Introducing myself

The place for chatting and discussing subjects unrelated to Wesnoth.

Moderator: Forum Moderators

Post Reply
User avatar
BfWEthnographer
Posts: 33
Joined: November 8th, 2010, 12:39 pm
Location: Denmark
Contact:

Introducing myself

Post by BfWEthnographer »

Hi everyone!

I just registered to the forum and I thought about introducing myself here.

I'm an Italian PhD student interested in collaborative/distributed efforts and, in particular, in Free Software development communities. My PhD project focuses on mediation between use and development in Free Software and takes Battle for Wesnoth as case study for the research.

I knew BfW since few years (though, I played it only occasionally), but I never thought of it as a potential case for my research, until I started browsing a little more under the surface of the game and got an overview at the underlying community. Afterwards, I changed my mind about it. For instance, I'm fascinated by the whole process of developing, maintaining, and improving UMC, which gives an interesting touch and longevity to the game.

This is why I'd like to stick around here (and in other channels: IRC, MP server) for some time. In order to understand the nuts and bolts of Wesnoth :) (from the side of gaming experience and of development effort) I would try to engage with the community practices and 'daily life'. i.e. An ethnographic approach to the research.

As a player, I'm still a newbie, but as soon as I get a better grasp of the strategy and units' characteristics, I'll also hang around the MP server for some matches.

Ok, so long for my boring introduction

Cheers!
BfWEthnographer


Just a due clarification: my research will not involve the gathering, moreover, nor the publishing of any sensitive/private data.
If anyone is interested in knowing more about the kind of work I intend to do, feel free to ask (via PM, in this discussion or by other means). Moreover, my signature links to the website/blog, I use to narrate the development of the research, it also includes more details about methodology (which could answer to privacy concerns). You are free to comment and/or contact me there as well. (The blog is rather empty since I just begun the research)

P.S. English is not my mother tongue, so apologies for any unclear statement
Current research on sustainability of commons (also involving BfW) - ISSP
Old (unmaintained) website used for my PhD research on BfW

Avatar by: PhD Comics
User avatar
Ken_Oh
Moderator Emeritus
Posts: 2178
Joined: February 6th, 2006, 4:03 am
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Re: Introducing myself

Post by Ken_Oh »

Interesting. I also did an ethnography while an undergrad and almost did it on the subject of an online gaming community, but was scared that it would be too difficult.

As far as your subject goes, I'd like to point out that there is more than one type of "user" for Wesnoth. Some of us play the game, some of us use it mainly as a means to develop our own games (most of which end up on the add-ons server, however, there have been more than one project which has specifically stated that it has no plans to distribute content for general use, but will keep the content to themselves since said content infringes on copyright law) and some of us have a balance of both sides.

Anyway, good luck!
User avatar
BfWEthnographer
Posts: 33
Joined: November 8th, 2010, 12:39 pm
Location: Denmark
Contact:

Re: Introducing myself

Post by BfWEthnographer »

Ken_Oh wrote:Interesting. I also did an ethnography while an undergrad and almost did it on the subject of an online gaming community, but was scared that it would be too difficult.
what did you turn to, then? Was it difficult? :)
As far as your subject goes, I'd like to point out that there is more than one type of "user" for Wesnoth. Some of us play the game, some of us use it mainly as a means to develop our own games (most of which end up on the add-ons server, however, there have been more than one project which has specifically stated that it has no plans to distribute content for general use, but will keep the content to themselves since said content infringes on copyright law) and some of us have a balance of both sides.
yes, exactly. It is this kind of heterogeneity of 'usage scenario' and how these connect to the development of the core (so to speak), that I'm interested in.
Anyway, good luck!
Thank you!
Current research on sustainability of commons (also involving BfW) - ISSP
Old (unmaintained) website used for my PhD research on BfW

Avatar by: PhD Comics
User avatar
Ken_Oh
Moderator Emeritus
Posts: 2178
Joined: February 6th, 2006, 4:03 am
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Re: Introducing myself

Post by Ken_Oh »

I ended up doing the ethnography on the nerd club (fantasy, anime, gaming, sci-fi) on my college's campus. It wasn't very difficult as I ended up hanging out with them a lot later. I definitely took the easy way out. I kind of regret it if just for that. Again, lots of luck with this project.
User avatar
Crushmaster
Posts: 383
Joined: August 9th, 2008, 3:38 pm
Location: United States
Contact:

Re: Introducing myself

Post by Crushmaster »

Welcome to the forums! :)
In Christ,
Crushmaster.
Godspeed, random person!
NeedGod - User:Crushmaster
User avatar
Dunno
Posts: 773
Joined: January 17th, 2010, 4:06 pm
Location: Behind you

Re: Introducing myself

Post by Dunno »

Ken_Oh wrote:
As far as your subject goes, I'd like to point out that there is more than one type of "user" for Wesnoth. Some of us play the game, some of us use it mainly as a means to develop our own games (most of which end up on the add-ons server, however, there have been more than one project which has specifically stated that it has no plans to distribute content for general use, but will keep the content to themselves since said content infringes on copyright law) and some of us have a balance of both sides.
May I add those who used to play Wesnoth a lot, but now have time only to browse forums or play Isar's Cross from time to time :(
Oh, I'm sorry, did I break your concentration?
User avatar
sur.nhm
Posts: 630
Joined: September 4th, 2008, 12:10 pm
Location: in /dev/null...

Re: Introducing myself

Post by sur.nhm »

Dunno wrote:
Ken_Oh wrote:
As far as your subject goes, I'd like to point out that there is more than one type of "user" for Wesnoth. Some of us play the game, some of us use it mainly as a means to develop our own games (most of which end up on the add-ons server, however, there have been more than one project which has specifically stated that it has no plans to distribute content for general use, but will keep the content to themselves since said content infringes on copyright law) and some of us have a balance of both sides.
May I add those who used to play Wesnoth a lot, but now have time only to browse forums or play Isar's Cross from time to time :(
And some of us browse the forums, play a bit, and help other people with their add-ons. It's a diverse community here.
I'm not really around any more, but you can find me in TvTropes.
User avatar
pauxlo
Posts: 1047
Joined: September 19th, 2006, 8:54 pm

Re: Introducing myself

Post by pauxlo »

I decided some time ago to have a "Wesbreak" until I finish my diploma thesis, and uninstalled Wesnoth then, but I still regularly come to the forum and comment on diverse threads :-)
User avatar
MsPacMan
Posts: 8
Joined: November 21st, 2010, 8:14 pm
Location: Earth

Re: Introducing myself

Post by MsPacMan »

YAY! I'm just here because a friend of mine recomended it! ^^
"It's good for your soul." "I wish I had a piece of cake..." I feel like taking a nap..." "I can sell you that." and "That's epic" are 95% of what I say. Now, I'm going to make some tots and play Pac-Man Marie-out
User avatar
TheDreamer
Posts: 48
Joined: November 26th, 2010, 3:20 pm
Location: Land of Illusions

Re: Introducing myself

Post by TheDreamer »

Welcome here, hope you have a good time. ^^

(Evvai, manco arrivo e trovo un italiano xD)
The Dreamer (a.k.a. KK Slider, KKSlider60)
Author of "Minimalist Era" and "Royal Stickmen" (WIP).
http://kkslider60.newgrounds.com/ - My free audio portal in Newgrounds.com - Free album "Back to Basics" out! :D
User avatar
BfWEthnographer
Posts: 33
Joined: November 8th, 2010, 12:39 pm
Location: Denmark
Contact:

Re-Introducing myself - New research on BfW

Post by BfWEthnographer »

Hi everyone!!

it has been long time since my last interactions here with Wesnoth and Wesnoth community (although I admit, I have continued playing and stumbling upon some forum discussions, occasionally).
Very glad seeing the game continuing to improve and the community thriving!

I update this thread just to say that I am back to do some research on BfW.
This time I'll be focusing more on the long-term sustainability of a digital and collaborative commons, and I believe Wesnoth fits perfectly as one of the cases studies I'll be conducting.

So I will be spending more time reading and participating in the forum discussions, as wll as interviewing some of the community members.

If you want to read more on the research, you can read the blog page on the first link in signature, or feel free to ask in this discussion or via PM.

Cheers!


The same clarification done for my first research also applies here: my research will not involve the gathering, moreover, nor the publishing of any sensitive/private data.
Anonymity of participants will be preserved
Current research on sustainability of commons (also involving BfW) - ISSP
Old (unmaintained) website used for my PhD research on BfW

Avatar by: PhD Comics
User avatar
Pentarctagon
Project Manager
Posts: 5527
Joined: March 22nd, 2009, 10:50 pm
Location: Earth (occasionally)

Re: Introducing myself

Post by Pentarctagon »

Neat. Welcome back :)
99 little bugs in the code, 99 little bugs
take one down, patch it around
-2,147,483,648 little bugs in the code
User avatar
BfWEthnographer
Posts: 33
Joined: November 8th, 2010, 12:39 pm
Location: Denmark
Contact:

Re: Introducing myself

Post by BfWEthnographer »

Thank you! :)
Current research on sustainability of commons (also involving BfW) - ISSP
Old (unmaintained) website used for my PhD research on BfW

Avatar by: PhD Comics
Post Reply