Synthetic: plastic or virtual?

The world is a strange place, and even stranger places exist in worlds within worlds. I'm talking about Massive-Multi-Player-Online-Role-Playing-Games, or MMORPGS often shorthanded to MMO. MMO's are games that immerse the player in a world populated by all sorts of people. In Castronova's book Synthetic Worlds, he examines just how these worlds are developed, what goes into them, who plays them and what importance they have. In the sections we read Edward Castronova examines the world of The User, Governance, and Implications and Policies within the Games. All of these subjects are very interesting and often not what is expected.

To start, the user is not typical, or rather not what is imagined. With upwards to 10 million people playing MMO's we can no longer assume that those playing are anti-social teens with nothing to do after school. In fact statistics show that the average age is 24.3 and 50% have full time jobs. Looking even further into unexpected statistics show that nearly 1/4 are married and up to 15% have children. This now fills the gaming world with a class largely regarded as "adult". While its hard to say, some predict even that there is possibility that more women play MMO's than men. However, all who sign on are clearly taking on something a bit different from themselves, to even an opposite extreme of their own personality. It's hard to predict market sales and new populations of gamers, but with 10 million playing in 2004, how much longer until everyone will exchange player names and MMO's will become such commonplace that it is fully integrated to society?

If these such games were to infiltrate and dictate society for nations, then it clearly becomes important to investigate why people invest so much time and what effects it has on them socially. So, we look at what governs these games. What exactly is the hierarchy and what amount of influence is granted. The answer, virtually anything is allowable. There are laws that reflect the physical laws of nature, that even occasionally are broken, and there are rules that dictate where and when events occur. However, there are little to no rules dictating interaction between players. So we see these worlds turning into virtual playgrounds. With clusters of people regarding themselves as friends and those who are outcast and don't belong, or those who choose to be alone and become lone wolves of sorts. However, in games with a player versus player nature. Castronova says that we see bullying, where groups of "stronger" players band together and pick on those who can do nothing. Resulting in gangs of sorts that send others fleeing and cowering. Sure there are concepts of honorable fights to test strength and skill, but a vast majority of behavior is much like bullying. It's hard to say if this is due to a populace that is lashing out and acting as their aggressors once did to them, or if the same people that were bullies in the natural world bully in these newly developed worlds. However, it is clear that this method of play creates enjoyment for some players and a disheartening experience for others.

These experiences are important to the game makers because, MMO’s are still games. They are still being used as entertainment and as such the players over all enjoyment is necessary for them to continue contributing to the world. This entertainment is an integral part of MMO’s and as you continue playing them the entertainment possibilities are continuously being refined and defined by yourself and others who play. Other interesting prospects that have come from MMO’s include online dating. While I don’t personally support dating through MMO’s I do know several people who have met the person they become intimate with and even marry through playing these games. Couples who met outside often play inside the game together. So there is some viability of MMO’s as a dating forum in which there are a lot of possibilities and at very least someone who enjoys one of the things that you do as well. Economics is one of the other things I found interesting. Economics of MMO’s is a very hard thing to track, and it’s interesting to see how it grows and becomes a beast all of its own. Economies vary from world to world inside of MMO’s and they actually have built up to effect economies outside of their own. We see the development of things like “Chinese Gold Farmers” people who play the game as a job collecting money in the most efficient means possible and selling in game money for real money online. It is very complex thing to examine and I’m sure all the more interesting for an economist. It will certainly be something to watch as more people subscribe to these lands of lore.

I used to play an MMORPG. World of Warcraft, which is currently the most popular MMO with millions of subscribers. The amount of freedom people feel from taking on a new persona and identifying themselves with a new band of people is rejuvenating. These new lives people become attached to and committed. Which is an easy thing to happen due to the way social networks are constructed and the support system that puts you back in front of the computer for hours at a time weekly. In my belief MMO’s actually need to scale back and really look at the kinds of changes they make in those that indulge themselves in these new worlds where they are who they wish and not what’s in the mirror. I feel more studies need to be done, and for now I’m keeping my hands out of the pot and maybe I’ll take a look again to see what’s different and new.

The FUN therapy.

Therapy and video games is no new concept. In fact, it’s been around since the home console spike in 1985. There is so much supporting evidence for video game therapy in fact, that I wonder if it only appears to be a controversial subject due to other questionable natures of the games themselves. I think there is a lot of ignorance when people approach the subject of whether video games can help heal people. I think the assumption is that commercial video games are being used, this generally is not true. While some commercial games may lend themselves to be therapeutic for some reason or another (PTSD in soldiers returning from combat for instance), a vast majority of games being used in therapy studies are purpose built video games that are tailored to specific needs.
Games like, Memory for Goblins, Bronkie the Bronchiosaurus, and others that may have never receive at title. I have actually managed to acquire the ability to play Bronkie the Bronchiosaurus for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The game is rather basic, it’s much like action games of the era, only it’s filled with educational information for asthmatics, and those who need special respiratory attention. In light of all of this, because video games have grown significantly since the NES, I feel it’s necessary to examine more modern approaches, such as, the Nintendo Wii. There are reports of using the Wii and its unique mode of interaction to get those trying to recuperate from various debilitating injuries. There is some concern, perhaps, over the stress or frustration induced from  failed attempts to correctly control the game. This stress could cause the patient to only be more self conscious about there inabilities. I think that before video games can be properly used for healing it is necessary to understand the psychological effects of video games, and their affect on personal behaviors. Perhaps even armed with the full understanding of the mental effects of gaming, developers can produce a game that is therapeutic for anyone who plays, or even for the growing number of troubled and addicted gamers. Certainly as technology grows we will see better and better development in games, not just graphically or in the AI but in how they are being integrated with the players world and possibly helping them heal their psyche as well as keep their body in good form.

ACME "black spot"

A recent game release that has been in the works and has been extensively previewed prior to its release, Portal, I feel challenges the classic ideas of space and toys with the idea of genre. Portal, for those who do not know, is a game that plays like it is a first person shooter, where the perspective is from the “character’s” point of view, and you see everything they would see, and there is a gun that you control. However, Portal is a game that is not based on shooting someone before they shoot you, or team work to capture a flag. Instead portal is a puzzle game. The premise of the game is that a gun is invented that opens portals that will transport a person from the entrance of one "window" to where-ever the other "window" exit is. This becomes the only tool in the game, requiring you to stretch your use of the Portals to solve different problems. This really expands the ideas of “space” in the game because there are several small things you can play with inside the game itself.

One example, placing a portal on the ceiling and the floor, results in an endless loop of falling. Similarly, placing two portals nearly facing each other results in you running through one portal to come out the other portal seeing yourself run through the initial portal, which can result in a common dog like activity of chasing your own tail. So you can see that the ideas of space are the very things that are being played with in order to create environment of meaningful play.

The very interaction with the space you occupy and the portals that distort the space create a very intense sort of interaction. These interactions with the portals and how they behave soon becomes discernible and your involvement with the game more profound, encouraging the player to develop theories about what you can accomplish. The actions you make are almost immediately integrated with the game on a lager context as a decision to place a portal in a poor location can result in your death or a dead end that halts progress in the game.

Thus we can see that Portal fits the requirements that the game provides Meaningful Play. “Meaningful Play occurs when the relationships between actions and outcomes in a game are both discernible and integrated into the larger context of the game. Creating meaningful play is the goal of a successful game design.” (Handbook of Computer Game Studies. Chap. 4 pg. 61). These very interactions and outcomes that define meaningful play are almost exclusively what Portal is about. This innovative game incorporates and encourages interaction with the environment. As a very old “educational cartoon”, Magic School Bus would say “Take chances, get messy and make mistakes.” Portal gives you this world and theoretical capability and says the same thing, go out there and find out what happens when you explore new opportunities, what they lead to and what new ways of thinking can you create, all simplified into one word, “play.”

Games, games and war games.

Gaming for me has, for the most part, always been around and available. The first games I played were on the computer, Dos games like Frogger, and Gorillas, games who's concept are still seen today. Worms, Gunbound and the like are all just advanced versions of the original Gorillas. Some time after computer gaming, my family got a Nintendo Entertainment System, or as they call it in Japan, a Famicon. Making my first console game Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt. I, of course, was terrible at Duck Hunt, if we had bought it new, I would have been essentially 1 year old. I don't quite recall how old I was, but when playing Duck Hunt having the gun directly on the screen was a given. I think probably the first game I got really excited about when I was younger was Super Mario Bros. 3. So we must have had the console starting somewhere just before 1990.

We survived for a long time on the NES and our next console would be the N64, quite a leap considering Super Nintendo and a large number of Sega consoles were out. N64 was new and interesting, particularly because of the 3D graphics capabilities. I don't really recall too much from the N64 with the exception of the image of my father attempting to play my uncle in wave race 64, Bango Kazooie, and the ever important and popular Golden Eye.

Flash forward to the present and my gaming habits are heavily rooted in multi-player first person shooters (who needs story mode?) like Halo 2, Unreal Tournament 2004 (PC), and some others so long as they aren't from EA and aren't historical shooters. With continued examination, I put a  A LOT of hours into racing games. This is a bit different from what I would have told you not all that long ago. I used to hate racing games, felt like they were dull and repetitive. That's also how I used to feel about techno music and it's staple in most things I listen to. I'd have to thank my good friend Thor for racing games. With the release of Project Gotham Racing 2 we would play it nonstop for hours. After getting good at Project Gotham it was a no brainer to pick up Forza when it came out. It was a really exciting title. Got hooked, obsessed, and it continued with Forza 2. I guess at least I can say I don't just spend all my time with virtual cars since I'm pretty involved in motor sports out in the real world as well. My third and probably best love is for a good Role Playing Game. Oddly enough my first complete play through wasn't the one that I committed the most time to, but it was the first that I owned. Final Fantasy X. For anyone who has played you'd find it amusing that at the time I was playing, I was a very tan, very blonde water polo player. Anyway, love for rpg's continue, only problem is that I'm really picky about them.

It seems like I've talked a lot, but haven't really covered much. Bottom line, I wouldn't be the same person I am today without video games. I grew up and now that I have careers in front of me, one of the things that just makes sense is a video game maker, and since I'm a competent artist and I'm very critical of video game art, it seems like that's what I'm going to be doing. Video games are how i socialize, how I express myself, how I de-stress, and part of my introspective process.

In the beginning

There wasn't much around. In fact there was roughly an entire universe of nothing.