Connecting Play: Understanding Multimodal Participation in Virtual Worlds

In this paper we propose a multimodal approach to log file data analysis to develop a better understanding of player participation and practices in virtual worlds. To deal with the massive amounts of data collected via log files researchers traditionally have employed quantitative reduction techniques for revealing trends and patterns. We contend that certain qualitative analysis techniques can reveal particular play practices across online and offline spaces and aspects of individual players' participation invisible through other methods. We present examples from our research in the tween virtual world Whyville.net that illustrate the uses of these new techniques. In the discussion we address the benefits and limitations of our approach.