Form over function: the use of Lovecraftian elements in World of Warcraft

Michael Hitchens, Adam Ruch

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference proceeding contributionpeer-review

Abstract

World of Warcraft (WoW) represents a melting pot of popular culture myths, taking inspiration from a huge number of existing works and incorporating them together into its own vast lore. Amongst the many influences it draws upon are the works of H. P. Lovecraft, an influential horror writer. Lovecraft's writing encapsulated a particular pessimistic view of the universe, which stands in contrast to the heroic fantasy of World of Warcraft. This paper examines the presence in World of Warcraft for particular examples of influences from Lovecraft's writings. More importantly the use of these influences is compared to the underlying philosophy of horror that can be found in Lovecraft's work. It is our contention that the aspects of World of Warcraft inspired by Lovecraft are not employed in a way congruent with that source material.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationIE 2013 - Proceedings of the 9th Australasian Conference on Interactive Entertainment
Subtitle of host publicationMatters of Life and Death
EditorsStefan Greuter
Place of PublicationNew York
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Pages1-8
Number of pages8
ISBN (Print)9781450322546
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2013
Event9th Australasian Conference on Interactive Entertainment: Matters of Life and Death, IE 2013 - Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Duration: 30 Sept 20131 Oct 2013

Other

Other9th Australasian Conference on Interactive Entertainment: Matters of Life and Death, IE 2013
Country/TerritoryAustralia
CityMelbourne, VIC
Period30/09/131/10/13

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