The Projection, Compensation And Social Mobilization Of The Online Game Fans

The research is based on a case study about the fandom of "World of Warcraft",a online game which is one of the most popular game in China. It consists of an online ethnography, where online observation,in-depth interviews are applied.Firstly, the research outlines the status of the online game fans, and explores the psychological projection of the online game fans. Moreover, online game acts as a transitional object to the fandom of the psychological compensation. In addition, the psychological research about social mobilization of the online games fandom is also the focus of this article.The study found that, the online game fandom not only have fans behavior in the process of games, but also have fandom consumption and reproduction, fans space construction, as well as some groups of online and offline activities. This research try to analyze the games and game world as a dream of the "window" on the psychological point. Online game fans project the ideal world in the game to get a better expectations, and project the unknown explore desire in the game to meet the thirst of curiosity. Furthermore, online game fans treat the game as their transitional object to obtain psychological compensation. This object compensates their sense of self-relaxation, interpersonal communication, self-realization and so on, in order to overcome the tension, loneliness, frustration, which perplex the modern people, especially the youth. However, this compensation also exists risk-taking. If the boundary between the real world and the game world is lost, the compensation will be on the edge of morbidity and fanaticism in all probability.A big difference between online game fandom and other fans group lies in its strong social mobilization capacity, which is showed in "69Jihad". Their mobilization is quick and efficient, full of participant interaction and emotional investment, covert mobilization subject and related certainty, and other characteristics. In computer-mediated communication system, online game fandom still keeps the fans behavior. Therefore, they are always in the crevice between desire and responsibility, happiness and obligation. On the one hand, they desire to maintain the responsibilities and obligations of justice through their own behavior. On the other hand, they indulge in desire and happiness of group revelry.