디지털 장소의 삶과 죽음 -한국 MMORPG를 통해 살펴본 디지털 자본주의 시대의 장소와 장소상실

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to understand the cultural implications of the disappearance of digital places. So far, the disappearance of digital places has not been a subject of academic interest. That is for three reasons interrelated. First, the digital world was understood to be relative to or even hostile to reality as a 'virtual space'. Second, the 'digitalization' of the world is accelerating, so the collapse of a single site has not been identified as a significant event. Third, residents of digital places were defined as 'networked individuals' rather than as members of a community. Recently, however, the Korean MMORPG community has shown a completely different emotional response to the disappearance of digital places. Players of "Ilancia," serviced by Nexon, have endured a game environment that has not been properly managed for more than a decade. On the other hand, Nexon's other service, "Maple Story," is a representative old generation MMORPG that has survived through continuous innovation. But constant innovation has given rise to nostalgia for the past. People continued to complain of nostalgia for “Maple Story” before ‘Update’. These examples show that sense of attachment and loss to places are also being produced in digital spaces.