Thought Leaders: Bonnie Nardi
Stu Horvath
Here at the DIG, we're interested in innovation in all its forms. Within the gaming space, innovation often begins with insight and inspiration from a single person, be they a game developer, an engineer, a sociologist or anything else within the industry. That's why we're tracking down these thought leaders: to give you a sneak peek of the digital arts future through their eyes.
In this installment, we sat down with Bonnie Nardi, a cultural anthropologist teaching at the University of California, Irvine, and
author of My Life as a Night Elf Priest.
Nardi talks about the impact of MMOs on social dynamics and the distribution of technology.
DIG: Tell us about your history and interest in the gaming industry.
Bonnie Nardi: My interest arose from my research on World of Warcraft. I view games like WoW as the first exemplars of radical digital media with unique and unprecedented affordances. The games are part sport, part visual art, part subversive play. I had never had any connection to videogames before my WoW study, but grew interested because of my undergraduate students' passionate attachment to MMOs.
I am a cultural anthropologist and I study social life on the Internet. I knew I needed to take a look to find out what the excitement was about. After I played and studied WoW for four years, I now find gaming fascinating and a significant part of our cultural landscape.
DIG: Where do you see the industry going in the near future?
B.N.: It can only go up! For several decades, people got bogged down in television and film, which are undemanding, passive media. Videogames afford the visual kick of television and film, coupled with the cognitive engagement needed to play a game. As an observer of social life, I think this is a positive development.
Both ends of the demographic spectrum are especially interesting for the future of games. As baby boomers retire, they are going to have huge chunks of time on their hands. In a study I conducted with a graduate student at the University of California, Irvine, where I teach, we found that older WoW players, age 45 plus, played as many hours as younger, self-described "hardcore" players. This situation indicates a powerful market, if it can be exploited properly.
On the other end of the scale, it is clear that even very young people are being socialized to assume gaming as a normal part of daily life. The numbers in Club Penguin, Habbo, MapleStory and so on are amazing.
DIG: What kind of effect do you see gaming having on the world at large and the way we live?
B.N.: In the same study mentioned above, we discovered that 13 percent of WoW players found a boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse in-game. That's huge!
When I was doing my WoW research, I knew several people who had found true love while slaying monsters. I like that in an online game a woman has the chance to proceed slowly. She can withdraw gracefully if she wants to, more easily than in real life.
If you see a guy behaving well, given that videogames tend to loosen inhibitions and a good deal of immature behavior ensues, you can be pretty sure he's someone to consider. Online gaming is changing everything, even the age-old problem of locating a mate.
DIG: What do you see spurring on these changes?
B.N.: What strikes me is how people find their way to gaming even in the most unlikely places. For example, researchers Beth Kolko and Cynthia Putnam went to Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, and discovered a group of neighbors running a LAN down the outside of their nine-story Soviet-style apartment building so they could play World of Warcraft together.
Internet cafes are an obvious and important site of vastly enhanced access to games, as are cell phones, which even illiterate people operate. We in the West tend to think of technology as a personal accoutrement of the individual, like a toothbrush, but that's not true in much of the developing world.
While technology will continue to advance, distribution is critical. The majority of people on the planet do not yet have access to the Internet. It's interesting to observe the creative ways people are changing that.
Twitter: @ihavenet
Stu Horvath is the managing editor of DIG, as well as the man behind the geek culture website, Unwinnable.com. Previously, Horvath has worked at the New York Daily News, Wizard magazine, Random House, CrispyGamer.com, and Joystiq.com. He is also a founding member of the NYC Videogame Critics Circle.
Videogaming & Video Game Reviews
- 'Terraria' and 'Universe Sandbox'
- 'MotorStorm: Apocalypse'
- Cakewalk Case Studies: Sean Murray and Tim Wynn
- Thought Leaders: Bonnie Nardi
- Chatting With John Martin of Reallusion
- 'Galaga 30th Collection'
- The Way of the Samurai: Chatting With James Russell of The Creative Assembly
- Audio for Games Reimagined: SONAR X1
- 'Hunted: The Demon's Forge'
- Baseball Simulation in MLB 2K11: Part 2
- Video Game Thought Leaders: Matt Ployhar
- Daggerdale - Talking With Tim Ernst of Bedlam Studios
- Fallen Enchantress Is Set to Rise
- 'Mortal Kombat' and the First Amendment
- 'Infamous 2'
- 'Fable III'
- E3 2011 Showcases a Big Year for PC Gaming
- Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Chatting With Emotional Robots
- 'Fate of the World'
- 'The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings'
- 'L.A. Noire'
- PlayStation Network: After the Fall
- Value Proposition - PC or Console Games?
- Complexity in 'Civilization'
- 'Dragon Age II'
- Creating the Baseball Simulation in MLB 2K11
- Hear That Knocking Sound? It's PC Gaming!
- 'Portal 2'
- Saving the Universe One LEGO Brick at a Time
- Synchronization Between Threads in the Infernal Engine
- Thought Leaders: Eleanor Wynn
- The Art of War: Shogun 2
- Solid-state Drives Revolutionize Gaming
- War Production: Chatting With Frank Pearce of Blizzard
- 'Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime'
- Darkspore Creatures Come to Life
- Finding the Next Challenge in Visual Computing
- 'The Sims: Medieval'
- The Future of PC Gaming? A Personal Viewpoint
- Explosion of Creativity: Power of Online Communities
- 'Homefront'
- Game Optimization for Modern Hardware
- 'PixelJunk Shooter 2: The Belly of the Beast'
- Pixels and Sand
- Sneak Peek at DC Universe Online With Chris Cao
- Thought Leaders: Orion Granatir
- Combat Duality in Thought Leaders: Bonnie Nardi
- 'Jikandia: The Timeless Land'
- Exclusive Look at Homefront
- GDC 2011: Sneak Peek of Battlefield 3
- Talking Dragon Age II With Valve Software's Erik Wolpaw
- Nathan Camarillo of Crytek Talks Crysis 2 and CryEngine 3
- 'Two Worlds II'
- 'Dungeons'
- Peter Molyneux Talks Fable III and Commitment to PC Gaming
- There's an App for That Game
- Talking Tech Tactics With Football Manager 2011
- 'Kingdom Hearts Re:coded'
- 'Dead Space 2'
- 2K Sports Announces 'NHL 2K11' for Apple iPad
- 'Dead Space' for iOS
- Why are Video Games for Girls so Lame?
- The Muddy Beauty of DiRT 2
- The Reality of Indie Game Development
- Using Artificial Intelligence in Game Development
- Top 10 Most Anticipated Video Games of 2011
- Need for Speed Drives Back to Roots
- Developing and Optimizing Games for Netbooks
- 'Bejeweled 3'
- Rolling Thunder, Analytics and Performance Drive Need for Speed World
- Who You Gonna Call? Ghostbusters Challenges
- Dude! Who Killed My First-person Shooter?
- Racing to the Finish Line: Chris Southall Talks Total War and Sonic
- The Force Remains Strong with LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
- Unreal Engine 3 Brings Chadam to Life on Web Video
- 'Pac-Man Championship Edition DX'
- 'Infinity Blade'
- TRON: Evolution -- Game Developers Go Hollywood
- EA Sports Moves Graphics-rich Gaming Online
- Humble Opinions: From The Sims to Indie Games
- Meet Mr. Industrial: Justin Lassen's Music Machine
- 'Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood'
- 'Mario Vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem'
- 'Time Crisis Razing Storm'
- 'Arcania: Gothic 4'
- 'Disney Epic Mickey'
- 'Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light'
- 'Ace Combat: Air Assault'
- 'Game Dev. Story'
- Epic Games Unveils 'Gears of War 3' Multiplayer Details
- 'Castlevania: Lords of Shadow'
- 'Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1'
- 'Amnesia: The Dark Descent'
- 'Enslaved: Odyssey to the West'
- 'Valkyria Chronicles II'
- 'Dead Rising 2'
- 'Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep'
- 'Halo: Reach'
- 'Mafia II'
- 'Scott Pilgrim' vs. Its Video Game References
Video Games: Thought Leaders: Bonnie Nardi
Copyright © 2011 Studio One Networks. All rights reserved.
Your Favorite Comic Strips Online
Daily Comics & Your Favorite Comic Strips Online
Your favorite comics strips Animal Crackers, Annie, Bound & Gagged, Brenda Starr, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy, Broom-Hilda, Dick Tracy, Gasoline Alley, Gil Thorp, Housebroken, Loose Parts, The Middletons, Pink Panther, Raising Hector, Sylvia, 9 to 5, Bliss, Bottom Liners, Love Is..., Pluggers all online at ComicStripNation.com