Enjeux identitaires et relationnels des MMORPG

A MMORPG is an online role-playing game, which is susceptible to simultaneously gather several thousands of Internet users. It derives from the traditional role-playing games, of which it preserves numerous characteristics, such as the possibility to embody a character that can evolve. However, it differs from other types of video games by the social experience it provides to its user. Centred on the relational dimension of the MMORPG, this article draws on two different approaches. On one hand, psychodynamic theories will allow us to target its unconscious stakes (such as the immersion in a virtual world, or the identification to one's avatar), and on the other hand, social psychology will help us explore the relational and socialising dimension (groups, discrimination and social identity). This article therefore testifies of a series of interactions existing between the player's identity construction and his relation to the group.