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Discourse Communities

The Final Analysis of World of Warcraft

Centrifugal Force is known for its outward ability to keep things in rotation, circulating

around said object. Discourse communities subsequently fall into this inertial force. To give

further clarity, a discourse community is the operations and conventions defined by

communitiesof academic disciplines or social groups according to Herzberg. With the

amount of depth and control that these type of communities exercise, it is important to

understand that discourse communities are present everywhere. For Example, in World of

Warcraft, the lexis, the genre, and the rhetorical situations all exhibit necessary components

localized in Discourse Communities. Through critical comprehension of these communities by

use of active playing, and the application of it, the unification will provide readers with pertinent

knowledge.

A friend from my Ethics class asked me why the hell I was playing World of Warcraft,

and how the hell it fell in congruency with Discourse Communities. If my response was based

off of the Aydin, two weeks ago, I would have delve into the fact that I had no clue, nor the

ambition to have one. But today, it was made clear of how relevant this particular concept is. My

response was full of rhetoric I had no idea was attainable to a genre so specific. The dissertation-

type monologue she listened to, described a key concept I had recently learned: assumptions had

a quick ending point, while rhetorical knowledge advanced constantly. In general, the more one
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is to know about a certain genre, or where needs fulfill rhetorical situations (Swales 216), the

more likely they will be able to be an active participant within a discourse community. When my

friend had pried open this certain concept, it was overwhelming how applicable it was in

defining societal social groups and establishing credibility. I learned that discourse communities

can get highly specific, hierarchal order can occur, and that gaining rhetorical knowledge will be

a key into any discourse community out there.

Specifically, the knowledge I gained from World of Warcraft was fundamental to the

elevation of my rhetoric pertaining to this specific community. A key concept I learned was that

common Lexis were utilized far beyond my assumptions. Words like Quest, level, terrain,

Alliance v. Horde, and even the chat window vocabulary, all played a prominent role in gaining

discourse-related persuasive appeal. To quote John Swales, A discourse community has

acquired specific lexis, (in which can be applied to progressing through the game), a notion that

should be payed attention to. From my personal experience, obvious indicators of well-used lexis

gave me a higher understanding of the game than when I originally started. Noticeably, the

gradual, accumulative process of knowledge led me further into being an active participant

within the community, persuasive with my actions, transgressing into a new form of

communication; Guild Forums. Guild and forums were a combination of words not yet

comprehensive to the naked eye, until I realized something through the forum-a hierarchal order.

Here it is again, and with that related to social class, I learned that within these discourse

communities, there were ranks and quests that gave you substantial lead way to
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the advancement of the game, and applied rhetoric to help others. There is a particular link

between these guild forums that contains a Threshold level of members with a suitable degree

of relevant content and discourse expertise (Swales 222) that deemed my stance at the bottom

rung of this hierarchal society.

The bottom rung of World of Warcraft was where many of my classmates fell when

assimilating into this rhetorical situation. I found myself hyper-critical of the purpose of this

assignment and of what I could not comprehend. Not only following critical behavior, I was

establishing assumptions as a fundamental basis when speaking my mind about the initial

playing. This was problematic, consisting of frustration, disengagement, and excuses. Although

there was a montage of explorative quests to teach any apprentice player, my engagement to this

particular activity was minimal. Fortunately, through the group game play, I was able to turn that

ship around. Entering this realm with another person, (especially one who already had a slight

idea of what was to be expected), made this discourse more alluring. Whether it was double-

teaming distinguished quests, or depicting peculiar lexis, my motivation to be part of this

discourse community rose dramatically. As time progressed, my assumptions morphed to

common knowledge based rhetoric. It seemed as though my rank in Dalaran went up

exponentially. With my partner Lexy, we were attributing our skill set to trial and error-which

was a small aspect tied to the World of Warcraft community I thoroughly enjoyed. The ability to

go about an imaginary, yet equally as qualified experience, gave way to further and faster

advancements in the game; distinguishable from most discourse communities.

An exclamatory statement of Penalty! would be recognized in most communities as a

disqualification to a certain subject in the lowering of the initial value. In Soccer, it is a specific
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place on the field where one person from the team sets up their kick, Eighteen yards from the

goal, as a pardon effort to score, due to another teams malpractice. This lexis is specific to my

personal discourse community, among many others. My revolving discourse communities

consist of social activism, spoken word, and food. These area of interactions have given me

several access points that bridge the gap in my personal accounts of rhetorical knowledge. Not

everyone shares this, but with the genre-oriented concept, people tend to gather to their personal

communities. A huge turning point that significantly exemplified how much my ideology had

changed, was my elevation in status pertaining to this discourse community. Tying back to the

bottom rung, where my assumptions had landed me, I was able to acknowledge that social class

is created from within, and not always apparent to the external. Realizing myself with the World

of Warcraft community, I saw how the less I spoke, the more I watched, and the time I allotted to

learning, attributed to successful rhetoric.

Conclusively speaking, my interpretation of this assignment knocked me on my buttocks,

so to speak. I had no respect to the fact that my assumptions affected my perspective, in turn

setting a pre-disposition for my rhetorical situation. Thus, making it harder to progress in the

game, and in my discourse community. The group play aided me tremendously, setting my

personal play to the side lines as I delved further into these ideologies. My acknowledgement of

the classes occurring within the game broadened my concepts on gaming. I was able to relate it

to the three fundamental elements of class itself; Income, Education, and Occupation. This

determined my identity and drew bridges to my personal choices, such as my occupation being
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a druid, or obtaining a level one education. To provide someone with more than a basic level

of what I like to call entrance education (things relevant enough to a certain subject that flows

into discourse communities), it is obvious to acknowledge how pertinent and necessary discourse

communities really are.

Group Play Reflection: Deal or Dud?

Playing World of Warcraft is not my forte, but having another person act as lost as I am,

was more than beneficial. The assignment to join a party was a bust; One, because I am a broke

college student, and Two, When in doubt, finesse it out. I will digress into this later, after I

approach some turning points in the progression of my adventure in World of Warcraft. The

turning points primarily address one fundamental question of my experienceWhat did I learn

(about...)?

Many differences occurred when playing with Lexy as my group mate in comparison to

my lonesome attempts at World of Warcraft. The overall gameplay was more enthralling when

ones comments are heard. It was more enjoyable when ones rhetorical questions turned into
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joyous remarks about shared confusion. But it was not all aimless wandering, in fact, our rhetoric

began to slowly build as the game progressed. With Trial and Error being our number one

informational technique, Lexy and I were able to eventually link up in a mutual area, within

Kalimdor. We ended up both restarting the game, back to level one, regenerating our characters.

We developed a plan to both level up faster, through our technique of double-teaming our quests;

i.e. killing a creature together and both of being able to level up at the same time. I learned more

about smaller things inside the game, such as if one were to type /help, it gave a full list of

commands and controls that got one further in different quests. I had not learned this before.

Lexy ended up teaching me more minuscule things, like how quests add this thing called XP to

ones leveling if one were to fully execute it.

The overall gaming experience let me learn about how others in my discourse community

approach online gaming and the seriousness that can come with it. However, it also showed me

the humor that can arise from silly things such as /dance or running into a wall. It also

displayed how minute something can seem inside the game until it is realized that its a

necessary component to completing quests. Such as, utilizing what is in ones bag in order to

calm the spirits by using a drum. Lexy, being a very helpful component for keeping me

focused, and an active participant in the game, was my main motivator. This influence helped me

greatly, I played for an hour and a half without harvesting hate against something I did not

understand. She made the game fun, which was essential in getting me to figure out further social

cues within this community.

Some rhetoric developed through the game was that the chat window is not just for small

talk, its where actions take place. The directions that can be made there constitute a rubric form

of methodology in order to advance in the game. In totality, there is a whole another world on the
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virtual reality. It constitutes a real skill, and attention to small, learned detail. I got to mess up

and learn in following. The characterization encompassed my appreciation for art, and Lexys

character was super cool, encapsulating her long brown hair and need for looking Bad-ass, as

she put it. All in all, now I see how people can be sucked into a whole new world of learning

types of rhetoric about something most people brush off as insignificant, when in reality it offers

a multitude of real-world applications. Although my stress to even find anyone to be a part of my

group was heightened after the lack of appearance of another, it was mainly a pretty funny

ordeal.

Vicariously Virtual: A Narrative

Dalaran hosts many communities all dwelling in similar purposeful environments. In this

narrative, the birth of BigButtBruce will tell a tale of how a young Horde member established his

life purpose in the wilderness of World of Warcraft. Everything BigButtBruce does in this

adventure will be a tale-telling story of how his life came to be, and how it continued on. Further,

through his Level One adventure, some grander concepts will provide more enlightening lessons

possibly one might have skipped over if solely just playing for the escalation of leveling up.
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BigButtBruce was a late bloomer in the Horde Village. A let-down before birth,

BigButtBruce was born from immaculate conception, but nothing too immaculate about him. A

Tauren, it was expected he would be a strong Druid Leader. Unfortunately, B.B. Bruce, fell short

of that. He was born into a pre-disposition that he would be the runt of the Druid family. The

disappointment to the Horde community, Bruce had nothing going for him. In this, Bruce found

a simple act of freeing, that led him to be however miserable or content he could be. Bruce had

the option to be a Troll, from the Monk Community, where his odds as a functional member of

the World of Warcraft were much higher. A troll, he knew in his past life, he had lived as this

before, in a car he was born under a bridge (as I the writer, was, too), and his father thought his

purpose would be to be such as one. His Grandmother would have named him otherwise,

Bridgett maybe, either way, Bruce had a bigger existential trial up river. Bruce knew, as a

Tauren, similar to his Zodiac Sign, he would be mentally stubborn, yet strength would be his

supreme virtue. Bruce knew Tauren, like the Ox, carried wisdom in multitude, weight of the

world similar to Atlas, and procured love like a Historian with Van Gogh. Bruces conception

was based off of many external compromises, and stories at that. Zodiac symbolism was a huge

part of Bruces life, since as addressed earlier, in his other past life, he spent it on earth, with a

Chinese-Vietnamese family in which values came across as paralleling virtues to the Zodiac

processes. The pedagogy he practiced made his identity stand out, but for this world, they left

him to enjoy that for himself, and by himself. He had ombred hair, making him blend into

different races, floating in an out of contrasting perspectives as to what his rank would be. He

had horns pointed outwards and up, to carry anything he possibly wanted, even the weight of the

world. His red eyes burned through any Dalaran, which never aided the societal-acceptance and

whole making friends, type of ordeal. Bruce made sure his life as a druid was consistent with
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the practices preached upon in said community. Druids were to heal others, Bruce as a caretaker

himself enjoyed this quality, and not only this, but his ability to shape-shift helped soothe him

when other Horde members were fed up with him. Bruce always felt a hankering to have a

superpower, and now he did.

Bruce ran; Forrest Gump was his cousin. He ran so much he never got very far in life, but

that was what made him, him. Being a let down was a simple task; he simply had to not do

anything right in the World of Warcraft, and run aimlessly until his time ran out. In his life, he

followed pertinent mantras specific to the ideals he was accustomed to. Ideals such as you can

only disprove things, not prove them. So, with a tiny dagger, a light expulsion spell, Bruce set off

into the wilderness to pick up his first quest that the trainer was reluctant to assign to him to

begin with. Go forth and kill 6/6 field rat-looking-scoundrels, the trainer told him aggressively.

Bruce didn't like killing things, but he knew in this totalitarian-every man for himself, society, he

must do as he was told order to achieve the things he desired. Problem was, Bruce wanted

nothing more than to frolic in every field and mountain of Dalaran. He took his map in which he

kept with him at every point in time, which aided in the process of determining directions, such

as head east. Bruce attempted killing the wild rat things in an open range field, only to be

bitten, feasted on, and attacked repetitively. Bruce asked himself; Is this what I really want from

life to slay and to be slain? He knew the levels of life would increase his drive for battle, but

this was not the life Bruce chose. He completed his first quest in alliance territory and directly

sought out the next trainer to see if any profitable conversation would arise. No existential

conversation was held, just the explanation of rewards, and mandates. Bruce resisted and just

kept running, with the occasional death of something that seemed bereft of life itself, for loot that

he could use occasionally for bartering.

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Bruce just kept running, with no purpose, with no direction but his faithful map, and

weird forest depictions he kept in his journal. He realized then that no discourse in this

community would be of aid. Bruce let the let-down label follow him, but he never caught up to

it. Bruce realized that in his life, there was a story, and in his story, there were lessons, and

behind it all, he knew he would die, and nothing would matter.

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WOW! A Reflection!

This was the most unnecessarily complicated assignment I have ever completed. Not

because of the teachers jurisdictions, but because I got in the way of myself in doing this

assignment. First off, who knew downloading and installing were two separate things. Thus,

leading myself to explain that MacBook Pros are pieces of shit because they have no storage. In

all, I guess I let procrastination get the best of this assignment, which directs us to the notion that

it was unintentional procrastination, being that I had myself set up correctly to do the assignment

in a timely fashion, but was not thorough enough to ensure everything was in its place.

Nevertheless, she persisted.

This was a completely new assignment to me, gaming has never been a part of my life

except for Super Smash Brothers Melee on Gamecube. Overall, my choices I made while playing

on two different peoples computers were predicated off of confusion, and a hint of curiosity.

The experience was neither positive nor negative, but the lessons learned give the assignment a

bit more credentials to the purpose of completing it. Being part of this discourse community gave

me insight on the perspective that a lot of people share when initiating in this virtual community.

Vicarious was the Word of the Day, since I found my character acting as my stream of

consciousness through the actions I was passively making throughout the given time. The

reactions to the game and the point of playing were unexpected. The battles and quests were

clear and concise, with direction and motive. I was immediately able to reap the benefits of what

I (merely) sowed. In this discourse community, one has the ability to see the fruits of their labor

quickly, which restores motive to get to the next. I see why people could live so vicariously

through their self-characterization, and headfirst actions to kill, loot, and repeat. To achieve rank
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in society at an accelerated rate, receiving affirmation and direction promptly, and continue

through a highly imaginative world was enough for me to stay tuned to this particular discourse

community.

I found meaning through this gaming experience in the point that this is purely try, try

again. World of Warcraft describes a process to self-educate, learn the tricks and loopholes, and

test your perceptions of common knowledge. This furthered my experience levels with

vicarious, virtual living. It taught me I lack a very basic form of respect for this commonly

indulged activity.

Certain things like fighting, in this game, were actually hard to learn for me. I relentlessly

tried to stab things, and run into people, and jump and climb trees but even with the setting and

tool adaptations, my applied knowledge was scarce. This sent me straight back to my first year of

soccer, unskilled, dumb, and lost. If I had the literacy skills that I do now with soccer, for this, I

would have excelled and possibly made it past level one; again, though, I wanted my character

Bruce to have a new take on lifeexploring instead of following the dictations of the internal

community. Nothing really unexpected happened, just the constant flow of confusion flooded my

brain while participating. Coming full circle, back to confusion and nothing unexpected, my

major actually comes into play. With a criminal Justice degree, the two discourse communities

that come into play feed off each other in the sense that I am questioning morality behind every

action. Simple as that, that is what I got from this.

There aren't many opportunities to live vicariously through another outlet. I have never

actively played out my identity through virtual means like this. Expect in Barbie: Extreme

Makeover, which was purely superficial, unlike this one. I got to project my personal beliefs such
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as engaging in anarchy, and going against the grain of a dictated society. I got to be a part of

something new, which is how people learn. My character had elements of healing, and strength

which are two key components in my individual disposition. I needed to acquire more unique

skills for this game like learning how many control systems there are, and how accessible they

were. The layout to the game, even using letters on my keyboard to move was strange. This

whole experience was dry for me, but maybe because of my disinterest in the virtual world.

Nevertheless, I will keep an open mind, like BigButtBruce, and keep running. (running the game

on my computer because its actually, if I apply myself, is more enlightening then I thought

coming into this assignment).