The
Death Stories Project
Last
updated April 25th, 2006
What
is the project about?
The input and player tales submitted on this site will be a major
part of a research project examining how players experience death
in online gameworlds. The project takes a closer look at death as
it is implemented in the game system of the world; and death as an
event related to one's characters' life in the world, that is, the
death(s) that has become part of the stories that describe your experience
of living in the world. By examing these aspects of death and death
penalty more closely, I hope to be able to say more about the interplay
between a gamesystem and the social life of player characters, and
how we might become better at designing worlds which give players
experiences they want to tell stories about.
Who
is behind this project?
The project and this survey site is designed and headed by Danish researcher
Lisbeth Klastrup, who does research at the Center of Computer Games
Research at the IT University of Copenhagen. Her major research interests
are online worlds, interaction forms, interactive storytelling and computer
games as fictional universes. In 2003, Lisbeth Klastrup defended her
ph.d.thesis with the title "Towards a Poetics of Virtual Worlds",
in which she took a closer look at EverQuest. The Death Stories Project
is a continuation of her thesis project, trying to make a comparative
study of several worlds. However, she herself mostly plays World of
Warcraft at the moment! If you want to know more about me, take a look
at my homepage at the
IT University.
Who
are asked to contribute?
Both newbie
players, experienced players and hardcore players who have tried either
one or more of a number of the largest massive multiplayer online games
are welcome to contribute. Every experience is valid and every experience
can aid me in my research. I would therefore be grateful if you would
use some time to fill out the survey and share your experience(s) with
me.
What
do I want you to do?
Fill out a small survey and submit a recount of your character death
experience.The survey/submission form is divided into four parts:
| Survey
sections and their content |
Estimated
use of time |
| 1.
Basic demographic data. |
1
min |
| 2.
Your own description of a character death experience |
5
- 60 min |
| 3.
Your opinion on the function and experience of character deaths
in MMOGs |
3-10
min |
| 4.
A few questions about your player experience in general |
3
min |
Note:
when used in research contexts (publications and reports), your contribution
will be anonymised.
What
happens when you have submitted the story of your experiences &
filled out the survey?
I will read your story and comments and use them in my research,
and if your story underlines a point I'm making, I might quote parts
of it in my research papers. If you submit one or more Famous Last
Words, they will likely appear in the Famous Last Words section on
the website (some are very similar, so I dont publish all).
The
overall findings of the research projects, including analysis of the
submitted stories and answers, will appear continously on this site
in the Findings section. The final article(s) on this project will
be written in the beginning of 2007.
For
further information, please contact klastrupATitu.dk
