Wanna Be Part of an MMO Documentary?
The folks at Pure West Docs are making a very cool documentary on MMOs. They're trying to get at some of the more interesting issues in this space, rather than the narrow focus on addiction we see all the time in mainstream media. For example, their roster of guides in the documentary includes, among others, a woman who runs a BDSM service in Second Life and a man who borrowed money from his dad to start a gold farm in China. They've also interviewed several well-known academics in this area, such as Ted Castronova, Julian Dibbell, and myself.
What they're looking for now are players who have had particular kinds of experiences in MMOs and wouldn't mind being interviewed for a documentary. Here's the kinds of players they are interested in interviewing:
- a couple that met in an MMO and are currently together in RL.
- a virtual world refugee: someone who was in an MMO that was shut down who can talk about how they and the community reacted.
- someone in a long-standing guild that has branches in different games, or has migrated through several games.
- a physically-handicapped person who plays MMOs and finds it to have a positive influence on their life.
- someone who feels that the virtual world offers a better life for them (financially or otherwise).
- an activist: someone who has organized or led a protest in a virtual world.
- someone who lives in the New York City area and has an interesting MMO story or experience
They are located in the New York City area so they would prefer players who are geographically close to them, but they are open to traveling to other parts of the US. I think they're working on a really interesting project that emphasizes the new frontiers that these online games are providing. So if you've got a story and you don't mind being interviewed, please drop them a note. You can reach them at victorATpurewestmediaDOTcom