JVWR Newsletter

JVWR updates and newsletter.

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JVWR Previous Issues

Vol. 1, Issue 1 - Virtual Worlds Research: Past, Present & Future

   Editor:

  • Jeremiah Spence, University of Texas at Austin, USA

 

Vol. 1, Issue 2 - Consumer Behavior in Virtual Worlds

   Guest Editors:

  • Natalie Wood, Saint Joseph′s University, USA
  • Caja Thimm, University of Bonn, Germany

 

Vol. 1, Issue 3 - Cultures of Virtual Worlds

   Guest Editors:

  • Mia Consalvo, Ohio University, USA
  • Mark Bell, Indiana University, USA

 

Vol. 2, Issue 1 - Pedagogy, Education and Innovation in Virtual Worlds

   Guest Editors:

  • Leslie Jarmon, University of Texas at Austin, USA
  • Kenneth Y.T. Lim, Nanyang Technology University, Singapore
  • B. Stephen Carpenter, II, Texas A&M University, USA

 

Vol. 2, Issue 2 - 3D Virtual Worlds for Health and Healthcare

   Guest Editors:

  • Maged M. Kamel Boulos, University of Plymoth, UK
  • Susan Toth-Cohen, Thomas Jefferson University, USA
  • Simon Bignell, University of Derby, UK

 

Vol. 2, Issue 3 - Technology, Economy and Standards in Virtual Worlds

  Guest Editors:

  • Yesha Y. Sivan, Shenkar College & Metaverse Labs, Israel
  • Jean H.A. Gellissen, Philips Research, Netherlands
  • Robert Bloomfield, Cornell University, USA

 

Vol. 2, Issue 4 - Virtual Economies, Virtual Goods and Service Delivery in Virtual Worlds

  Guest Editors:

  • Mandy Salomon, Smart Services CRC, Australia
  • Serge Soudoplatoff, ESCP-EAP / Hetic, France

 

Creative Commons License

CrossRef Member

The Gorean Community in Second Life: Rules of Sexual Inspired Role-Play

Tjarda Sixma

 

Abstract

Gor is one of the most successful role-play themes in the Virtual World of Second Life (SL). In this theme, player-characters act out a barbaric world of sexual slavery that is based on the novels of John Norman. Norman’s narrative comes alive in privately owned 3D simulations (SIMs) that depict settlements in Roman, Viking, or tribal style. This paper gives insight into the construction of Gorean role-play, and positions it within the discourse on role-play in Virtual Worlds. The role-play was studied by undertaking an ethnographic participant-observation. Moreover, the rules of the city of Veroda (a pseudonym) are analysed in detail. The analysis shows that Veroda’s rules aim at immersion in the role-play experience and are concerned with the power structure of the SIM, as well as with the personal power relationships of its members. In conclusion, Gorean SIM communities are closed or semi-closed social groups that act as real communities “living” in a particular shared online place. Whereas within gaming worlds the play occurs under the rules of game-design, Gorean role-play groups in Second Life construct their own social rules and play. In doing so, they create and maintain a vibrant community life.

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