In one of my previous blogs “Power to the Audience”, I discussed various new media forms and how they have evolved to empower the audience. Amongst the examples listed, I touched on online gaming and how players have taken on a more central role in the production process. I gave the example “The Sims” which was designed to ‘involve its customer’s directly in the process of developing and evolving the product’ (Banks, 2002, 197). As Humphreys (2005, 24) states, ‘[these] investments of players and what they produce are directly economically profitable to publishers and developers’. Despite this, many producers still see user-led content creation as ‘a potential loss of control over their intellectual property’ (Jenkins, 2002, 165).
These issues have raised much debate surrounding the legal mechanisms used to organise control of this medium (Humphreys, 2005, 7). At present, ‘the productiveness of players – their additions to the text – cannot be addressed through a copyright or intellectual property framework’ (Humphreys, 2005, 179). As Humphreys goes on to explain, ‘it must either be ignored or cast as illegal, transgressive activity’ (2005, 179).
As a result of the inefficient legal framework, power is being negotiated through both formal and informal levels (Humphreys, 2005, 34). On the one hand, publishers are exerting their power through structural and formal legal mechanisms and on the other; players are counteracting those forces through informal strategies (Humphreys, 2005, 34).
Clearly there is a lot work that needs to be done in order to effectively adapt current legal mechanisms to the new media environment. As Humphreys (2005, 37) explains, ‘which rights will remain and which will be contracted away’ is the key area where regulation policy will have to be rethought.
Humphreys outlines two problems that exist within current media regulation laws. These are specifically related to the online gaming world but can be seen as relevant in various new media environments.
Firstly, current legal mechanisms maintain a tight control of gaming content. These current legal models also position players as consumers. This positioning indirectly ‘constructs particular and limited practices that can be carried out by the players. The role of consumers is to consume’ (Humphreys, 2005, 178). As a result of this, players are unable to be understood as co-producers of the text and their productive activities ‘have no place in the intellectual property model’ (Humphreys, 2005, 187).
Secondly, conventional media are regulated through mechanisms such as content regulation which rely on a finished as known text (Humphreys, 2005, 180). This is effective with traditional types of literature and television programs because it is possible to view it before distribution. Online games on the other hand are not finished as ‘the content in its ongoing production is supplied by every player. Therefore this medium can obviously not be regulated through the same means (Humphreys, 2005, 180).
In conclusion, it is obvious that the current media regulation laws cannot be applied to the new media environment. Consequently, there are a number of areas that need to be rethought. As Humphreys (2005, 37-38) states, the crucial question remaining is whether ‘governments [will] intervene to ensure minimum standards in contracts that maintain some protections for citizens or [whether they will] adopt the free-market approach and leave it to the industry to determine?’.
Till next time,
Annelise
Reference List
Banks, J. 2002. Gamers as Co-creators: Enlisting the Virtual Audience – A Report From the Net Face. In Mobilising the Audience, eds. M. Balnaves, T. O’Regan and J. Sternberg, 188-212. St Lucia: University of Queensland Press.
Humphreys, A. 2005. Massively multiplayer online games : productive players and their disruptions to conventional media. http://adt.library.qut.edu.au/adt-qut/uploads/approved/adt-QUT20060317.124818/public/03whole.pdf. (Accessed May 1, 2008)
Jenkins, H. 2002. Interactive Audiences. In The New Media Book, ed. D. Harries, 157-170. London: BFI Publishing
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