Might also be interesting to see whether guild composition changes significantly when members start hitting 60. (That was my experience in at least one guild--there was a sudden surge in recruiting of other 60s, which significantly changed the social structures of the guild.)

Sounds interesting.

There is an underlying philosophy on game with WoW, as well as most of the other MMORPGs. I have been told by players who have reached max level, or "End Game", that the game doesn't actually begin until you get to End Game.

I appologize if this seems trite, but for me, the game is all about playing your character, job, class, whatever. It doesn't matter if you level quickly to "Get to End Game" or if you take your time as a casual player and enjoy the ride, so long as you enjoy yourself.

Mostly, the players I have spoken with emphasize that their end game characters can easily earn in-game-currency to pay for expensive items, can customize their game play to suit their desires and have specific goals within instances. The leveling necessary to get to end game is a part of the process to be endured.

This philosophy results in a very elitist and superior attitude among the "End Game" players, that anyone who doesn't hurry up and get to their level of game play is wasting their time.

So we have a stratification of players on game:

1) Beginners who are not sure what to do as part of the game.
2) Experienced but casual players who enjoy the leveling process but don't wish to hurry the game along, and don't want to deal with the high level of committment and stress of pushing for end game.
3) Hard Core players who endure the leveling to get to End Game because that's when the real game begins.
4) Professional gamers also known as money makers, farmers or gold sellers who feed the market for RMT.

As far as Guilds go, I have seen three kinds. Each was devoted to one of the above four categories, and I do not doubt there is a fourth for the Professional Gamers, which I have never expereinced as I don't participate at that particular level of game play.

This looks very interesting, but I just haven't been able to figure out what those social metrics you have calculated actually means? I'm guessing the first graph is the number of different people you interact with (number of in-game connections).

Centrality .... ? Is there where people are located in-game compared to each other?

Combined time of connections? How long people stay in contact with each other?

I'm a hardcore WoW gamer, but I just can't figure out what the 2 other graphs are about. Sorry if I'm being nobish here on your blog, but really wanted to know what this was about.

Thanks!

Hi Nick,

Don't appologize, it's our role to make the numbers and graphs clear, not yours. The first graph (degree) is indeed the number of different people you interact with. The second graph (centrality) measures which portion of the total membership of your guild you are interacting with (e.g. if your guild has 10 members and you are connected to 2, your centrality is 0.2). The third graph (weights) is indeed how long these connections to other people last, as you had guessed.

I hope this helps. If not please ask more questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

Great reading, keep up the great posts.
Peace, JiggaDigga

It's the structure of the game that makes for the great shift in play at level 60. I have likened levels 1-59 to being in school, whereupon everything you do is in order to get experience for your character, and your responsibility is ultimately to yourself, whether you group up with others, buy good gear to help you out, or simply grind it out as fast as possible.

At level 60, the sudden shift in the game is due to your sudden shift in objectives. Your goals change from getting to level 60, which you have completed, to the only possible avenue for improvement - gear. Except this is completely different than getting experience, because the best gear is in the toughest instances which require the biggest and best groups of players. It takes hours to navigate Molten Core or Zul'Gurub or Blackwing Lair, and you typically do this with your guild, because when something you need drops off a boss, chances are a bunch of other people will need it too, and there has to be some sort of system to determine who will get it. A lot of this is based on trust, trust of the master looter, or if a different system is used, trust in everyone to pass so that loot can be determined by the group's rules.

It takes many many instance runs to get the gear you want, and as you go on, you realize you need different gear for different situations, in order to get the next level of gear. Thus large group, in-guild gameplay becomes a must for anyone who wishes to advance beyond simply being level 60, hence the sudden shift in the data you got.

Oh, and most end-game guilds will not accept applications unless the applicant is already level 60 and usually has completed certain prerequisites for end-game raiding, such as a minimum fire resistance, and attuning themselves to enter Molten Core and Blackwing Lair, thus level 59 players are usually left in the same boat as level 30 players and everyone else.

Oops, left out the second part of my analogy. If levels 1-59 are like being in school, where your responsibility is only to yourself, to get experience and increase in level, then when you hit level 60, your guild raid schedule becomes like a job. You have to be online at a fixed time, because otherwise you end up with 39 people sitting around waiting for you to get started. Everyone has a responsibility to do their individual job, whether it's healing, tanking, or damage, and rewards usually come in a rotational or accumulated points system. You often have to apply to these guilds, who will sometimes try you out before they accept or reject, and you can get kicked out, or fired, for misbehaving or if you really suck, then for that too. Thus it is important that there be communication and trust between guild members for the smooth and efficient running of end-game instances