Online Essay

By Kate Hickson s2172798 New Communications Technologies Online EssayAssessment 1

Online Video Games: Blurring the lines between virtual and reality.

In this age of technology, the thin line between what is real and what is artificial is slowly becoming even more distorted. With computer graphics and physics looking more realistic than ever, it is clear that game creators are attempting to make gaming experiences as close to life as possible. In recent years, since the boom of the internet, there has been a great increase in gamers participating in online games that consume their time and in most instances their money as well. Most, if not all, online role-playing games require players to pay a monthly fee to take part in a virtual world typically with a science fiction or fantasy theme. They create a character and spend hours going on adventures in a computerized landscape, gathering items and gaining experience points the longer they play.

The reality and substantiality of online gaming is highly debatable as the interactions between online players are indeed real but the environments and scenarios they play in are not. Phycologists argue that although online games do not present an accurate representation of reality itself, they have been found to allow users to expand their emotional range by exploring the many different roles including gender identities, differed physical abilities, age and class. In essence, many real-life skills or emotions can be learnt and experienced from this past time that is often seen as highly un-sociable.

This is exceptionally true with a game developed to help those living with Aspergers Syndrome which is essentially an inability to socialise. The online game especially created for sufferers helps them gain real-life socialising skills. "Brigadoon", as it is called, is a real-world experiment in social skills made virtual. It comprises of a private commune limited to a select assortment of caregivers and individuals with Aspergers Syndrome, who are free to live a virtual life with a high degree of social interaction.

The inhabitants of Brigadoon are able to create their own digital characters of themselves, called "avatars," build virtual houses and search for friends. And, most importantly, they are free to generate a "second life" with a level of group interaction that, for reasons of their condition, has been hard to acquire in their actual lives.

According to Tom Luftus, author of ‘Virtual world teaches real-world skills,’ there is so much value in developing and enriching personal relationships and becoming a part of the social order. While video games can be educational and enjoyable, their reputation as an introverted activity can present an obstacle to progress for people with autistic disorders by restricting their exposure to social situations.

Luftus also notes that researchers are concerned that playing video games could simply become one of the many repetitive activities that an affected child engages in. However, he believes if used accurately, this video game technology could be useful and constructive to an autistic child’s development. Children with autism have a natural inclination to video games and television, with Brigadoon’s aim being to exploit that inclination therapeutically.

While some online games are praised by phycologists and doctors alike, there are others that exploit children and gamers in a completely different way. Increasingly popular online role-playing games have created a shadow economy in which the lines between the real world and the virtual world are getting blurred. More than 20 million people play these games worldwide, according to Edward Castronova, an economics professor at Indiana University. He believes gamers spend and consume more than $200 million a year on virtual merchandise. Gamers, on the other hand, fully justify this, as anyone would spending money on their favourite pastime. However, as the goods are virtual and are not tangible objects, it begs the question what are you really paying for? Are you are paying for pixels on a screen or for hours of fun with your purchased item? Well technically that is for the gamer to decide and validate in their own mind. Buying online goods for your avatar is so popular however, that an exchange-rate calculator for the virtual world has also been established to convert real-world currency into virtual dollars.

According to Mike Musgrove, author of Online Gaming Merges Problems into Reality - Virtual Games Create a Real World Market, as such items acquire appeal and value, real-world dilemmas are manifesting into the virtual world. In a bizarre incident in China this year, Kristin Kalning, author of ‘Forget reality TV in Korea, online gaming is it’ tells of a man who was stabbed to death for selling a virtual sword that belonged to someone else. She also write of a student in Japan, arrested for producing a software hack that murdered and robbed other characters in Lineage II, a game with nearly 4 million subscribers worldwide. On a lighter note however, a surprising 33% of online gamers have also admitted to participating in an online wedding between their avatars.

Musgrove also suggests that when virtual worlds pose threats to people in the real world, the craze of online gaming may have overstepped the barrier. While these isolated incidents are a rarity, games are only getting increasingly more popular and with new people subscribing each day, it is likely more incidents could occur in the future. In an equally peculiar trend, online military themed video games have been attributed to preparing troops for real-life battle. As Jose Vargas, write for the Washington Post suggests, many soldiers in the 276th Engineer Battalion claimed playing PlayStations and XBoxes in their army barracks desensitised them during battle as it felt like it was “just a big video game.” Such games as Halo 2 and Full Spectrum Warrior prepared soldiers for battle by enabling them to play in realistic scenarios and essentially become desensitised to battle. Charles Swales, a 28- year-old American combat engineer in Iraq, claimed that fighting insurgents was comparable to Halo and similar first person shooter games. He also said “it didn’t faze me” when referring to performing an air strike which he adds “didn’t seem real” and was “just like playing Halo”.

Whether online games are desensitising our minds or expanding them with skills and sociability, the never ending debate between gamers and cynics alike will not end because it is simply a matter of opinion. There is no harm in using such games for entertainment purposes, but when they begin to completely consume your life, it is only obvious that consequences are bound to arise. It comes back to that saying, if nothing else, that everything is good for you in moderation.


Web References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MMORPG

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17175353/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7012645/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/16/AR2005091602083_2.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/13/AR2006021302437.html


Academic References:

Musgrove, Mike 2005, ‘Online gaming merges problems into reality -
Virtual Games Create A Real World Market,’ Washington Post, September 17, 2005; Page A01.

Vargas, Jose Antonio 2006 ‘Virtual Reality Prepares Soldiers for Real War,’ Washington Post, February 14, 2006; Page A01.

Luftus, Tom, 2005 ‘Virtual world teaches real-world skills’ - Game helps people with Asperger's practice socializing, MSNBC, February 25th.

Kalning, Kristin 2007 ‘Forget reality TV. In Korea, online gaming is it,’ Games editor MSNBC, February 21st.