6533b7d3fe1ef96bd125fe5a

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Leadership in an online multiplayer strategy game: case – Illuria

subject

description

This paper looks at leadership communication in the context of online multiplayer games and the groups that operate within them. In multiplayer games promoting teamwork and long-term cooperation, issues of management and leadership are prevalent. The study explores the experiences that members of multiplayer communities have towards leadership in multiplayer games by looking at one specific case of organised team play within the framework of a turn-based online strategy game. The data utilised in this study consist of themed player interviews conducted via e-mail. The analysis proposes three central dimensions that emerged from the data. These were labelled: (1) the leader as primus motor, (2) the necessity of authority and (3) the discourse of leadership as work. At the end of this paper, directions for future research are outlined.