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THE PLAY OF MEDIATIONS IN THE CREATION OF TENSION IN 'VIRTUAL WORLDS'? This article studies a game world situated halfway between video games and virtual worlds, in which World of Warcraft is currently the most developed and extensively played game - to the extent of being relayed by the mainstream media. The author examines the mediations between players and designers, as well as the tensions between the real and the fictive, the game and work. She concludes on the necessity to maintain an illusion, the conditions of which are constantly renegotiated, partially in forums. This is the condition of a pact that maintains a balance between imaginary openings and plausibility, a degree of equity and a management of the unpredictable.