Virtual Local Manufacturing

Communities
Virtual Local Manufacturing
Communities
Online Simulations of Future
Workshop Systems

William Sims Bainbridge

Virtual Local Manufacturing Communities: Online Simulations of Future
Workshop Systems

Copyright © Business Expert Press, LLC, 2019.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,

stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other
except for brief quotations, not to exceed 400 words, without the prior
permission of the publisher.

First published in 2019 by

Business Expert Press, LLC
222 East 46th Street, New York, NY 10017
www.businessexpertpress.com

ISBN-13: 978-1-94858-074-8 (paperback)

ISBN-13: 978-1-94858-073-1 (e-book)

Business Expert Press Service Systems and Innovations in Business and

Society Collection

Collection ISSN: 2326-2664 (print)

Collection ISSN: 2326-2699 (electronic)

Cover and interior design by Exeter Premedia Services Private Ltd.,

Chennai, India

First edition: 2019

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Printed in the United States of America.

 Abstract
Distributed manufacturing offers the promise of bringing jobs back to
local communities, producing goods that are personalized or harmonize
with distinctive cultures, and thereby reversing significant aspects of the
globalization that has dominated in recent years. Large corporations may
still have important roles to play, but in collaboration with local work-
shops, for example providing machinery, software, databases of designs,
and communication media suitable for a diverse and dynamic workforce.
For two decades a largely unrecognized set of computer simulation lab-
oratories has flourished, in which millions of people have used virtual
machines to produce a great variety of products: massively multiplayer
online role-playing games. Their systems are highly diverse, often com-
plex, and provide information capable of serious social science analysis.
This book deeply explores 30 of these production-capable social media,
based on thousands of hours of observation and extensive collection of
statistical data, extracting hypotheses that may generalize to the real-world
distributed manufacturing of the near future. This book begins with an
overview of this universe of online virtual worlds then demonstrates the
principles of virtual manufacturing, modes of work-related communica-
tion, socio-economic structures and dynamics, and the function of arti-
ficial intelligence in these human-technology systems. It concludes with
consideration of the large-scale technical and cultural variation illustrated
both by individual examples and by the rather large industry in which
they have long been successful.

Keywords
3-D printing; artificial intelligence; avatar; computer simulation; com-
munity; distributed manufacture; globalization; human–computer inter-
action; multiplayer games; rapid prototyping; role-playing; social media;
virtual world
 Contents
Chapter 1 Virtual Exploration of Real Possibilities����������������������������1
Chapter 2 The Universe of Online Virtual Worlds���������������������������13
Chapter 3 Principles of Virtual Manufacturing��������������������������������41
Chapter 4 Modes of Work-Related Communication�����������������������67
Chapter 5 Socio-economic Structure and Dynamics������������������������95
Chapter 6 Artificial Intelligence in the Human–Technology
System��������������������������������������������������������������������������127
Chapter 7 Large-Scale Technical and Cultural Variation����������������159

Glossary���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������195
About the Author��������������������������������������������������������������������������������199
Index�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������201
 CHAPTER 1

Virtual Exploration of Real

Possibilities
Computer-controlled manufacturing technologies, combined with infor-
mation technologies capable of supporting new forms of social organi-
zation, have the potential to take humanity far beyond the industrial
revolution, to an economy in which many products of value in daily life
are produced again locally in small workshops. Large corporations will
still be significant but playing somewhat different roles. They will provide
much of the machinery used in local manufacturing, the computer-aided
design software used to personalize each product, and the communica-
tion systems that support cooperation between people and technologies.
It seems likely that some categories of products will be suitable for a fran-
chise system, in which a multinational corporation will set standards and
provide methods, working through legally established relationships with
a system of locally owned workshops. Imagination can explore a variety
of possibilities, but for the past two decades a virtual online experiment
has taken place from which insights and ideas may be derived: massively
multiplayer online role-playing games.
Over four decades ago, a leading innovator of information technol-
ogy advocated the use of advanced electronic communication systems to
support the return of population from the cities of the industrial era to
towns and villages. His name was Peter Goldmark, and he was largely
responsible for the development of long-playing phonographs and had
contributed to the development of color television. After retirement from
CBS laboratories in 1971, Wikipedia reports,

he pursued research on the use of communication technologies

to provide services like teleconferencing and remote medical con-
sultations to people in rural areas. Funded by the U.S. National
2 Virtual Local Manufacturing Communities

Science Foundation in the early 1970s, the “New Rural Society

Project” was housed at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Conn.,
and conducted pilot studies across the state in Eastern Connecti-
cut’s relatively rural Windham region.1

The National Science Foundation’s (NSF) online grant database does

not confirm its support, and another source implies that it may have been
a small contribution within “generous funding from the federal Depart-
ments of Housing and Urban Development (over $700,000) and the
Transportation ($150,000) and the National Science Foundation.”2
In a 1972 Scientific American article predicting the development of
today’s networked society, Goldmark noted, “Cities exist largely because
they enhance communications.”3 In a cascade of speeches and even in
the Congressional Record, he argued that large cities waste energy, nota-
bly through daily commuting to and from work, and that they promote
crime and disintegrate social relationships.4 Were he alive today, he would
rejoice in the widespread adoption of Internet, complain that society had
failed to rebuild local communities, and quite possibly suggest that mul-
tiplayer online games were valuable simulations of the future he hoped
would come.
Whether abbreviated MMORPG, or more efficiently if imprecisely
MMO, massively multiplayer online role-playing games attracted mil-
lions of players and billions of dollars to play activities that focused on
adventure stories and simulated combat. But in the background of most
popular examples was a virtual economy incorporating simulated gath-
ering of raw materials and production of valuable goods. These were not
limited to medieval-style weapons and body armor, but included foods,

1
 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Carl_Goldmark
2
  Freeze, K.J., and P.C. Goldmark. 2001. “Technological Visionary.” Presented
at the IEEE Conference on the History of Telecommunications, Memorial
­University, St. John’s, Newfoundland, p. 7, July 25–27. ethw.org/w/images/0/0d/
Freeze.pdf
3
 Goldmark, P.C. September 1972. “Communication and the Community.”
­Scientific American 227, no. 3, pp. 142–51.
4
  “Dr. Goldmark on a New Rural Society.” July 8, 1974. Congressional Record—
Senate, pp. 22257–59.
 Virtual Exploration of Real Possibilities 3

fashionable clothing, transportation vehicles, and even houses and the

furniture to fill them. Often, players bought and sold such manufactured
items through an in-game marketplace or traded them among groups of
friends. MMOs are persistent worlds, the oldest one analyzed here hav-
ing flourished for over 20 years, and players were encouraged to create
enduring social groups, typically called guilds, which perhaps not coin-
cidentally was the name for professional societies in the decades prior to
the industrial revolution. In April 2008, the author of this book created a
guild named Science specifically to hold a scientific conference in World of
Warcraft, the most popular MMO which had about 12,000,000 subscrib-
ers, at which 120 academics discussed the significance of virtual worlds,
leading to publication of a conventional book on that topic.5 At the time
of the last report, that guild was still active although no longer serving
research functions, thus one example of how virtual social systems can
endure and evolve.
On the basis of intensive study of 30 MMOs, this book will explore
several dimensions of online simulation of local production. Although
not designed by academics to test scientific theories, they serve as intel-
lectually rich simulations, all the more informative because they were
designed by smart, technologically sophisticated enthusiasts who not only
had their own ideas about human cooperation, but also learned from each
other and from the players who responded with varying levels of enthusi-
asm to the designers’ innovations. Many academic studies have found real
merit in research on MMOs, identifying many connections to real-world
socioeconomic systems.6 Using Jay Forester’s academic simulations of cit-
ies as his classical example, Matthew Wells has argued that even seriously
intended academic computer models blur the distinction between fact
and fiction and that many of the more complex computer games should
be taken seriously.7

5
 Bainbridge, W.S., ed. 2010. Online Worlds: Convergence of the Real and the
­Virtual. London: Springer.
6
  Lakkaraju, K., G. Sukthankar, and R.T. Wigand. 2018. Social Interaction in
Virtual Worlds. Cambridge University Press. Add more.
7
  Wells, M. 2016. “Deliberate Constructions of the Mind: Simulation Games as
Fictional Models.” Games and Culture 11, no. 5, pp. 528–47.
4 Virtual Local Manufacturing Communities

Much of the research effort invested to date in small-scale distributed

manufacturing has employed the conceptualization of the maker move-
ment and focused on its educational potential, whereas also suggesting
that very practical benefits could result. Wikipedia describes this move-
ment as “a contemporary culture or subculture representing a technolo-
gy-based extension of DIY culture.”8 “Literally meaning ‘do it yourself,’
the DIY ethic promotes the idea that anyone is capable of performing
a variety of tasks rather than relying on paid specialists.”9 However, the
long-term result is likely to be a workforce collaborating along a spectrum
from amateur to professional, not “do it yourself ” but “do it ourselves.”
For example, a June 12, 2015, press release of the NSF was titled
“New paths to innovation and learning through DIY technologies” and
announced:

Today, the nation of makers proves it has no borders, as do-it-your-

self engineers, inventors and tinkerers of all ages and backgrounds
converge at the National Maker Faire. The National Science
Foundation (NSF) directly supports many of the exhibitors—
known as “makers”—participating in the faire, with even more
exhibitors using NSF-funded tools and technologies, such as 3-D
printing and computer-aided design. The faire is a kickoff event
for the National Week of Making June 12–18, which celebrates
the growing wave of innovators enabled by access to new resources
and knowledge, known as the maker movement.10

A year earlier, an NSF news release titled “Engineering for All” praised
the contributions of professionals to the liberation of amateurs:

Today’s engineers are helping to drive many of the technologies

that make making possible—from 3-D printers to user-friendly
design software. As high fabrication costs and complicated com-
puter programs become a thing of the past, young inventors and

8
 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maker_culture
9
 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIY_ethic
10
 www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=135397
 Virtual Exploration of Real Possibilities 5

DIY (do-it-yourself ) enthusiasts can focus on what really matters:

bringing their ideas to life.11

A prominent method for small-scale manufacture is 3-D printing

or additive manufacture, originally a form of rapid prototyping, that can
efficiently produce small numbers of products and change their exact
specifications easily. The term “small scale” may be misleading, because
a huge amount of effort has been invested in developing these technol-
ogies, and if designed and organized well these methods can manufac-
ture large numbers of products, but with highly flexible designs that can
be customized for particular users. Already by 2013, the NSF report-
edly had made 600 grants totaling $200,000,000 in research on additive
manufacture, ­primarily through its Engineering Directorate.12 An early
example of widespread local manufacturing using additive manufacture
is the ­production of unique assistive technologies, such as artificial hands
­customized to fit the arms of specific disabled people.13
This example is analogous to the virtual production of body armor in
historical and fantasy action-oriented online games. Generally, the user is
able to customize the avatar, in many cases given the opportunity to set its
body size and shape. In making a virtual helmet, it is generally taken for
granted that it will fit the already-determined virtual head of the avatar, so
customization is generally ignored with respect to its dimensions. How-
ever, different classes of avatars are allowed to wear only particular kinds
of armor, for example, steel versus leather, which require working with
different simulated materials and often at different simulated machines.
As is true also for academic research that employs computer simulation,
some parts of a dynamic process are represented more precisely than

11
 www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_summ.jsp?cntn_id=131735
12
  Weber, C., V. Peña, M. Micali, E. Yglesias, S. Rood, J.A. Scott, and B. Lal.
2013. The Role of the National Science Foundation in the Origin and Evolution of
Additive Manufacturing in the United States. Washington, DC: IDA Science &
Technology Policy Institute.
13
  Buehler, E., S. Branham, A. Ali, J.J. Chang, M.K. Hofmann, A. Hurst, and
S.K. Kane. 2015.“ Sharing is Caring: Assistive Technology Designs on Thingi-
verse.” In Proceedings of CHI 2015, 525–34. New York, NY: ACM.
6 Virtual Local Manufacturing Communities

others. We can distinguish explicit simulation, using algorithms that rep-

resent all the processes in realistic detail, from implicit simulation in which
only the input and output are accurately represented. The commercial
online games use a mixture of implicit and explicit, thus rendering some
aspects of simulated manufacturing more precise than others.
Additive manufacture is a good example, both because its value for
the future economy is clear and because it typically employs computer
systems not very different from simulation graphics software to produce
its products. But there are at least two other kinds of local manufacture
that may be significant in the future: (1) revival of historic workshop
production of everyday items like furniture and dishware and (2) creation
of community-related information resources. This book emphasizes sim-
ulated manufacture of physical objects, but information products are also
covered, notably schematics or instructions about how to manufacture
physical products.
Arguably, mass production of many durable household items, and
also personal clothing, was historically connected with a particular phase
in economic growth, beginning well over a century ago.14 Very prosper-
ous families, however, often filled their homes with antique furniture
and their kitchens with distinctive dishes and wore highly customized
clothing, at least for formal occasions. If society stabilizes with a signifi-
cant fraction of the population able to afford goods that are more costly
than the absolute minimum, then production of local goods will increase,
designed not only to serve the desires of individual customers, but also to
harmonize with local cultures.
We can suggest that additive manufacturing can be paired with sub-
tractive manufacturing. Computers are quite capable of controlling lathes
and wood-carving machinery, for example, to make distinctive legs for a
dining table intended to serve its family in their preferred style. Automatic

14
  Livesay, H.C., and P.G. Porter. 1969. “Vertical Integration in American Man-
ufacturing, 1899-1948.” The Journal of Economic History 29, no. 3, pp. 494–500;
Lamoreaux, N.R., D.M. Raff, and P. Temin. 2003.“Beyond Markets and Hier-
archies: Toward a New Synthesis of American Business History.” The American
Historical Review 108, no. 2, pp. 404–33.
 Virtual Exploration of Real Possibilities 7

drilling and milling machines have existed for decades, and Wikipedia
reports recent progress:

Milling covers a wide variety of different operations and machines,

on scales from small individual parts to large, heavy-duty gang
milling operations. It is one of the most commonly used pro-
cesses for machining custom parts to precise tolerances. Milling
can be done with a wide range of machine tools. The original
class of machine tools for milling was the milling machine (often
called a mill). After the advent of computer numerical control
(CNC), milling machines evolved into machining centers: milling
machines augmented by automatic tool changers, tool magazines
or carousels, CNC capability, coolant systems, and enclosures.15

Recently, a number of research projects have been initiated to look

at how mobile information technologies are supporting the emergence
of a gig economy, in which work is done outside fixed locations and set
periods of time, which is certainly the case for simulated production in
online virtual worlds. Well-known physical world examples are the taxi
and delivery transportation companies Uber and Lyft.16 However, even
bank tellers and department store workers may find themselves work-
ing part-time now, with few if any benefits or job security, because the
information systems in these businesses reduce the need for expertise and
perhaps even trustworthiness on the part of the workers. Thus, the gig
economy is controversial, because it may be used as a tool to reduce the
power and pay of the workers. One unintended consequence may be that
many part-time workers will have “free time” to devote to a future com-
mercialized version of the maker movement, earning extra money while
gaining specialized skills.
In local manufacture, as is already the case for house repair, much
of the work may by its very nature be part-time, dynamic in the skills
required as well as the hours invested. However, this instability may turn
out to be to the benefit of energetic workers who are able to combine

15
 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milling_(machining)
16
  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uber; en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyft
8 Virtual Local Manufacturing Communities

two or more lines of work and are attracted to projects that are personally
interesting precisely because they are not dumb, repetitive, assembly-line
labor. Serious research is only just beginning, but here are excerpts of
the online abstracts describing two grants from the NSF that suggest the
dynamic innovation taking place in the evolving gig economy:

Torin Monahan, Digital Platforms and the Mediation of Tech-

nological Change: “Digital platforms provide the fundamental
infrastructure for independent contractors working in the ‘gig
economy’ as well as for workers in the warehousing and ship-
ping organizations that handle distribution for companies like
­Amazon. By generating findings about local mediation of plat-
form capitalism, this study will produce recommendations for
regional governments and firms looking to navigate these market
shifts intelligently.”17

Steven Sawyer, Access to the Gig Economy: Infrastructural Com-

petence and the Participation of Underrepresented Populations:
“This research advances our understanding of how people from
disadvantaged backgrounds pursue work in the so-called knowl-
edge-based gig economy, doing contract work such as program-
ming and writing. The research will delve into how these workers
obtain, assemble, and organize digital resources, such as mobile
devices, software and services, storage, security, and intercon-
nectivity, to accomplish their jobs. These workers, especially if
they lack an office, may work in coffee shops, libraries, co-work-
ing centers, and other on-the-go places. Some have routine cir-
cuits of travel and can rely on co-working spaces; some are more
nomadic. Either way, they must organize and reconfigure their
work resources, creating ‘mobile offices’ that provide cognitive
space (attention), physical space (room to work), communications
(relationships with others), and direct work resources. ­Digital
technologies are usually necessary and require technical and social

17
 nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1826545
 Virtual Exploration of Real Possibilities 9

competence and financial resources. Recent studies show that

this kind of work is likely to become a larger part of the future
­workforce.”18

This book is not the place to outline the real-world technologies cur-
rently available for local manufacturing, or to predict their future devel-
opments, but to survey two decades of simulations that may suggest issues
and innovations that could be transferred from the virtual to the real.
Chapter 2 provides the necessary introduction by illustrating the expe-
riential realism of MMO social activities, starting with observation of
an online music festival in the fictional world called Middle-earth and
performing a census of the 487 participants to suggest how qualitative
and quantitative research can be combined. Serious research in a complex
virtual world requires a phase of open-ended exploration, involving in
one study of Lord of the Rings Online a total of 11 research avatars dis-
tributed across its 10 world-sized instances. An overview of all 30 MMOs
covered in this book prepares for brief statistical analysis of data avail-
able outside two of them, a dynamic online census of millions of World
of Warcraft avatars and a worldwide census of 27 substantial Facebook
groups devoted to Guild Wars 2 in English, Spanish, German, French,
Portuguese, Polish, Hungarian, Turkish, Filipino, Thai, and Vietnamese.
Chapter 3 surveys the principles of virtual manufacturing, as a
basis for understanding the social dynamics covered in later chapters.
Two MMOs based in the popular Conan mythos introduce in surpris-
ing detail the evolution of human technology, from the most primitive
manufacture of stone tools to the construction of physically large cities.
Lacking popularity but deserving respect for their intellectual quality, A
Tale in the D
­ esert simulates over a period of 2 years the reconstruction of
Ancient Egypt, in a context of human cooperation rather than conflict,
and Pirates of the Burning Sea builds sailing ships in the historical context
of the Caribbean in 1720. A sense of how complex simulated manufac-
ture can become is offered by two fantasy MMOs, Shroud of the Avatar
and EverQuest II.

18
 nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1665386
10 Virtual Local Manufacturing Communities

After these introductory chapters come two that focus on the human
dynamics inside and around these virtual worlds, Chapter 4 on com-
munication channels and Chapter 5 on social structures. Teams in the
process of doing combat-oriented missions coordinate their actions in
real time, able to see a good deal of information about their fellows on
the computer interface, exchange durable information through text chat,
and talk quickly through telephone-like systems that may be either inside
or outside the MMO itself. In contrast, communications about manu-
facturing tend to be asynchronous and often outside the game software,
prominently through text-based forums and wikis that provide product
descriptions and instructions for making them, as well as taking place
implicitly through leaderboards and visually in videos posted at YouTube
or Twitch. Among the factors encouraging asynchronous communication
is the fact that virtual production is a part-time activity that requires being
at a series of specialized locations, thus not assembling all co-workers in
one factory over a standard workweek, and something similar may be true
for many forms of future local manufacture.
The social structures of MMOs balance dynamics with reliability,
reflected in the division of labor programmed into the particular game,
and through persistent player organizations that have their own commu-
nication channels and may even possess virtual headquarters and manu-
facturing facilities. The role and status of both a player and the player’s
avatar are significantly determined by the skills possessed, given that most
of the time most players are not functioning within a team composed
of real-world friends or family members. The skill systems give players
the opportunity to make some rational decisions, notably about which
skills to develop, but progress within a skill category requires consider-
able investment of time and effort, thus rewarding diligent workers with
practical benefits and social status. Researchers have begun studying cul-
tural variations in the organization of distributed manufacturing across
nations, so research on virtual production in MMOs can by analogy be a
valid way to achieve other valuable comparisons in distant virtual rather
than geographic regions.19

  Lindtner, S., S. Bardzell, and J. Bardzell. 2016. “Reconstituting the Utopian

19

Vision of Making: HCI After Technosolutionism.” In Proceedings of CHI’16,

1390–402. New York, NY: ACM.
 Virtual Exploration of Real Possibilities 11

The concluding pair of chapters concerns the context in which virtual

manufacture takes place. In a very real sense, the software and database
of an MMO is a system combining human intelligence with artificial
intelligence.20 Much of the population is simulated by what can be called
a “mob of mobs,” recognizing that gamers use mob as a contraction for
mobiles, identifying computer-generated beings that can move around
and perform actions.21 Their intelligence is primarily of two kinds:
(1) simple machine learning in which events in the virtual world progres-
sively change the numbers in some of the mob’s memory registers and
(2) somewhat rigid hierarchical control systems in which decisions made by
players within a particular context determine the mob’s next action. How-
ever stupid the individual mobs may be, the entire system is usually rather
smart, simultaneously interacting worldwide with perhaps thousands of
players. We cannot be sure which forms of artificial intelligence will be
significant in the local manufacture of a particular range of products, for
example, whether any of the machines will be personified like the mobs in
MMOs. But clearly human workers will be interacting with complex and
distributed information systems, onto which a good deal of the expertise
required in the work will have been offloaded.
The concluding chapter surveys the simulated geography of virtual
worlds, most of which depict really large territories, with substantially
different conditions across multiple regions. One key variable is the cul-
ture of the non-player characters (NPCs), which shapes the missions that
friendly ones give to players’ avatars and the modes of conflict generated by
unfriendly ones. Most crucially, regions differ in the skills and equipment
required for successful accomplishment of missions, the rough equivalent
of first-world versus third-world nations on our real planet. Long distance
travel takes a long time, because it requires avatar development as well
as virtual transportation, a fact that focuses attention on the immediate
local region. Raw materials tend to be gathered across a limited region,
whereas their use in manufacture tends to take place within a town, either
in a centralized set of crafting machinery or in separate workshops. Thus,

 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence_in_video_games
20

 Bartle, R.A. 2004. Designing Virtual Worlds, 102. Indianapolis, Indiana:

21

New Riders.
12 Virtual Local Manufacturing Communities

MMOs do not exactly mirror the geographic realities that will shape real
local manufacture, but there are significant similarities.
The past 500 years can be seen as a process of globalization of human
communities, beginning with the Age of Discovery and marked today
by many concerns about the possible harm caused to local communities
resulting from a global economy, notably the concentration of manu-
facturing industries in nations with strong governments but powerless
workers. Whereas computing and communication technologies have sup-
ported globalization, they also have the potential to carry us through a
transition period to a time when local communities are strong again.22
Human history does not simply follow a straight-line trajectory, but
has included periods in which some form of technology and associated
social structure dominated for a while before receding to only moderate
influence. Most obviously, tribalism built upon small prehistoric hunt-
er-gatherer families, expanded greatly then faded as agriculture came into
economic dominance, then became nearly obsolete during the industrial
age as families returned to their original small size.23 To prepare for the
best possible postglobal future, we need to conduct scientific research by
a variety of means to develop not only the necessary technology but also
appropriate forms of social organization and communication.24

22
 Freiberger, P., and M. Swaine. 1999. Fire in the Valley: The Making of the
­Personal Computer. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; Berners-Lee, T., with Mark
Fischetti. 1999. Weaving the Web. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco; Gillies, J.,
and R. Cailliau. 2000. How the Web was Born. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
23
 Childe, V.G. 1951. Man Makes Himself. New York, NY: New American
Library; Blumberg, R.L., and R.F. Winch. 1972. “Societal Complexity and
Familial Complexity: Evidence for the Curvilinear Hypothesis.” American Journal
of Sociology 77, no. 5, pp. 898–920.
24
  Bainbridge, W.S. 2019. The Social Structure of Online Communities. New York,
NY: Cambridge University Press.
 Index
Additive manufacture, 5, 6 Empire avatars (SWTOR),
Affection, SWTOR, 133–134 138–142
Age of Conan, 41 Republic avatars (SWTOR),
alternative past history, 47 135–138
architecture and weaponsmithing, forms of, 127–128
46 personified manufacturing
crafting system, 49 assistants
Crom, 46 gathering raw materials,
keep, center of the city, 49–50 142–143
Khitan, 47 Guild Wars, 144–147
vs. Lord of the Rings Online, 42 skill categories, 143–144
Saga of Zath, 46 Tabula Rasa, 147–152
Stygia, original ethnic region, 47 social system integrating human
valuable architecture and, 152–157
manufacturing, 47–49 Asynchronous communication, 10
Age of Discovery, 12 Avatars, 15–16
AI. See Artificial intelligence (AI) Andraeda, 21, 24
AI blurs, definition of, 152 Angusmcintosh, 21, 23
Alesia, 146 Bolivianita, 24–25
Allakhazam’s Magical Realm, 187 customization, 5
Anarchy Online (AO), 42–43, 159 Empire, 138–142
division of labor female, 35
anarchism, 102 Gimloing, 23–24
fractions of organization ranks, Ogburn, 21, 23–24
103–105 Republic, 135–138
improvement points, 101 research avatars, 21, 22
open-source software Rumilisoun, 21
communities, 103 secondary, 127, 132, 134
organizations, 102 skill level, 106, 107
periphery, 103
Rubi-Ka planet, 101, 103 BDO. See Black Desert Online
tradeskilling, 102 (BDO)
Angus McIntosh Centre for Historical “Beta level feedback,” 129
Linguistics, 21 Beta testing, 129
AO. See Anarchy Online (AO) Black Desert Online (BDO)
Aria of the Valar, 24 GameNet, 117
Ark Belt, 176 harvesting and crafting skills, guild
Artificial intelligence (AI), 11, rankings, 118, 119
127–131, 157–158 hunting, 120
artificial personalities companions, killing of simulated animals, 120
132–134 Pearl Abyss, 116–117
202 Index
Branham, Michael, 133–134
Burroughs, Edgar Rice, 31
CensusPlus, 96
City of Heroes, 87–89
Classic “cost recovery” method, 25
Closed beta test, 129
Closed virtual geographies, structure
of, 169–170
Shroud of the Avatar, 170–173
Star Wars: The Old Republic,
173–174
Clue/Cluedo, 30
Communication channels, 10
Companion–avatar relationship,
133–134
Companions, 127
with artificial personalities,
132–134
Empire avatars (SWTOR),
138–142
Republic avatars (SWTOR),
135–138
on different gathering/mission
activities, 144
economic tasks performed by,
143
Computer-aided design software, 1
Computer-controlled manufacturing
technologies, 1
Computer-generated romances,
137–138
Computer simulation, 5, 74
Computer Simulations of Space
Societies, 81, 142, 143
Conan Exiles, 41
building cabin, 43, 44
construction tasks, 44
finding water and food, 43
protective clothing, 43, 44
raw materials for initial tools,
44–46
social life and economic exchange,
42
weapons and hand tools, 43, 44
Wikipedia definition, 42
Conan the Barbarian (1982), 42
Conan the Cimmerian, 42
Conan the Destroyer (1984), 42
Congressional Record, 2
Conventional guilds, 153
Crafting categories, 143–144
raw materials for, 144–145
Crafting voucher, 166
DAoC. See Dark Age of Camelot
(DAoC)
Dark Age of Camelot (DAoC), 116,
159
guild halls, 121
manufacturing skills, 122
Realms, 120–121
Realm vs. Realm combat (RvR),
121
tradeskills, 123
alchemy, 122, 124
armorcrafting, 124, 125
fletching, 124
siegecrafting, 124, 125
spellcrafting, 122, 124–125
tailoring, 124, 125
weaponcrafting, 124
Deathifier, 76
Distributed manufacturing, 61, 98,
117
dire consequences, 149
globalism, 192
harpsichord, 93
human companions, 139
organization of, 10
realities in, 116
real-world, 39, 65, 105, 177
small-scale, 4, 108
social organizations, differentiation
of, 166
Do it yourself (DIY) technologies,
4–5
Dominion, 161–163
Droids, 139
Dwarves, 15, 24
EGO interface, 177
Elara Dorne, 138
Elder Scrolls Online, 152–157
Eloh, 148–149
Elves, 15
 Index 203
Empire avatars (SWTOR), human
companions of, 138–142
Ethnography, 20
EVE Online
aircraft flying skill, 85–86
campaigns, 86
communication actions, 82, 83
Computer Simulations of Space
Societies, 81
corporations, 81
crafting, 85
EVE IskPer Hour Industry
Program—Version 4.0, 84
Guinness World Records (2018),
81–82
high-sec space, 81
Internet Spaceships Are Serious
Business, 80
Interstellar Kredits, in-game
currency, 84
kills/deaths ratio, 86–87
leaderboard reports, World War II,
86, 87
leaderboards, 86
low-sec/null-sec, 81
The Meaning and Value of
Spaceflight, 81
persona, 86
Siege of 9-4, 82
spaceflight technology, 80
spaceship manufacturing, 82
warfare, 84
website categories, 82, 84
Wikipedia report, 84–85
EverQuest, 32, 186–187
Evil deities of, 192–194
factions of deities, 187–188
Good deities of, 188–190
Neutral deities of, 190, 191
polytheism, 187, 192
EverQuest II
adventure classes, 57–58, 61–63
Chains of Eternity, 64
Cleora, 57–58
EQ2U, 61
Forging Ahead, 58
fuel merchant, 59
inventory bags, 65
mass production, 64
necromancers, 58
New Halas city, 57
Norrath world, 57
player-to-player auction system, 65
Qeynos city, 64
tradeskill classes, 58–63
tutorial, 59–60
Exiles, 161–162
Expert, Superior, and Perfect Salvage
Kits, 146
Explicit simulation, 6
Fallen Earth, 180–186
Fighters Guild, 153–155
Flying machine control
Warcraft II and Warcraft III, 70
World of Warcraft, 69–70
Game theory, 28
Garriott, Richard, 147
Gathering categories, 143–144
Gibbon, Edward, 179–180
Gig economy, 7–8
Globalization, human communities,
12
GlobalTech, 180
Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising,
129–131
Goldmark, Peter, 1–2
Grounded theory, 29
Guilds, 3, 13, 153, 167–169
Guild trader, 157
Guild Wars, 32, 144–147, 158,
169–170
Guild Wars II, 9, 13, 32
“api key,” 38
buff, 38
GW2Armory, 35
player-versus-player, 37
real-world crafting skill, 37–38
social media groups, 35–37
Heatwave Interactive, 129
Henchmen, 145, 146
Hierarchical control systems, 11
High-level avatars, 144
204 Index
History of the Decline and Fall of the
Roman Empire (Gibbon),
179–180
Hobbits, 15
Hobbits halflings, 31
Howard, Robert E., 41, 42
Human communities, globalization
of, 12
Human companions
of Empire avatars, 138–142
of Republic avatars, 135–138
Humanoid robots, 139
Humans, fantasy games, 15
IGN game-oriented website, 177
Implicit simulation, 6
Interstellar Kredits (ISK), 84
Investigation, mission categories, 143
Jacobs, John Neverdie, 76
Jaesa Willsaam, 138–139
Jay Forester’s academic simulations of
cities, 3
Jenkins, Leeroy, 68
Johnson, Leif, 134
KaPoW, 167–169
Kickstarter campaign, 170
Kinship, long-lasting group, 16
Kira Carsen, 138
Kriegspiel, 29
Lefebvre, Eliot, 157
Local manufacture, 7–8
community-related information
resources, creation of, 6
historic workshop production,
revival of, 6
Lord of the Rings Online (LotRO), 9,
13
ABC notation system, music
synthesizer, 16–17
armsman, 18
characters/avatars, 15–16, 21–24
high fantasy, 14
home regions, 15–16
interpretation of Tolkien, 14–15
kinship, 16
legendary, 18
LotRO points, 24
minstrels, 19
Ogburn, 18
Songbook, communications, 16–17
structural division of labor
Crafter Interdependence, 98,
100
metalsmiths, 100, 101
professions, 98, 99
prospector profession, 100
scholar profession, 100–101
tailor profession, 100, 101
vocations, 98, 99
“takes place on Landroval,” 18
Tolkien “races,” 21
vocations, 18
Weatherstock
landroval, 20
music and art festival, 16
participants at Weatherstock
2014, 18, 19
real human social activities, 16
Weatherstock IX (2017), 17
Weatherstock VIII (2016), 17
LotRO. See Lord of the Rings Online
(LotRO)
Lovecraft, H.P., 42
Machine learning, 11
Mages Guild, 153–155
Magie, Elizabeth, 30
Massively multiplayer online games
(MMO), 1–3, 159
artificial intelligence in (see
Artificial intelligence (AI))
combat communications, 67
EverQuest II, 9
experiential realism, 9
external voice channels, 67
internal voice communication, 67
local communities of future, 13
LotRO (see Lord of the Rings Online
(LotRO))
ludic communications, 67
(thirty)30 online virtual worlds,
universe of, 26–27
own wikis, 67
 Index 205
personal goals, 67
Shroud of the Avatar, 9
shut down games, 28
social structures of, 10
software and database of, 11
Spacewar!, 26
virtual production in, 9
World of Warcraft (WoW), 32
Massively multiplayer online role-
playing games (MMORPG).
See Massively multiplayer
online games (MMO)
Massively Overpowered blogsite,
157
Merritt, Abraham, 42
Minions, 128, 131
Mission categories, 143
MMO. See Massively multiplayer
online games (MMO)
mmo-population.com, 28
“Mob of mobs,” 11
Monahan, Torin, 8
Monopoly, 30
Morgenstern, Oskar, 28
Mr. Ree!, 30
Multiboxing, 20
M1-4X, 143
National Science Foundation’s (NSF)
online grant database, 2
Necromancers, 192
Nexus, 160–162
Non-player avatar, 126
Non-player characters (NPCs), 11,
69, 95, 97, 98, 127, 130–132,
152, 153, 155–157, 163, 183,
188
auctioneer, 80
enemies, 146, 156
factions of, 153
local community of, 159
merchants, 144, 155, 183
skill trainers, 116
occasional appearance of, 175
thralls, 128
virtual Sturluson, 126
wild animal, 113
Nonstandard Behavior Routine, 143
NPCs. See Non-player characters
(NPCs)
Ogburn, William F., 18, 178, 179
Online virtual worlds
avatars/characters, 13
computer games, history of, 25–26
Anarchy Online (2001), 26
Chessmen of Mars, 31
Clue (1949), 30–31
Der Spiegel article, 29
Dungeons and Dragons (D&D)
in 1974, 31
EverQuest (1999), 32
EverQuest II, 32
game theory, 28
grounded theory, 29
jetan, 31
Kriegspiel, 29
Mr. Ree! (1937), 30
Neverwinter Nights, 31
(thirty)30 online virtual worlds,
universe of, 26–27
role-playing games, 30
sleuth and psychological mid-
century board games, 30
social role-playing systems, 28
Spacewar! (1962), 26
Star Wars, 31
Ultima Online (1997), 26
Warcraft II (1996), 32
Warcraft III (2002), 32
Warcraft: Orcs and Humans
(1994), 32
Wikia.com, 28
World of Warcraft (2004), 26, 32
World War II Online (2001), 26
free to play games, 25
game designers, 32
guilds, 13
local communities of future, 13
Middle-Earth, open-ended
exploration of, 20–25
pay to win games, 25
serious social simulation, 14–20
(see also Lord of the Rings
Online (LotRO))
solo-player games, 25
206 Index
Open virtual geographies, structure
of, 160
A Tale in the Desert, 166–169
WildStar, 161–166
Orcs, 15
Paganism, 194
Participant observation, 20
Penumbra, 35
Perpetual Entertainment, 129
Personified manufacturing assistants
gathering raw materials, 142–143
Guild Wars, 144–147
skill categories, 143–144
Tabula Rasa, 147–152
Pets. See Companions
Pirates of the Burning Sea, 9, 50, 54,
57
Planet Calypso
Arkadia’s website, 77
Deathifier, 76
Facebook page, 76
land deed, 80
manufacturing and economy
communications, 77, 78
NPC auctioneer, 80
occasional linguistic errors, 79
Secret of Crafting, 77
TT value, 79
virtual reality, 75
Project Entropia Dollars (PED), 75
Prose Edda, 14
Ranger, 145
Ransom-Wiley, James, 76
Rapid prototyping, 5
Realm vs. Realm combat (RvR), 121
Real possibilities, virtual exploration
of
additive manufacture, 5, 6
automatic drilling and milling
machines, 6–7
avatars customization, 5
DIY technologies, 4–5
durable household items
production, 6
“Engineering for All,” 4
explicit vs. implicit simulation, 6
gig economy, 7–8
Goldmark, Peter, 1–2
human dynamics, 10
Multiplayer online games, 1–3, 9
small-scale distributed
manufacturing, 4, 5
subtractive manufacturing, 6
3-D printing, 4, 5
virtual manufacturing principles, 9
Real-world socioeconomic systems, 3
Reddit, 67
Republic avatars (SWTOR), human
companions of, 135–138
Research avatars, 21, 22
Richard Wagner’s Ring des Nibelungen,
14
Rift, 176
Risha, 137
RuneScape
avatar skill level, 106, 107
constitution, 105–106
construction, 106, 108
farming, 108
hunting, 108
invention, 108
life points, 105
minimum skill level, 106
mining, 106
specialty skills, 105
Sawyer, Steven, 8
Schematic, 73
Scientific American article, 2
SCORPIO, 139, 142
Secondary avatars, 127, 132, 134
Shiva’s Favored faction., 183
Shroud of the Avatar, 50–53, 170–173
Simulated crafting social systems, 144
Smith, Adam, 179
Social Change (Ogburn), 179
Social media, 13, 36–37, 187
Social structures, 10
Sociocultural geography, EverQuest
Evil deities of, 192–194
factions of deities, 187–188
Good deities of, 188–190
Neutral deities of, 190, 191
polytheism, 187, 192
 Index 207
Socio-economic structure and
dynamics
division of labor
Anarchy Online, 101–105
Lord of the Rings Online, 98–101
RuneScape, 105–108
Ultima Online, 108–116
World of Warcraft, 95–98
guilds, 95
skill specialization, 95
skill structures within voluntary
organizations
Black Desert Online, 116–118,
120
Dark Age of Camelot, 116,
120–125
Spatial variation, 160
Speeder bike vehicles, 143–144
Star Trek Online, 88–92, 128, 158
Star Wars Galaxies, 21, 70, 72–74
Star Wars: The Old Republic
(SWTOR), 21, 70, 132,
173–174
affection, 133–134
Empire avatars, human companions
of, 138–142
general features of, 132–133
Knights of the Fallen Empire,
133–134
Republic avatars, human
companions of, 135–138
Star Wars wiki, 135
Star Worlds, 71–72
Stone of the Tortoise, 24
Story-based quests, 170, 171
Subreddits, 67
Subtractive manufacturing, 6
SWTOR. See Star Wars: The Old
Republic (SWTOR)
Tabula rasa, 147–148
Tabula Rasa, 147–148
class system in, 151
Eloh, 148–149
logos shrines, 149–152
logos system, 149
A Tale in the Desert, 9, 50, 53–55, 69,
166–169
Tamriel, 152–153
Technological determinism, 179
Telling, 166–167
The Hobbit, 14
The Landlord Game, 30
Thralls, 128, 131
Tolkien, J.R.R.
ancient Britain culture, 14
The Hobbit, 14
Icelandic scholar Snorri Sturluson
(1179–1241), 14
The Lord of the Rings trilogy (see
Lord of the Rings Online
(LotRO))
Orcs, 15
Prose Edda, 14
Toynbee, Arnold, 179–180
Transformed real-world geographies
Defiance, 174–177
Fallen Earth, 180–186
History of the Decline and Fall of
the Roman Empire (Gibbon),
179–180
Social Change (Ogburn), 179
technological determinism, 179
virtual geography principles, 178
Virtual Sociocultural Convergence,
178–179
Xsyon, 177–178
Turbo-Charged Flying Machine, 70
Ultima Online (UO), 108–109
structure division of labor
Atlantic shard, two dozen guilds,
109–111
crafting skills, 113–115
governments and professional
societies, 116
guild names, 109
mana, 113
NPC skill, 116
skill set information, 112
strength, dexterity, and
intelligence, 112–113
Vectron Speeder, 143
Virtual faction, 160
Virtual geography, principles of, 178
208 Index
Virtual local communities, 159
Virtual manufacturing, principles
of, 9
complex, distributed system, 57–65
Conan Exiles vs. Age of Conan,
41–50
three engineered virtual worlds,
50–57
Virtual slaves, 128
Virtual Sociocultural Convergence
(Bainbridge), 178–179
Vocations, 18
von Neumann, John, 28
Votans, 174–175
Warcraft II and Warcraft III, 70
Weatherstock
landroval, 20
music and art festival, 16
participants at Weatherstock 2014,
18, 19
real human social activities, 16
Weatherstock IX (2017), 17
Weatherstock VIII (2016), 17
Wells, H.G., 148
Whales, 25
WildStar, 160–162, 166
Wookieepedia, 134
Work-related communication modes
actually real virtual world
Entropia Universe, 75
Planet Calypso, 75–80
building virtual worlds within
virtual worlds
City of Heroes, 87–89
Star Trek Online, 88–92
combat communications, 67
external text-based forums, 67
external voice channels, 67
internal voice communication, 67
ludic communications, 67
technologically complex virtual
worlds (see EVE Online)
virtual history and mentoring
asynchronous communication,
70
experimentation, historic wiki,
73–74
Star Wars Galaxies, 70, 72–74
Star Wars: The Old Republic, 70
Star Worlds, 71–72
A Tale in the Desert, 69
Warcraft II and Warcraft III, 70
wiki-like data and forum
discussions, 74
World of Warcraft, 68, 69
World of Warcraft (WoW), 3, 9, 13,
21, 32, 159
Blood Elves, 33, 35
classic “cost recovery” method, 25
Dwarves, 35
Elves in, 33, 34
female avatars, 35
High Elves, 33
Night Elves, 33, 35
nonviolent gathering and crafting
skills, 35
structural division of labor
blacksmithing, engineering, and
jewelcrafting, 96
gathering skills, 96, 97
herbalism, mining, and skinning,
96–97
nodes, 96
production-related skills, 96, 97
tradeskills limit, 98
work-related communication
modes, 68, 69
WoW. See World of Warcraft (WoW)
WoWpedia, 69
WoWwiki, 69
Xsyon, 177–178
zFree, 167–169