What Happens at the End of the World? An MMOG’s Closure and Player Responses
Name
Consalvo_What happens.pdf
Size
1.02 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
1f9a9cc7de8fd98fcfdc872f0b2e7dec
Author(s)
Consalvo, Mia
Begy, Jason
Alternative Title
Virtual Pets and the End of the World: Studying an MMOG's Closure
Date Issued
January 2012
Journal
Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on the Philosophy of Computer Games
Citation
Consalvo, Mia, and Jason Begy. "Virtual Pets and the End of the World: Studying an MMOG's Closure." 6th International Conference on the Philosophy of Computer Games (January 2012).
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
On March 15, 2011 at 1:11 pm EST residents of the virtual world Faunasphere saw a network disconnect error message flash on their screens, suggesting that perhaps their Internet connections to the site had been lost. But the residents—known as Caretakers—knew better: Big Fish Games had pulled the plug on the casual MMOG they had launched less than two years prior. Shortly after the error message appeared, players gathered in self-created forums and a Facebook group (all set up in advance) to express their grief, share memories, and decide on what they would do next. Big Fish Games had given them a month’s notice of the world’s impending closure (or “sunset” as such closures are called in the game industry) and so players were able to gather, commiserate and plan their next steps.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Program in Comparative Media Studies/Writing
Terms of Use
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http://gamephilosophy.arsgames.net/en/html/program/
