Researchers at Trinity University have started the Worldplay Research Initiative in an effort to collaborate on a research project exploring issues with cross-cultural interactions and region-locking in MMOGs. The research team hopes to draw on a number of opinions, suggestions, and ideas to improve cross-cultural interactions that are now hindered by modern game development issues such as regional IP blocking. Read more below.

Worldplay Project Urges Global Gaming in MMORPGs Researchers at Trinity University invite gamers to propose strategies for nurturing cross-cultural
interaction in on-line games and virtual worlds.

San Antonio, Texas / November 22, 2009 - Researchers at Trinity University
in San Antonio, Texas, concerned about  increasingly region-locked MMORPGs,

are asking players, politicians and game developers for input on how to
solve the problem.

Researchers understand that game operators often have good reasons for
walling off virtual worlds. Region locking is one way of circumventing
strict content regulations in countries like China and Australia. It can
also be a logical response to concerns about technical support. Furthermore,
many companies are forced to engage in region locking under the terms of
strict licensing agreements that limit the jurisdiction of their business.

But these new practices have made the world of online games smaller and less
culturally diverse.  When virtual worlds first emerged, they were accessible
to people from around the globe. Players overcame language barriers and
gained deeper understanding of other cultures. On-line connections often
evolved into real-world friendships. Now, most MMORPGs segregate players
according to national and geographic boundaries. Many companies engage in
region locking, using IP addresses to filter out players from other
countries.

"Our goal is to gather a wide range of opinions, experiences and
recommendations related to the phenomenon of transnational play," says games
researcher Aaron Delwiche. "We firmly believe that every voice deserves to
be heard, and so far have translated project materials into English,
Chinese, German, Japanese, Korean, Spanish and Vietnamese." Researchers hope to identify creative ways that players, game developers and
industry professionals can nurture opportunities for cross-cultural
interaction in virtual worlds.  To do this, the Worldplay Project team is
looking for volunteers to translate, post the survey to game forums around
the world or provide specific suggestions through the survey.

As the project continues, Worldplay researchers will post the raw data -
with the exception of personally identifiable information - on the project
site.

"It is important for players to know that we're not asking them to give us
something for nothing," says Delwiche. "In exchange for their time and
ideas, we promise to make the data available to the entire gaming
community." Gamers and developers who are interested in participating are encouraged to
investigate the Worldplay project site at: http://www.trinity.edu/adelwich/transnational/

  • Learn more about the project here.
Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

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Stacy "Martuk" Jones was a long-time news editor and community manager for many of our previous game sites, such as Age of Conan. Stacy has since moved on to become a masked super hero, battling demons in another dimension.

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