Productive Play: The Convergence of Play and Labor in Online Games and Virtual Worlds

本次研讨会将汇集知识渊博的计算机和信息科学家在人机交互和计算机支持的工作领域，以及来自游戏和在线研究社区的专家，以评估当前的状态和可能的未来发展的大型多人在线世界（MMOW）在工作应用程序。MMOW是三维电子环境，其中成员创建具体的角色并通过文本和语音聊天彼此交互。MMOW通常被归类为游戏技术，其范围从具有一组特定的、目标导向的游戏活动的游戏（如魔兽世界）到开放的环境（如第二人生），在该环境中玩家可以创建他们想要的任何内容。越来越多的公司、教育工作者和军方承认这些在线空间是合法的通信媒体，从而模糊了工作和娱乐之间的界限。然而，目前还不清楚玩家对《魔兽世界》等游戏或《第二人生》等虚拟世界的热情是否会转化为非游戏环境。本次研讨会的目的是提高我们的在线虚拟环境中的工作和娱乐之间的关系的理解。研讨会的成果将通过一个网站和一份学术期刊特刊传播。讲习班的一个主要好处将是培养工作关系，以开发将游戏以富有成效的方式纳入工作环境的关键工具。这是必不可少的，因为互动游戏成为我们文化中越来越重要的一部分。这两者的结合--建立文献和建立科学共同体--将在推进最新技术方面发挥重要作用。

This workshop will bring together knowledgeable computer and information scientists in the human-computer interaction and computer-supported work fields, as well as experts from the game and online research community, to assess the current status and likely future development of massively multiplayer online worlds (MMOWs) in work applications. MMOWs are three-dimensional electronic environments in which members create embodied characters and interact with each other through text and voice chat. Frequently categorized as technologies of play, MMOWs range from games such as World of Warcraft with a set of specific, goal-oriented game activities, to open environments such as Second Life, in which players create any content they desire. Increasingly, corporations, educators, and the military are recognizing these online spaces as legitimate communication media, thereby blurring the lines between work and play. However, it is unclear whether the passion players bring to games such as World of Warcraft or virtual worlds such as Second Life will translate to non-play contexts. The objective of this workshop is to advance our understanding of relations between work and play in online virtual environments. The results of this workshop will be disseminated through a website and a special issue of a scholarly journal. A primary benefit of the workshop will be the cultivation of working relationships for development of critical tools for incorporating play into work environments in a productive manner. This is essential, as interactive games become an increasingly important part of our culture. The combination of these two - building the literature and building the scientific community - will play a significant role in advancing the state of the art.