Heterogeneous knowledge distribution in MMO player behavior: Using domain knowledge to distinguish membership in a community of practice

• Using objective instead of subjective means to measure MMO experience is critical.
• We created an objective knowledge assessment (MDFE) to assist MMO game researchers.
• We administered demographics and the MDFE to MMO players and non-players.
• The MDFE was valid and reliable; MMO specific questions predicted scores.
• General demographics were less predictive of MDFE scores.

Current examinations of expertise in the Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) domain focus primarily on player performance; explorations of player knowledge, however, have the opportunity to meaningfully supplement these studies. Including player knowledge in MMO studies provides the framework needed for a detailed examination of the role of experience and community membership in defining engaged MMO players within a larger population of potential players. Using the Community of Practice framework, we developed a measure of participant's knowledge of MMO specific language to identify individuals who actively engage with other players, a constantly shifting subpopulation who are meaningfully different than those who are not actively participating. We used membership in a community of practice, as determined by our knowledge assessment, to examine the effectiveness of broader demographic questions and more MMO specific demographic questions in creating a predictive model of membership. Our findings indicate that demographics specific to MMO players are more predictive of membership than those used for a general population. Consequently, we recommend that future studies use knowledge-based measures to identify a subpopulation of engaged MMO players within a larger population, allowing researchers to describe their effects with greater precision.