Document Type
Article
Abstract
The dominant metaphor used to describe and situate MMORPGs, or massively multiplayer online role playing games (e.g. Ultima Online, EverQuest, World of Warcraft, Second Life, etc.), has been “new world” and “new frontier.” By deploying this powerful imagery, game developers, players, the popular media, and academic researchers draw explicit connections between the technology of MMORPGs and the European encounter with the Americas and the western expansion of the United States. Although providing a compelling and often recognizable explanation of the innovations and opportunities of this new technology, the use of this terminology comes with a considerable price, one that had been demonstrated and examined by scholars of the Internet, cyberspace, and virtual reality over a decade ago. This essay explores the impact and significance of the terms “new world” and “frontier” as they have been deployed to explain and describe MMORPGs.
DOI
10.1080/15295030902860195
Publication Date
6-1-2009
Recommended Citation
Critical Studies in Media Communication, Volume 26, Number 2, June 2009, pages 104-127.
Original Citation
Critical Studies in Media Communication, Volume 26, Number 2, June 2009, pages 104-127.
Department
Department of Communication
Legacy Department
Department of Communication
Language
eng
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Comments
This is a preprint of an article whose final and definitive form has been published in the journal Critical Studies in Media Communication.