcraft.’ As she also goes on to mention, the most visible dimension of the aspects of myth are the narrative registration of style, resonance and rhetoric – which are contributors to the fantasy ambience clearly visible in the game. One theory which she applies to her findings is Mythos – stating that it ‘plays a significant role in the experience of playing World of Warcraft in terms of the game’s major goals and is often also in play in the social dimensions of the game.’ The fantasy universe that has been created in World of Warcraft offers relationships between the myth, fantasy, structures of gameplay and social affordances. It also resembles the structure commonly shared between fictional worlds in different genres – namely fantasy, horror and science-fiction. Examples are given in Krzywinska’s article as ‘Lord Dunsany’s world of “faery”, JRR Tolkien’s “Middle Earth” and HP Lovecraft’s “Cthulhu” mythos.

Krzywinska makes a valid point about the meaning of myth in the consideration of the formation of a “world” or game “universe”, stating her argument that, ‘myth is, I would argue, intrinsic to the creation of a particular worldview in all these cases, whether that worldview is to be taken as “real” or as a form of make-believe.’ (Game Culture. 2006). As she ends this particular point, I believe correctly – ‘Many of these mythical worlds extend beyond a single story, providing the basis for a range of stories.’ A point to mention here to back up her theory is the fact that the main story particularly in the World of Warcraft is the one which impacts ‘Azeroth’ – WoW’s “World” in its entirety (mainly the situation between Alliance and Horde factions), however, different areas and different quests suggest a range of story paths to take as a singular character. The rise and sometimes fall of cultures are played through in events which take place in this “world”, and further updates suggest turns in story lines. Krzywinska points out that ’Nonlinearity and importantly, player agency within the context of a game world make therefore for a significant material difference to myth-based narratives found in other arenas.’

The theory behind “worldness”, as Krzywinska puts it, is that ‘the world should have a unifying consistency; this applies to not only spatial coordinates, style, and physics but also to the past events that constitute the current state of affairs within the world and to which the player-character is subject. This means that the world has to have a history, and in the case of World of Warcraft, it is realised in mythological terms.’ One thing specifically that could be noted is the fact that when making a character in the first stages of enrolling into the “World” of Warcraft, you choose a ‘Realm’ from either Alliance or Horde Faction, and this determines what type of server you will belong to. Servers available include PvP (Player vs Player), PvE (Player vs Enemy) and RP (Role Play), and depending on how much you want to ‘be’ or ‘live’ the character (or not), this can affect your decision ultimately. The “world” is there for the taking, although it seems to be expressed better as a “world” or “universe” in an RP server – where players act and speak completely in character. Since there are a various different races, the mythos overarches as Krzywinska explains – the myth separates into secondary myths and histories surrounding the presentation of each race. Beginning a character on Horde Faction as an Undead character would place you in ‘Deathknell’, appropriate for the origination of the race. Beginning a character as a Blood Elf would see you start in Sunstrider Isle, a beginners area of Silvermoon. I agree with most points that Krzywinska makes and enjoyed reading and comparing research to this article.

Trouble with uploading =(

I found it interesting to make notes on comparisons to what I found described in the paper, to those I actually encountered on the trip, mostly to do with architecture and the clever use of space within the game. Not to mention the use of ambient/natural sounds (such as the wind or birdsong) and visual aids to support this – such as birds in the sky.

In mcGregor’s paper, she talks about two completely different types of game – where architecture and space are used the same way aesthetically, but operate as a usable space or a symbolic meaning for size or value. Comparing the RTS (real time strategy) game ‘Battle for Middle Earth 2′ to the MMORPG ‘World of Warcraft’, she talks about how buildings and space are used as either accessible spaces where interactions with NPC’s take place, or closed constructs like in the RTS where no-one can enter, but the building itself provides a quality to the gameplay in value. eg. a Fortress.

When I saw the comparison choices, I didn’t understand how it would work since these are two completely different games. But reading through the contrasts and exactly how these ‘spaces’ are used, I can now understand why.

When you play MMO’s such as World of Warcraft on Mac, however, you don’t seem to be able to get this so called luxury very easily at all. After searching for working alternatives I managed to stumble across a quite useful Blog which details the way in which you can achieve recorded footage of gameplay on a Mac, using a software called SnapzPro. The blog I’ve found by a blogger called aenea talks about using it for ‘Second Life’, but I plan on testing this method and software for World of Warcraft and seeing just how useful the software might be. The link is http://aeneaideas.wordpress.com/2006/12/02/machinima-in-sl-on-mac-os-x-a-tutorial/

-Amy