Discursive Constructions of MMOGs and Some Implications for Policy and Regulation

Abstract

This paper examines how the production of interactive, co-creative software such as multiplayer online games differs from conventional media production, and how stakeholders employ different discursive constructions to understand those environments. The convergence of forms and functions, and the emergence of new structures that cross pre-existent regulatory and policy boundaries, mean that the discourses adopted to describe these environments and enact regulation and control need to be examined for the particular interests they represent. The paper canvasses six different discourses about online social software such as games, and briefly discusses the implications of each for areas such as intellectual property, classification, governance, data privacy, creative industries and global crossjurisdictional infrastructures.