Bonus Mission #2: Virtually Sociable

Everyone knows that computer gaming is used just to entertain and distract us from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Imagine if computer games are no longer just controlling two lines on the screen, bouncing a ball of each other. Today, computer games have evolved into a highly interactive social, three-dimensional (3-D) virtual environment where people can interact, and play the game together. With the advent of the Internet, you can now play computer games with your friends overseas with just one click.

Why Second Life is NOT a game

Second Life (SL) is an example of such virtual social spaces. SL, created by Linden Lab, enables its users (aptly named, “Residents”) to “interact with each other through emotional avatars, providing an advanced level of a social networking service.” (Second Life, 2007)

To sum up SL, it would not be considered a game because it is merely a social networking virtual place. Think of it as a cross between a social networking site, like “Friendster”, and E-bay, only in 3-D. Although SL is sometimes referred to as a game, the character (or in this case the avatar) does not go through any character development. In that, there is no growth – in experience levels, power, strength, etc – that most multiplayer computer games, like the World of Warcraft (WOW), have.

“While Second Life is sometimes referred to as a game, it does not have points, scores, winners or losers, levels, an end-strategy, or most of the other characteristics of games.” (Second Life, 2007)

While, like SL, WOW has its own economy, WOW is also able to make heroic celebrities of its users through specific conquests. Unlike SL, which only involves social exchanges and trading, WOW throws its users into a sword-swinging, spell-casting action adventure fantasy world that is waiting to be conquered. So attractive is this game, that people can be addicted to trying to increase their character’s “level” inorder to defeat other “guilds” or to complete certain quests. This process has even known to have caused deaths. (Levy, 2007)

How virtual worlds, like Second Life, could be used for more than mere entertainment.

Virtual spaces can be used for more than entertainment. It can also be used for political messages and propaganda. Like one gamer on the game “American Army” used it to remind players of the horrors of war by posting a name of a soldier who died in Iraq every time he gets killed in the game. This gamer used that virtual space as a “war protest and memorial to dead soldiers.” And ironically, the US military, funded the game to interest boys as young as 13 to join the army (Clarren, 2006)

Conclusion

With virtual spaces, the lines between fantasy and reality have been blurred. Games like SL and WOW, despite of their differences, provide a virtual space for people to interact in a full 3-D environment, making online social networking more realistic compared to conventional social networking sites. However, virtual spaces can be harnessed to be used for more than just entertainment and socializing. It could also be used to send out powerful messages which can be extremely effective due to the increasing traffic of people online looking for a distraction from the real world.

REFERENCES:

Clarren, R. (2006). Virtually Dead in Iraq. Retrieved on April 07, 2007 from http://www.salon.com/ent/feature/2006/09/16/americasarmy/index.html

Levy, S. (2007). World of Warcraft: Is It a Game? Retrieved on April 07, 2007 from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14757769/site/newsweek/page/3/print/1/displaymode/1098/

Second Life (2007). In Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved on April 07, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Second_Life&oldid=120696573