Scalable learning: from simple to complex in World of Warcraft Douglas Thomas Abstract Purpose ��� The aim of this paper is to examine how a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG), World of Warcraft, serves as complex and, most importantly, scalable learning environment. Design/methodology/approach ��� The paper looks at the unique properties of World of Warcraft as a complex and scalable learning environment. Findings ��� The paper finds that by looking at World of Warcraft it can be understood how large-scale networks of high value can be utilized and leveraged by smaller communities to succeed at team building, organization and talent development within complex and often rapidly changing environments. Originality/value ��� By examining World of Warcraft the paper demonstrates a complex social network that is constantly evolving itself, constantly reforming itself, and constantly pruning old useless or outdated information which can be applied to an enormous number of tiny networked communities of interest and practice. Keywords Learning, Indoor games, Learning methods, Digital communication systems, Multimedia Paper type Case study S ince 1996, a new genre of games has emerged. These games, called massively multiplayer online games, or MMOGs, have created a new context for play within the culture of a large-scale social network. World of Warcraft is one of the most recent examples of the genre and exemplifies how these games serve as complex and, most importantly, scalable learning environments. Unlike traditional video games, World of Warcraft is a fundamentally social space that allows players to communicate in real time, work together to accomplish tasks, and create synergies among various character classes to achieve results more efficiently. Because it is a networked space, we have also witnessed the creation of external tools: wikis, forums, databases, instructional videos, and game play add-ons that all aid in the process of learning. Within Warcraft there are at least two ways to think about networks. The first is the immense network that comprises the game world itself, composed of players across a number of nations, with varied and complex relationships to the game world. The second is a smaller set of networks called guilds that are composed of players who usually will share common interests or objectives within the game (group play, shared resources, raiding, etc.) In this analysis, I want to examine both the potential of large-scale social networks for scalable learning as well as the means by which smaller networks can filter, manage, generate and productively use information from the larger network to create complex learning environments. In some cases, these smaller networks may also produce a kind of productive friction resulting both from competition among groups or internally from competition among members. DOI 10.1108/10748120910936135 VOL. 17 NO. 1 2009, pp. 35-46, Q Emerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1074-8121 j ON THE HORIZON j PAGE 35 Douglas Thomas is an Associate Professor at Annenberg School for Communication, USC, Los Angeles, California, USA. The author would like to thank John Seely Brown, John Hagel III, and Jagannath Nemani, and Constance Steinkuehler for their feedback and commentary on the essay. Portions of this research were funded by the Deloitte Center for Edger Innovation.

We know from studying gamers that one of the primary drivers for this sort of play is a feeling of progress and achievement[1]. In order for that to occur, the game needs be structured around a set of challenges that require players to learn new skills or adapt old ones to new situations. When games become too repetitive or cease to provide new content players will generally quit and move on to other games that provide new challenges. In that sense, Warcraft has been notable for its longevity. While it had been common for MMOGs in the USA to attract 500,000 players, only a handful of games had been able to break the 1 million players mark (the two most notable exceptions, Lineage and Lineage II, were both games that had their largest success in the Korean market). Launched in 2004, Warcraft has grown to more than 10 million players worldwide making it the most successful MMOG of all time. Players continue to join Warcraft, but Blizzard has also been remarkable adept at keeping current players in the game for a significant period of time (see Figure 1). There are many potential reasons for the success of Warcraft, but chief among them is that the game provides a rich environment in which players can both learn, but also create their own learning networks to facilitate a rapid, continuous, and scalable system for learning. WoW as a complex social network When a player first enters World of Warcraft they begin at level 1. The goal of the player in this initial environment is to get their character to level 70 (initially level 60 before the expansion in January 2007). The primary way this is achieved is through the process of questing. Quests introduce players at the earliest levels to the skills and abilities they will need to progress through the game���s content. Quests may focus on killing a number of monsters, which teach Figure 1 MMOG subscriptions through 2008 PAGE 36 j ON THE HORIZON j VOL. 17 NO. 1 2009