Players as knowledge producers and learners: Emergent culture, enculturation, and expertise in massively multiplayer online games

The Internet has provided video game players with a platform for generating and sharing knowledge and resources with others in their game communities. This thesis speculates on the knowledge and understandings that players in a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) produce and consume as they gain expertise through the game, and how this knowledge is propagated to enculturate other players into the social practices of gameplay. As a player as well as an observer, I document my experiences at the intersection of emergent culture, enculturation, and expertise in the context of the game and provide evidence on how these three elements are intricately connected. My findings suggest that various resources and artifacts are generated by players to set standards and requirements for "good" or "normal" play. My results support that player-produced knowledge and understandings influence the gaming experience for all those who participate in the game worlds.