Else-If-Then

Author: Kim

  • I have done more writing in the last two days…

    —

    by

    Kim
    in

    Than in the last two months, I think.  Just knowing that this job is ending seems to have inspired me.  🙂 I also volunteered to help the GMs (game masters/mistresses) of Clan Lord.  I’d like to make a concrete contribution to the game, and I also want to learn more about games.  We’ll see if…

  • Big Decisions

    —

    by

    Kim
    in

    So… I am leaving my current job, which has been a combination of instructional designer, tech support, web mistress and teacher.  I really enjoyed it at first, but it soon became clear that there was no room for me to be creative, or to experiment, or try to keep up with research–my own or anyone…

  • What keeps people engaged?

    —

    by

    Kim
    in ,

    If you study MMOs at all, you may have seen Tom Chatfield’s TED Talk in which he talks about what game designers have learned about what keeps people engaged in a game. He identifies the following: problem solving –> ambition + delight progress bars multiple long and short-term aims reward effort, don’t punish failure much…

  • The Price of Scholarship

    —

    by

    Kim
    in

    So I had been accepted to speak at a conference in Amsterdam earlier this month and I had really looked forward to being over there again.  Unfortunately, it became clear in early February that this was not going to be possible, given our budget, our financial burdens, and the total lack of travel funding, not…

  • Writing in Character

    —

    by

    Kim
    in

    For awhile I was writing here, and on my abstract, and I was not writing so much as my character.  Eventually I started to feel a kind of pressure as that blog fell further behind my in character life.  I started to feel that I wanted to write about what was happening to me in…

  • Research Update… If only I could get paid to play. 😉

    —

    by

    Kim
    in

    So I’ve been collecting responses to questions about Clan Lord and trying to weave them together.  The process is interesting because I represent myself with two voices. So far, the players participating have been speaking as mainly players, not characters, but because most prefer to use only their character names, and because CL players pepper…

  • Blurred Boundaries

    —

    by

    Kim
    in

    As I continue playing and thinking about Clan Lord, and thinking about a new way of researching that integrates observer and participant, theory and practice, I find that boundaries are blurring in other ways as well.  A while back I began a blog for my character, and somewhat to my surprise, I felt compelled to…

  • Attempting a New Approach to Fan and Game Studies

    —

    by

    Kim
    in

    So… as I posted last time, I will be speaking about how one might take an approach to studying an MMO fan community that achieves not just a balance between the critical stance of a scholar and the enthusiasm of a player, but some kind of integration of the two positions.  Further, how might the…

  • Inhabiting Characters

    —

    by

    Kim
    in

    One of the most striking aspects of this particular game is the extent to which players are devoted to their characters. The explanations for this devotion include some that fairly straightforward and common to many games: simple time investment; in some cases as long as 12 years effort; time and energy may have been spent…

  • Update…

    —

    by

    Kim
    in ,

    I am way behind on posting because in late summer I started a new job and moved myself and the family to a new city.  The job is interesting, challenging, and pays well, but it is 9-5ish and I am busy the whole time. Not much time for blogging. But, now I have more incentive…