Want to Participate in a Research Project?

[Eve Agoron]

Hello there!

 

I'm here to inform you all about a research project that I would like to start for my Anthropology university course, and I would like to see if anyone is interested in being a participant! I would like to start off by telling you a little bit about myself and my research. You see, I am not a complete newb, in fact I used to play a lot of WoW when I was younger, and I also played a bit of LOTRO. I was much more of a PVE player and never really delved into the RP aspect of either game. Currently, I am a university undergraduate student majoring in the subject of Anthropology, and I have been given the opportunity to write a paper about a topic that interests me. During the pandemic's early lock down, my partner decided to get me the free trail of ffxiv because he knew I had been interested in getting back into playing MMORPG's. With that, I'm guessing you can tell where I'm going with this. I decided that my topic would be the RP communities of ffxiv. My subject, anthropology, allows me to participate in the lives of others in order to better understand their cultures and behaviors. Which is exactly my hope for this research, I want this project to help in furthering my understanding of Anthropological research methods, but also as a social benefit to me in that I will learn a new way to play a game that I already enjoy playing. And the benefit to the players that do wish to get involved is hopefully that they gain a new friend and community member.

 

I'm very interested in participating in and learning how to RP myself while also learning about the people of this community (or just their characters!). In fact a portion of this research would involve interviews with those who consent to it. In these interviews one can decide to answer questions OOC or IC, and even decide to use only their screen names (or not even that!). This entire project is very centered around consent. There is an informed consent form that I have to sign (virtually, verbally, however you wish) for all willing participants. In this form it states that participants can choose to keep their online screen names anonymous in which case I will change their names to pseudonyms. I will also never ask participants for their real life names outside of the game, but if they wish to provide them they can. I will also be constantly checking in verbally to ensure that everyone is still comfortable and consenting during my research.  

 

My main research goal is to explore the question, "Does the virtual family unit exist? How role-players define relationships and kinship in the virtual world of ffxiv." I can remember feeling a very strong bond with my guildmates when I played WoW and I'm interested in learning more about the RP communities here in ffxiv! My research focus will be about whether "free companies" in ffxiv are like small virtual families.

 

With that said I implore anyone who is interested to please contact me. I hope that some of you will be interested in playing with me, and essentially taking me under your wing to teach me how to RP and how you RP uniquely. I am also asking if there are any free companies that would be comfortable inviting me into their community so that I can meet other players and learn from them and observe their play styles as well (I am fine with being removed from them once my research is complete). Or even if you have friends that would like to meet me and chat, that's fine too! 

 

If anyone has any suggestions or questions for me, please do not hesitate to contact me! I am very open to any suggestions you may have so that I can better my research, and I am comfortable answering any questions you may have regarding myself or my research! I will also be posting in welcome-desk to tell you all a little bit about myself and my character!

[Faye]

Hey there, that's a really interesting idea and a thoughtful topic for your research! I'd be glad to answer any questions as well as help you get started into RP however I can! You're also welcome to check out my FC Teatime linked in my signature below. We're a community of RPers from all walks of life with varying experience levels. We have a Discord server you could join as a guest if you'd rather not commit to the FC proper.