I am doing an IT (computer) college course and for this particular subject, I have to pick something to research about.
I have to pick something, make the title of the report a specific question and then carry out research in hopes I can answer that question. The thing is, I have to be detailed, provide lots of sources etc. I could of chosen ebay, or software piracy but I wanted to do Guild Wars as that is something that brings me great joy.
Can anyone here think of something to do with Guild Wars I can research about? It has to be something specific and something I can later create a 20 or so questioned questionnaire to ask the forum about.
Thanks for any help and if anyone else is doing a project like this, please PM me, maybe we can help each other!
I want to do my college research on Guild Wars
deadman_uk
Alex the Great
about gw's impact on your rl?
like
"how much time per week do you spend on GW"
"What would you place under GW on your priorities"
"How many times per week do your play guild wars after midnight"
so on and so forth
like
"how much time per week do you spend on GW"
"What would you place under GW on your priorities"
"How many times per week do your play guild wars after midnight"
so on and so forth
phoo slaya
you could concentrate on changes in player relations. how players are included/excluded from parties(especially elite areas, guilds, and HA) you'd need a lot of experience tho. also consider the stock people put in their virtual relationships. basically, the gw social scene or lack thereof. personally i wouldn't choose gw for a research paper, but gl dude.
Asrial
How much 'data' do you need? That's going to be very important. You don't want to pick a subject that won't fill out the paper.
Here's an interesting question...
"How much does Guild Wars REALLY cost?"
Here's my thoughts...
I've...
- Bought all the special versions
- Bought gold
- Called in sick to play Guild Wars (missed wages)
- Left my computer on overnight to AFK 9 rings (electricity bill)
Put that all together and Guild Wars HAS cost me a pretty penny.
Here's an interesting question...
"How much does Guild Wars REALLY cost?"
Here's my thoughts...
I've...
- Bought all the special versions
- Bought gold
- Called in sick to play Guild Wars (missed wages)
- Left my computer on overnight to AFK 9 rings (electricity bill)
Put that all together and Guild Wars HAS cost me a pretty penny.
Smile Like Umean It
And to add to Alex or as something totally new, "how GW has affected your mentality".
Could go on to talk about how your view of not only the game, but the people you encounter, and other general games and how that view has changed over the years.
Could go on to talk about how your view of not only the game, but the people you encounter, and other general games and how that view has changed over the years.
Thorondor Port
Want something way easier to research and discuss than guild wars? Do it on the beginning of the entire internet. its also way more interesting.
acerbity
do it on farming.
you can ask questions about opinions, bots, drops, balancing, skill etc.
you can ask questions about opinions, bots, drops, balancing, skill etc.
Remexx
I did something like this a few years back for my IT class. But I made it about technology and my life. How technology has effected my life. Unfortenatly the final outcome wasnt what I thought it would be. After a month of detailing every game I had played since I started college, and averaging out how much time I spent each day playing games. My final theory was that games made me take another year of college then I had too.
pamelf
The different play styles between male and female, their in game interractions, and how while there's a huge number of females playing this game males seem unable to come to terms with that fact and still think girls don't play games. You could factor age into that as well and see what age group the majority of males come from, and what age group the majority of females come from. You could do an IG cross section, set up an online survey and do it that way.
Just an idea, but whatever you decide to do, PM me if you need to do any interviews or anything, i'm more than happy to help with school projects.
If you have any survey's you want us to do, just post the link in a thread with your final topic details. I'm sure a lot of us here would me happy to help.
Just an idea, but whatever you decide to do, PM me if you need to do any interviews or anything, i'm more than happy to help with school projects.
If you have any survey's you want us to do, just post the link in a thread with your final topic details. I'm sure a lot of us here would me happy to help.
tijo
I'd say age is a pretty good place to start. You could be surprised to see how many retired peple are playing this game etc. Also the motivations of those people who play the game. Even how some persons are using the game like they would use msn for some sort of social interractions.
Crom The Pale
A very wise man once stated that nothing reveals the nature of humanity like the games it plays and how it plays them.
Guild Wars presents us with many different facets of humanity.
PvP = competitive/aggresive/elitist/group dynamics
PvE = adventurers/social aspects/farmers/guilds/alliances
Forums are also part of this, those that post replies/read threads/create threads/trade items
Examining why each person plays and how/when they play will give you an excelt view( generalized ) of that persons mental/social/political/echonomical/physical state.
Guild Wars presents us with many different facets of humanity.
PvP = competitive/aggresive/elitist/group dynamics
PvE = adventurers/social aspects/farmers/guilds/alliances
Forums are also part of this, those that post replies/read threads/create threads/trade items
Examining why each person plays and how/when they play will give you an excelt view( generalized ) of that persons mental/social/political/echonomical/physical state.
HawkofStorms
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Originally Posted by Crom The Pale
A very wise man once stated that nothing reveals the nature of humanity like the games it plays and how it plays them.
Guild Wars presents us with many different facets of humanity. PvP = competitive/aggresive/elitist/group dynamics PvE = adventurers/social aspects/farmers/guilds/alliances Forums are also part of this, those that post replies/read threads/create threads/trade items Examining why each person plays and how/when they play will give you an excelt view( generalized ) of that persons mental/social/political/echonomical/physical state. |
Sterotyping people from one aspect of their behavior is not college level research.
gone
easy as pie. just make the comparisons.
How does 'real life economy' effect 'in-game economy'...or something along those lines.
How does 'real life economy' effect 'in-game economy'...or something along those lines.
Crom The Pale
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Originally Posted by HawkofStorms
Umm... yeah that won't be reliable. Plus you could say PvEs are the exact opposite of social gamers. They could be called "loners" if they H/H everything.
Sterotyping people from one aspect of their behavior is not college level research. |
I wasn't trying to draw stereotypes just listing some areas that could be researched.
HawkofStorms
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Crom The Pale
I wasn't trying to draw stereotypes just listing some areas that could be researched.
|
I could research how the cult of the spagetti monster influenced World War II. I could find all sorts of "evidence" to back up and create a theory. That still doesn't mean it is a valid theory.
The question you investigate must be valid before you begin writting (thus you need to do research on the general topic before even choosing a specific thesis).
deadman_uk
There have been lots of posts and I would like to say thanks to everyone who replied. Making this post has made me think twice about picking Guild Wars as a subject but I haven't dismissed the idea yet.
This paragraph is going to go a little off topic here but if anyone has some very good examples that are non Guild Wars related, please speak up. As I said, I was going to talk about Software Piracy... specifically Adobe Photoshop. My title was going to be something like "How many people who own Photoshop DO NOT have a pirated copy?"
At the time when you posted, this was by far the best idea I have heard. This is something I should seriously consider. Thanks!
That's too broad, I need to ask a specific question and write a literature review on it.
Hi, this is not the same as what I have to do, because this is not about me but it is sort of similar. I'd be interested in reading your writing if you would share with me. Just PM me if you are, that would be a good read.
This is probably the best suggestion I've heard so far! Could you expand on this? What sort of questions would I ask in a questionnaire to 50 odd people or a dozen people in an interview?
I could title the report "What sort of people play Guild Wars?" or "Is Guild Wars just for the young male generation?"
I would have to gather research so I could talk about this in depth, this would be hard. Any suggestions? I do like the idea very much.
People buy virtual money with real money. People sell virtual money for real money. I think this is a very shallow topic, I don't see how I could write a report about it.
This paragraph is going to go a little off topic here but if anyone has some very good examples that are non Guild Wars related, please speak up. As I said, I was going to talk about Software Piracy... specifically Adobe Photoshop. My title was going to be something like "How many people who own Photoshop DO NOT have a pirated copy?"
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Asrial
How much 'data' do you need? That's going to be very important. You don't want to pick a subject that won't fill out the paper.
Here's an interesting question... "How much does Guild Wars REALLY cost?" Here's my thoughts... I've... - Bought all the special versions - Bought gold - Called in sick to play Guild Wars (missed wages) - Left my computer on overnight to AFK 9 rings (electricity bill) Put that all together and Guild Wars HAS cost me a pretty penny. |
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Thorondor Port
Want something way easier to research and discuss than guild wars? Do it on the beginning of the entire internet. its also way more interesting.
|
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Remexx
I did something like this a few years back for my IT class. But I made it about technology and my life. How technology has effected my life. Unfortenatly the final outcome wasnt what I thought it would be. After a month of detailing every game I had played since I started college, and averaging out how much time I spent each day playing games. My final theory was that games made me take another year of college then I had too.
|
Quote:
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Originally Posted by pamelf
The different play styles between male and female, their in game interractions, and how while there's a huge number of females playing this game males seem unable to come to terms with that fact and still think girls don't play games. You could factor age into that as well and see what age group the majority of males come from, and what age group the majority of females come from. You could do an IG cross section, set up an online survey and do it that way.
Just an idea, but whatever you decide to do, PM me if you need to do any interviews or anything, i'm more than happy to help with school projects. If you have any survey's you want us to do, just post the link in a thread with your final topic details. I'm sure a lot of us here would me happy to help. |
I could title the report "What sort of people play Guild Wars?" or "Is Guild Wars just for the young male generation?"
I would have to gather research so I could talk about this in depth, this would be hard. Any suggestions? I do like the idea very much.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by flubber
easy as pie. just make the comparisons.
How does 'real life economy' effect 'in-game economy'...or something along those lines. |
Razz Thom
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Alex the Great
about gw's impact on your rl?
like "how much time per week do you spend on GW" "What would you place under GW on your priorities" "How many times per week do your play guild wars after midnight" so on and so forth |
This seems more suited to a psych class than an IT class. At least to me. It would make a pretty kickin research paper for psych though. I bet it would have a very interesting outcome.
Online Gamer
No offence but I really dont think guild wars is a good Collegde reoprt topic
I like the ebay one....
I like the ebay one....
gone
Rotflmmfao...OK, you're right. GW (yes not just the economy) is a shallow topic to do a college paper on. never mind the economy, the devs/players that feel it's important enough to enter it into a game...the real jobs it gave to all those sweatshop farmers...the countless actions taken against goldsellers...etc...etc...etc...
being biased is a poor poor way to start a paper..lol. but hey, it's your paper.
being biased is a poor poor way to start a paper..lol. but hey, it's your paper.
Woop Shotty
I think you'll have a hard time writing a college level essay about Guild Wars, especially if the topic has to be IT.
Online Gamer
Flubber was that a sarcastic point you were trying to make!
deadman_uk
Like I said, if many of you think GW is a poor topic to talk about suggest alternatives.... good alternatives with lots of information about on the Internet that's not boring...
pamelf
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Originally Posted by deadman_uk
This is probably the best suggestion I've heard so far! Could you expand on this? What sort of questions would I ask in a questionnaire to 50 odd people or a dozen people in an interview?
I could title the report "What sort of people play Guild Wars?" or "Is Guild Wars just for the young male generation?" I would have to gather research so I could talk about this in depth, this would be hard. Any suggestions? I do like the idea very much. |
You could get statistics from many reputable gaming magazines about what ages and genders usually play computer games to counter what you find in Guild Wars. I'd just set up a normal online survey asking all the really obvious questions. Stuff about age, gender, income, family, what type of work they do, what country they're from, etc. Maybe get a couple of people here on the guru from differnt ages/genders/backgrounds to give you interviews, and ask them specifically what drew them to guild wars. Men and women may be drawn to different things, which is another thing that you can then put on the survey. You can then compare that to surveys already done on other types of games and draw your conclusions from there.
That's how I'd do it anyway.
Was that a little helpful?
Woop Shotty
I just don't see how anything like that will help to write an IT essay. Maybe OP wasn't talking about IT-related matters.
pamelf
Well it depends what component of his IT course it is. Some courses do ethics and marketing along with just general coding etc. It all depends what the classes specifications are.
pfaile
Last semester I wrote my Mythology paper on the comparison of the modern rpg to that of the plight of Peruses. Got me an A, used examples ranging from titan quest (which was obvious) to Oblivion, and some older rpgs. I think professors like anything that isn't the same old papers that they normally see.
gene terrodon
How about comparing and contrasting GW economy with RL economy behaviors.
Red Sonya
I think research on the multitudes of personalities and psychology of the game and the people would be an excellent research project. You could easily gain 20 questions out of this field of study alone. Why do people greif others why is it fun to grief others, why do people play with others, why do they want to play with others why do they think all People suk and won't group with them why do they only group with heroes or henchies why do guilds think they are elite why do players think they are elite why do players act dumb stupid moronic why do players come to forums and act like they know everything about pvp or pve...man there are thousands of questions you could ask and I can answer most all of them. 
The Mountain
As a college instructor, I advise you to make sure you have sufficient reputable sources prior to thinking about using GW as the subject of a research paper.
My friend had a student turn in a paper about WoW that cited primarily in-game characters and avatars on message boards. Let's just say the two of us had a good laugh when he showed the paper to me.
My friend had a student turn in a paper about WoW that cited primarily in-game characters and avatars on message boards. Let's just say the two of us had a good laugh when he showed the paper to me.
Esan
My suggestion would be to research the surge in gaming wikis. Start with Game FAQs and sites like GameFAQs.com, and how game walkthroughs were once deeply personal works maintained by deadbeat gamers. Then mention the onslaught of wikis and how they democraticized FAQ writing. Mention how Wikipedia was once full of gaming information, including detailed walkthroughs of games like Half Life and moves and combos analyses of games like Street Fighter. Then point out how these articles were removed from Wikipedia because they were deemed unencyclopedic, but mention that Wikipedia's founder and some leading Wikipedians created a new home for such articles called Wikicities (now known as Wikia). Then note that many gamers (including Guild Wars fans) saw an obvious chance and created their own wikis for the game, some of them (such as WoWWiki) becoming the biggest wikis on the internet. Finally mention how many of these wikis are now consolidated under Wikia, and how it seems highly likely that all future games will have wikis devoted to them as a matter of course, sometimes several wikis with infighting between their respective communities (eg. Oblivion).
Should be enough material for a good article, especially since most of the research can be cited.
Should be enough material for a good article, especially since most of the research can be cited.
Mpidemie
Maybe you wanna write about New Generation MMOs as modern Subcultures and their Influence on players' lifes.
Mordakai
If this is an IT paper, perhaps a paper about how Guild Wars (and MMORPGs in general) have to have secure systems, and how they protect their data (or not) from exploits and glitches.
It has always fascinated me the amount of work that goes into creating a fictional universe!
It has always fascinated me the amount of work that goes into creating a fictional universe!
super strokey
wow lots of options here, you could do something on the economy, the social structure, the guild structure system, battle tactics, eliteism (could be the most provocative), time/style played. SO MANY OPTIONS. Would be fun man. I did a term paper on nintendo, was about 10k words and got am A on it. Loved doing it so it was really really well done.
deadman_uk
Lots of very good ideas, I thank you all so much for your input!
This is the biggest problem I face... sources. Would the community be my sources? Or would I need to find websites that talk about Guild Wars and mention those sites in my report?
I think it's worth mentioning that I don't actually have to do the research yet, I have to explain what I am going to do my research on, and the methods I will use to gain that research. I need to speak with my teacher about this as I am not 100% what I am doing lol.
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Originally Posted by The Mountain
As a college instructor, I advise you to make sure you have sufficient reputable sources prior to thinking about using GW as the subject of a research paper.
My friend had a student turn in a paper about WoW that cited primarily in-game characters and avatars on message boards. Let's just say the two of us had a good laugh when he showed the paper to me. |
I think it's worth mentioning that I don't actually have to do the research yet, I have to explain what I am going to do my research on, and the methods I will use to gain that research. I need to speak with my teacher about this as I am not 100% what I am doing lol.
super strokey
I think it would depend on how scholarly of a paper the prof is asking for. In mine I need to be very scholarly but I have had profs that said things like wikipedia were cool to use. My suggestion is that you talk to the prof and see if they can give you some guidance there.
tepp
Don't use the wikipedia as a source. It's not a primary source, and without any sort of peer review system, it's not usable as a secondary source.
However, you could use various magazine articles and published interviews with game designers, Jeff Strain, Gaile Gray, etc as sources. Those are primary sources.
However, you could use various magazine articles and published interviews with game designers, Jeff Strain, Gaile Gray, etc as sources. Those are primary sources.
super strokey
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Originally Posted by tepp
Don't use the wikipedia as a source. It's not a primary source, and without any sort of peer review system, it's not usable as a secondary source.
However, you could use various magazine articles and published interviews with game designers, Jeff Strain, Gaile Gray, etc as sources. Those are primary sources. |
Res Ipsi
I'm curious to know what your null and alternative hypotheses will be.
Woop Shotty
I think this will be the last time I post in this thread, but I want to make a suggestion first. You guys need to look up the definition for IT. General English class essays can be about anything as well as it's well written. Essays which are supposed to be IT-related aren't wide open.
Fluffiliscious
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Originally Posted by Mordakai
If this is an IT paper, perhaps a paper about how Guild Wars (and MMORPGs in general) have to have secure systems, and how they protect their data (or not) from exploits and glitches.
It has always fascinated me the amount of work that goes into creating a fictional universe! |