Researchers study EQ2 server logs

By Oli Welsh Published 17 February, 2009

SOE hands over 60TB of data.

An article on Ars Technica reveals that Sony Online Entertainment has bequeathed the complete server logs of its EverQuest II MMO to academic research.

The massive logs, consisting of some 60 terabytes of data, contain everything that's ever been done by over 400,000 players on every server of EverQuest II in its four years of operation.

A collaborative group of researchers at several institutions has begun data-mining the logs, along with demographic surveys, to see what they can discover. They're interested not just in gaming habits and commercial concerns like customer churn, but also what the game can tell them about real-world social interaction.

It has long been supposed that virtual worlds might provide a way to collect data on human behaviour on a massive scale. Everything done in them is stored, and all data belongs to the game operator, so there are no legal questions of invasion of privacy - although some players might disagree.

The demographic data suggested that the average EverQuest II player was, contrary to stereotype, healthier than the US average, and well-adjusted. The five per cent of players used the game for role-playing, however, were described as "psychologically much worse off than the regular player".

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About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

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Comments (12) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • mingster #1 3 years ago

    I pity the poor soul who has to mine through that load of boring data

  • iokthemonkey #2 3 years ago

    My Log:

    Day 1:
    "WTF? This is shit. Why does my character look retarded? How come my healer mate does more damage in combat than my monk? Why is everything brown? Oh great I got killed by a green mob."

    Day 2:
    This is shit.

    Day 3:
    No log-in

    Day 4:
    No log-in.

    Day 5:
    Okay, so I'll try again and... WTF? I levelled up and now my armour is crap? Oh well, let's try this crafting stuff and... okay, this is... Oh, I died.

    Day 6:
    Account Cancelled.

  • butler` #3 3 years ago

    rofl RPers

  • speedjack #4 3 years ago

    "I put on my wizard hat..."

  • iokthemonkey #5 3 years ago

    More like "let me put my Mighty Chopper in your Wizard's Sleeve."

  • Entity #6 3 years ago

    Well I can tell 'em that most people in a mmorpg are horny buggers who have to use innuendos at every moment they can. The others just take themselves too seriously and need to visit the Anal Doctor. 1% (me) just wants to be left the fuck alone and not have to read "Do this, do that, you noob!"
    There, saved them sometime methinks.

    Oh, side note. I didn't have a clue what was happening in EQ2.

    Edit: I'd have headlined this as "Your secrets sold to highest bidder!"
    Edited by 1 at 17/02/09 @ 13:10

  • miiiguel #7 3 years ago

    60TB? Damn....

    I haven't got much more in "my" datacenter, and it's a datacenter which serves the entire active population of a (small) country.

  • ZuluHero #8 3 years ago

    wow.. some of those points of data will be me!

  • the_mtfr #9 3 years ago

    Academic research my ass. The results are going to some CIA project that wants to check how they can use behavioral data for those boring psychological profiles of "enemies of the system".

    Money well spent indeed from the pockets of US citizens.

  • Eraysor #10 3 years ago

    I'd love to see a study of the corrupted blood plague in WoW. They suggested at the time it could be used to help predict pandemic spreads.

  • Mellissa #11 3 years ago

    The Daedalus Project (Google it) has been researching MMO demographics for 6+ years.
    Why didn't they just ask Nick instead of trawling through so many logs ?

    .

  • levitate #12 3 years ago

    @Entity:

    I couldn't agree more with you. That's _exactly_ how it is. Bloody ninja invites from people who need your help all the fucking time is annoying me to no end. Leave me alone for fuck sake.