Masters Theses

Date of Award

8-2001

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Communication

Major Professor

Michelle T. Violanti

Committee Members

John Haas, Dwight Teeter

Abstract

A study of communication behaviors in the massive multiplayer online roleplaying game, Everquest™, was conducted to determine if there were any relationships between playing styles, gendered communication strategies, and player or character sex. The use of feminist standpoint theory as a theoretical framework allowed the results of the study to be generalized to the social constructs known as man and woman, without necessarily indicating the results are true for individuals. The study found that it was possible to classify an individual's playing style as either that of a roleplayer or a power-gamer, but that there was not a significant link between these playing styles and communication strategies or the sex of the player or character. There was some evidence that communication strategies are different between the sexes, but the virtual sample observed did not include enough women to allow sufficient analysis of this phenomenon. The gaming environment might have been biased towards men and could have discouraged women from participating.

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