Interaktivitet och deltagande : - en kvalitativ studie kring skapandet av machinima med World of Warcraft -

Sammanfattning: Abstract Title: Interactivity and participation - a qualitative study about the making of machinima with World of Warcraft (Interaktivitet och och deltagande – en kvalitativ studie kring skapandet av machinima med World of Warcraft) Number of pages: 68 total, 50 without appendix Author: Peter Brandberg Tutor: Else Nygren Period: Autumn 2006 Course: Media and Communication Studies C University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala University Purpose/Aim: The aim of this study is to take a closer look at the phenomenon machinima by analysing a number of specific movies from the site worldcraftmovies.com. This analyse is focusing on how the content of these movies relate to the wider game culture of the MMORPG World of Warcraft, what specific elements in the movies is referring to and if there is differences or similarities between different genres (or categories). Material/Method: The method used in analysing the movies is a combined method inspired by hermeneutic, semiotics and discourse analysis. Main results: Instead of answers this study raises many questions about the diverse content of the movies. A general division can be seen between movies focusing on the games rules and movies that are trying to present a fictive world. But the study also shows how there are many movies moving between these two points. The study also suggests that further studies need to focus on the emotional investment players put into the game. Keywords: cultural studies, participatory culture, convergence culture, fan culture, new media, game studies, machinima, MMORPG, World of Warcraft