I am an individual who has four years of knight online "playing" experience, i do not play knight online any longer but i still maintain my career devotion as a social scientist.
I have had experience in United States Knight Online and as such it is my perception that the culture and atmosphere within the online world and the related companies warrant research due to the observations i have made myself and what i have learnt from knight online community.
I am conducting pre-liminary research so that i may focus my thesis appropriatly; but i am mainly interested in the ontological/ethnographic facets of gameplay- rather than its structural or functional elements such as experience, items etc which are usually accociated with games (although these will help in the context of the primary purpose). I am not here to write a review on the entertainment value of the knight online experience. Im here to get down to the real issues, not the virtual ones...those that effect the quality of life for players and their relationships with others be it inside the virtual world or not.
I am here help bring an end to the corruption and malpractice of "virtual corporations" such as the k2 network, that are allowed to exist in the shadows of virtual reality.
This research is ultamutly for the better living of every day individual who is a citizen of this online world, who are also citizens of our planet to which the k2 network also belongs.
So i encourage you to come forward and contact myself if you feel or know you have any information that could be benificial or of use to this research.
Note: I am an affiliate of the [New Zealand] Auckland University of Technology - but this research is in no way affiliated with this academic institution; i am here of my own accord and represent neither government, nor company, nor university, nor organisation.
Disclaimer: I am not here on behalf of the k2 network, everything mentioned to myself will be maintained confidential and anonymous unless the individual explicitly states they desire/ are impartial to the confedentiality of said information.
P.S This is ethnographic research- i am an unbaised participant observer. I have no pre-conceptions of definitive results or answers, if their were then there would be no need for research. I simply ask questions in the hope i will recieve answers with relavant information.
I simply wish to understand the nature of this virtual reality and all that implies, and i believe that as partcipants in this online social reality would benefit from this collective knowledge therefore it is in your interest as a gamer.
P.S.S Social Research on games is nothing new, its being going on for decades and their are countless books and journals on the matter.
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