The emphatically social nature of MMORPGs and virtual worlds is often taken for granted; therefore it is refreshing to see a study that is backed up by innovative methodology and empirical data to give an alternative view on the topic.
Ducheneaut, Nicolas, Nicholas Yee, Eric Nickell and Robert J. Moore (2006) ‘“Alone together?” Exploring the Social Dynamics of Massively Multiplayer Online Games’. In: Proceedings of CHI 2006 Conference. New York: ACM, pp. 407–16. Author’s version online here.
An Introduction to Game Studies 