Public Virtual World Gaming in Asia: Preparatory Fieldwork for Site Selection, Protocol Testing and Research Instrument Development

Provides an overview of the fieldwork conducted as a background for fact finding, reconnaissance, and refinement of logistics in local contexts for the LAN gaming studies. The inclusion of different cultures and peoples in these contacts were designed to provide alternative forms of observation regarding public/private behaviour, according to varying environmental and situational constraints. The goal of the study was oriented around tool and protocol development and exploration of conditions, constraints, and best prospects for field sites for VERUS LAN studies. The field research was conducted in order to further: a) test the research protocols (tools and methods) for the LAN studies in specific Asian and Middle Eastern media ecologies, giving a rough sketch of what virtual world gaming looks like in various parts of the world; b) develop and hone the field research instruments for the purposes of the VERUS project; c) touch upon themes encountered in this iteration of fieldwork; d) inform future iterations of this fieldwork.