3MW - Proposal

Maplestory Logo 2007 - Present

In my 3MW, I plan to explore MapleStory, an online MMORPG created by Nexon in April 2013. I'll be discussing the basic overview of the game and a clear emphasis on the social aspect to the game, and how it brings people together, even over the internet. I'll talk about the classes in game, and how each class can bring certain people together (for good, or bad reasons). I will also mention the guild system, alongside the buddy system, and how these two help bring people together.

I am going to be aiming this documentary towards players and non-players of the game, between the ages of 16-22. I feel like the documentary would intriguge people both male and female as the game has an equal divide between both. I feel like people between the ages of 10-15 and 22-30 are my secondary audience as they are not as involved within the game as the other age ranges. I did a bit of research to figure out this demographic.

The actual aim of this documentary, or 3MW, is to show people that this game is more than just a game and how it can clearly give you friends over the internet who you can talk to and hang out with. This can end up in actual fulfilling friendships, and people meeting, to even marriages. Due to personal experiences, I can speak about this very openly and explain how I've come to love this game for more than just killing monsters or trying to get to the highest level fast, but to use it as an escape from reality. As I plan on interviewing other people of the game, I will first have to brief them on what I plan to achieve with my documentary and hopefully make it quite clear. As these people live far away, I will be using Discord to speak to them. All of the people live overseas and have given me permission to use their voice, as long as I change the pitch of it. I will not need to be present within the interviews, but I will be doing a voiceover throughout the documentary. 

I have compiled a list of questions that I plan to ask the three candidates which are:

• How long have you been playing Maplestory?
• How many hours a week do spend playing Maplestory?
• Would you say the game has opened up more social opportunities for you?
• Do you find it hard meeting people in real life, and is it easier online?
• Would you say the game is more than a game, and a social experience too?
• Do you feel the game has good social elements?
• For someone new to the game, what would you say a good social aspect is?

I won't need to supply too much equipment and props are not necessary at all. I am going to be recording my screen with a piece of software called Nvidia Shadowplay, which allows you to record your desktop screen in real time. I will be using this to get pieces of footage from the game, and videos of other people around me. I want people to see actual footage to see how social the game actually is, and that there is more than meets the eye.