WoW as training ground for scientific method
by Michael Gray 
Sep 8th 2008 at 7:00PM
We've heard about WoW in the news due to addiction and spousal trouble. When scientists chat about the game, they tend to be interested in the dynamics of virtual worlds. Constance Steinkuehler from the University of Wisconsin is approaching WoW and science in a different light.
Constance noticed a specific dynamic when she watched Lineage players approach raiding with a familiar method. They'd form a hypothesis about a boss, test it, gather evidence, and then reform their hypothesis based on that evidence. For those of you following along at home, that's basically the "Scientific Method."
Steinkuehler tested for the use of Scientific Method in WoW by going to the official forums, and studying 2,000 threads. According to the results, 86% of the threads were focused on analyzing the ruleset of the game. The implication is that those posts use some scientific method to understand WoW's rules. (I wonder if "Nerf Rogues!" was included as meaningful content.)
The purpose of this study seems to be to reverse our youth's growing scientific illiteracy by using video games to exemplify scientific pursuits. Since science is often about the method of obtaining facts, and not just facts themselves, teachers might be able to use games to help students "L2Science." Sounds solid to me, but I'm still not sold on the forums being a fertile ground of meaningful content.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, News items, Forums
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Rob Sep 8th 2008 7:07PM
As a scientist and avid WoWer I loled, especially when the methodology consisted of combing the official forums for something that backs the researcher's hypothesis. This is pseudoscience at best, since it doesn't rely on independent observation. The main issue is that the so called data is highly interpretable, and researcher bias would be huge. But then again I haven't actually read their paper.
I wouldn't be surprised at all to see world-first guilds rely heavily on the scientific method though, I just don't think combing the official forums is the best way to prove that hypothesis.
andyjay220 Sep 8th 2008 7:18PM
Say what you want about video games, as an academic psychologist I am convinced of the cognitive benefits of gaming. The main problem is most of the researchers in the field are not gamers, but that is slowly changing. As the gaming generations enter academia you will see a sharp change in how we study the implications of gaming.
One thing non-gamers don't realize is how HARD video games seem to the non-initiated. The cognitive skills that gamers developed to navigate their virtual worlds with seeming effortlessness is a direct result of learning complex sets of rules, planning, delay of gratification (contrary to popular perception, any WoW player knows of the sweat and tears we pour in for a measly stat upgrade :), and other cognitive tasks that actually prepare us to be competitive in a faced paced world with advancing technology.
It's essentially teaching us job skills!
Cowbane Sep 8th 2008 7:53PM
you uttered the phrase "job skills" in relation ship to WoW...last time that happened last week or two weeks ago a huge fight broke out and a blogger had to go back and revise his post saying he didn't mean go around saying you play WoW in a job interview...do not utter that phrase again...
Terrant Sep 8th 2008 7:33PM
Now all we need is an academic accounting for the behavior of raiders who say "I WAS FEARED INTO THE FIRE AND CURSED AND KNOCKED BACK AND MY TEARS DIDN'T WORK FOR SOME REASON..." (totally stolen from DLC http://www.darklegacycomics.com/152.html).
alkalinebattery Sep 8th 2008 7:58PM
This reminds me of a good post I once read on a blog, with one person constructing a general theory about how people run so fast in WoW and a bit more, all based on the size which was figured out from the minimap.
http://stuffplusplus.wordpress.com/2008/08/26/the-size-and-physics-of-azeroth/
Basic Sep 8th 2008 7:58PM
Some (or perhaps just one) of our community's rules lawyers are the most arrogant pricks I've ever come in contact with.
I put in a simple feature request for a certain analytical library to include a statistic which we consider constant but may or may not change in the future.
The response was an astoundingly a-scientific "that can't happen you idiot". Even after I explained that yes I really do understand why we think it won't change.
Hooray for disregarding the control case!
Offhand Sep 8th 2008 8:56PM
Video games tend to be lumped into one giant category. When gamers talk about a game requiring "skill" they generally either mean REACTION TIME (think FPS) or PLANNING (RTS or RPG).While there's generally a reaction component in all games the act of planning and coordinating is more impotent for a MMORPG than say Halo.
That being said, do games like WoW create critical thinkers or do critical thinkers have a chance to be drawn to the game? I'd like to see a study that shows something along those lines.
thebvp Sep 9th 2008 12:26AM
To Offhand:
Both.
While I may know a bit about economics, myself, I may pick up a book on supply and demand if I want to get an edge up on my auction house skills. The laws certainly apply.
Similarly, maybe I knew nothing about economics, but observing trends and learning how to work the auction house taught me about supply and demand.
Or maybe I have a PHD in econ, play WoW, and apply what I know to the AH.
All three can occur and I don't it's a question of what came first, the chicken or the egg, but rather, that the chicken and the egg both exist.
MMOs employ real-life skills in ways other games do not.
LockMonkey Sep 8th 2008 10:08PM
@Cowbane - Unless you are in an interview at a development company and notice the weird framed art behind the interviewer's desk is, in fact, a partial view of Iron Man's head.
In this case, starting off the interview by stating that you play WoW gets you 1000 points ahead of every other person interviewed that day.
And should the interviewer ask "What do you do for fun outside of work? Do you play videogames?" you better say "Yes, ma'am, I've got a level 70..." if you really want the job.
(On a serious note, although I ask these questions, it's because by the time the interview-ees get to me their resume already got them in the door. I'm just trying to find the best personality to fit with our crew. ;)
Drew Sep 8th 2008 10:09PM
I have to say, although I agree with the issue of the report's validity etc, it seems fairly intuitive to me that gaming in its basic for is a fun coneptualisation of the scientific method mixed in with pretty colors and a challenge. Remeber the days of Mario and the warp to world 3? Gaming in it's basic form is constantly revising a meta-hypothesis on how to achieve a certain goal, based on experience (experimentation). Not everyone plays that way- but that's essentially the idea- plus a bit of fun on the side ;P
Drew Sep 8th 2008 10:11PM
form**
conceptualization
Eisengel Sep 9th 2008 12:12AM
I'm a PhD student and have enjoyed playing with WoW a lot. Notice I said 'playing with' and not just 'playing'. My area of research is in statistical mechanics of radio propagation, and WoW offers a lot of similar data to analyze. For some reason I find it 'fun' to parse and analyze a WWS trace to determine optimal DPS vs mana expenditure options vs spell cooldown limitations and GCD cast lags, but doing nearly the same types of analysis for radio signal propagation seems somewhat less fun. If you look you'll usually find someone will have generated a DPS spreadsheet for most damage-dealing classes and specs, and some have even coded simple simulations of the abilities to actively test different configurations of talents, gear, and attack cycles.
The AH is another great source of statistical data to fiddle with. Many people bring the lessons of the real world into WoW and treat the AH as if it represented a common world economy, which it really doesn't. Supply is, for all but world drops or instance drops, unlimited. If you grind long enough, you'll pretty much find whatever you want... so you are, in effect, paying the person selling the item a salary for having spent the time to get it for you. So value is not necessarily decided by rarity, but by the difference between how long you expect it to take to find some item vs the fact that someone else did. I've had a lot of fun playing with the AH with this knowledge. The AH has suffered a lot since BC came out, but it was fun for a while.
In general I think the post's statements are correct if the players are willing to look at the game that way. For instance I am very good at managing money, and I attribute that to playing a lot of RTS game that forced me to manage my own goals vs my intake of resources.... however will everyone who plays Warcraft, Command and Conquer or Age of Empires be good at managing money? No. Two things that are correlated are not necessarily conditionally dependent.
WoW can act as a great forum for exercising the scientific method and analysis, if the player has that motivation, or a scientific bent.