Everquest and the Virtual Frontier
Day late, sorry.

Eric Hayot, an assistant professor in the English department at the University of Arizona, wrote a very interesting entry on his blog, print culture. It deals with one of my favorite subjects, the massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG), EverQuest. The closing of his entry sparked my interest because I think it echoes some of the same issues that I have been tossing around considering virtual worlds:

But thinking of online gamers as “addicted” or even “dead” is not going to solve the problem, because those concepts cannot confront the full import of virtual worlds: given a choice more social than hermitage and more compelling than mysticism, people are moving out of the world. As Castronova points out, the question is at some fundamental level economic: if reality can't compete with Norrath, that may well be reality's fault.

One of the things we might then be prompted to do is to wonder what's wrong with reality, or rather, to wonder what about Norrath deploys and makes actionable an alternative to that reality, and why that alternative is so compelling (especially for men). And once we have those answers, we can ask: How could we change reality to entice these people to move back “home”? And what's more, should anyone even try?


To me, it seems altogether counterproductive to refer to hardcore players of MMORPGs as addicted and view them condescendingly. EverQuest and its competitors, including the new EverQuest II and World of Warcraft, are definitely toys/games that provide superficial play or diversion, but I would also assert that to some people they are virtual life experiences reflecting and apparently exceeding the offerings of “real reality.” Playfully referring to EverQuest’s immersive and addictive experience as “Evercrack” is a misnomer, because the addiction is not an indulgent deviance, it is the beginning of a cyber-convergence wherein the significance of a person’s virtual life supersedes that of her “real life.” And the key element is indeed the choice, unlike the chemical and sensory based addictiveness of drugs or food, the draw to EverQuest is in its gameplay which focuses overwhelmingly on the development and interaction of characters and achievement of status and wealth. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Well it should, because the very essence of a MMORPG like EverQuest is in the simulation of the structure and norms of human culture and society, but in a way that is meant to provide a fantasy wherein there is boundless opportunity for personal escape from life and, in some sense, a personal redemption.

MMORPGs have begun a clandestine social revolution that has been shrouded in a lack of recognition of the significance of virtual world development. Via the home computer (and to some extent videogame consoles) MMORPGs are now providing persistent and exponentially dynamic virtual alternatives. These worlds have fashioned their own economies, ethnographies, social and cultural standards and customs, relationships, vernacular, and all the other key components of societies. These virtual worlds are so complete and fulfilling, even in their relative infancy compared to other genres, that some players dedicate extravagant amounts of time playing during every waking hour and threatening their real life responsibilities and relationships, discarding obligations for virtual ones. As Eric Hayot cited in his article, there are stories all across the web of broken families and husbands, wives, girlfriends, fathers, etc. retreating to the beckon of the computer with little concern for a personal obligation or family function because their priorities lie with their online guild. Choices are being made, and not the self indulgent, instant gratification, drug like choices that monikers such as Evercrack would imply, but choices between one social unit and another. The difference between MMORPGs and other games is that the goal is not to tally up numbers such as points or kills in an instanced and stagnant world, but to evolve as an individual. In MMORPGs you are what you experience, who you know, and who you are. As in real life, your physical self is your temple and you adorn it with the spoils of your achievements, and your reputation is your honor. The environment and setting you play in may be fantastical but the mechanics, due to the communal and socially dependent style of gameplay, require the mechanics to resemble real life experience. This is not to assume that all experiences in EverQuest are group based or shining examples of player compromise and fraternity; many players prefer to play the part of the recluse or social misfit, but similar to the real world these choices all have consequences, whether good or bad.

EverQuest offers a virtual rebirth, digital tabula rasa, wherein life skills can be reapplied all over again in a world that is modeled socially after our own, but is full of buff bodies and fantastical feats. Games are becoming electronic texts, replacing the escape of a good book with the escape of a good game. However, these books are outlined by the author and written by many, many players.

Sunday, I am going to consider what the consequences are to players spending less and less time functioning in the “real” world and more and more time reshaping their identities in a virtual environment.

Posted by Tanner @ 05:31 PM EST