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Description
When the innocuous Famicom (Family Computer) was first unleashed on the Japanese public in 1983, there was a national outcry. In a trend to be repeated for decades to come, parents claimed that the new home video game system would be the demise of the family unit. Whether or not computer games are having a degrading effect on society is still undisclosed; but those who decry them may be missing the point. Outside the public field of view, video games have been building societies of their own.

  The games in question are Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games. Their main hook is the perpetual world in which players' characters exist; a world which continues existing when they are not playing, a world populated by real people, and a world as compelling, if not more so, than the real one. Some MMORPGs have literally millions of players; around half of these consider themselves to be physically addicted to their virtual world.

   For anyone who doubts the degree to which one can become involved in “a game”, consider the recent case of Qiu Chengwei, 41, who has recently gone on trial for the murder of  Zhu Caoyuan, both fellow players of the popular game “Legend of Mir III”. The case is essentially a property dispute gone bad, with one key difference – the disputed item was a Dragon Sabre which existed only within the virtual world of Mir.    The item was evidently real enough for Qiu to assault his erstwhile friend for improperly selling it.

  Immersion to this level can be attributed to a number of factors. MMORPGs have sometimes been likened to virtual Skinner boxes (devices used to train laboratory rats to perform specific tasks, through a series of progressively less predictable rewards), in which personal wealth, physical prowess and technical skills are all accrued through continued play. But this ignores the massive social aspect of the games – the most succesful MMORPGs force players to interact in order to progress. From the simple parties of green beginners through to hundreds-strong guilds of seasoned veterans, these sprawling social networks may often spill over into the real world, both as friendships and romantic relationships.

  Despite the huge potential for human interaction within MMORPGs that marks them apart from conventional computer games, it is the advancement of a criminal underculture that could soon see them emerging as real economic entities. It has been estimated that the most successful MMORPGs may have a GDP per capita somewhere between that of Russia and Bulgaria. This money is all accounted for in blackmarket terms – trading between the “real world” and that of the game through the medium of E-bay; this is what Zhu did, selling on his partner's item to a real-world buyer for ¥7,200 (£560). It is quite possible for players to make a healthy living raising characters (and funds) online and selling them on to others looking for a head-start in their virtual world.

  This sort of trading – effectively smuggling – is in breach of the player's end-user contract, but is not covered by any national law. Game administrators attempt to deal with it in a variety of ways - Sony have recently set up their own “Station Exchange” in the long awaited “Everquest II” to undercut the pirates, selling virtual items for real money – but more importantly,  both “legal” and “illegal” trades are tax-free. In an era where net-businesses are struggling, the largest pools of online capital are considered not to exist by the governments of the world.

  Considering both the capital within MMORPGs, and the emotional and psychological investment people put into them, precious little is being done with the research surrounding them. Sony have recently renewed a patent (granted in March 2003) for a theoretical technology, based on ultrasound, which will alter the firing of neurones in certain parts of the brain, to provide the ultimate in immersive entertainment – potentially making the entirely virtual community a physical reality. For now this remains a pipe dream. Most scientists have more modest visions for the future of MMORPGs – personnel evaluation programmes and interactive learning environments are frequently on the tips of tongues. Future uses aside, it is the present of MMORPGs we should be interested in – virtual worlds mentally, socially and economically every bit as real as this one.

Bibliography

Edward Castronova    “Virtual Worlds, a First-Hand Account of Market and Society on the Cyberian Frontier”

Nick Yee   “The Daedalus project”  www.nickyee.com/daedalus

China Daily Newspaper online archive www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/…

New Scientist online  www.newscientist.com

Description
When the innocuous Famicom (Family Computer) was first unleashed on the Japanese public in 1983, there was a national outcry. In a trend to be repeated for decades to come, parents claimed that the new home video game system would be the demise of the family unit. Whether or not computer games are having a degrading effect on society is still undisclosed; but those who decry them may be missing the point. Outside the public field of view, video games have been building societies of their own.

  The games in question are Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games. Their main hook is the perpetual world in which players' characters exist; a world which continues existing when they are not playing, a world populated by real people, and a world as compelling, if not more so, than the real one. Some MMORPGs have literally millions of players; around half of these consider themselves to be physically addicted to their virtual world.

   For anyone who doubts the degree to which one can become involved in “a game”, consider the recent case of Qiu Chengwei, 41, who has recently gone on trial for the murder of  Zhu Caoyuan, both fellow players of the popular game “Legend of Mir III”. The case is essentially a property dispute gone bad, with one key difference – the disputed item was a Dragon Sabre which existed only within the virtual world of Mir.    The item was evidently real enough for Qiu to assault his erstwhile friend for improperly selling it.

  Immersion to this level can be attributed to a number of factors. MMORPGs have sometimes been likened to virtual Skinner boxes (devices used to train laboratory rats to perform specific tasks, through a series of progressively less predictable rewards), in which personal wealth, physical prowess and technical skills are all accrued through continued play. But this ignores the massive social aspect of the games – the most succesful MMORPGs force players to interact in order to progress. From the simple parties of green beginners through to hundreds-strong guilds of seasoned veterans, these sprawling social networks may often spill over into the real world, both as friendships and romantic relationships.

  Despite the huge potential for human interaction within MMORPGs that marks them apart from conventional computer games, it is the advancement of a criminal underculture that could soon see them emerging as real economic entities. It has been estimated that the most successful MMORPGs may have a GDP per capita somewhere between that of Russia and Bulgaria. This money is all accounted for in blackmarket terms – trading between the “real world” and that of the game through the medium of E-bay; this is what Zhu did, selling on his partner's item to a real-world buyer for ¥7,200 (£560). It is quite possible for players to make a healthy living raising characters (and funds) online and selling them on to others looking for a head-start in their virtual world.

  This sort of trading – effectively smuggling – is in breach of the player's end-user contract, but is not covered by any national law. Game administrators attempt to deal with it in a variety of ways - Sony have recently set up their own “Station Exchange” in the long awaited “Everquest II” to undercut the pirates, selling virtual items for real money – but more importantly,  both “legal” and “illegal” trades are tax-free. In an era where net-businesses are struggling, the largest pools of online capital are considered not to exist by the governments of the world.

  Considering both the capital within MMORPGs, and the emotional and psychological investment people put into them, precious little is being done with the research surrounding them. Sony have recently renewed a patent (granted in March 2003) for a theoretical technology, based on ultrasound, which will alter the firing of neurones in certain parts of the brain, to provide the ultimate in immersive entertainment – potentially making the entirely virtual community a physical reality. For now this remains a pipe dream. Most scientists have more modest visions for the future of MMORPGs – personnel evaluation programmes and interactive learning environments are frequently on the tips of tongues. Future uses aside, it is the present of MMORPGs we should be interested in – virtual worlds mentally, socially and economically every bit as real as this one.

Bibliography

Edward Castronova    “Virtual Worlds, a First-Hand Account of Market and Society on the Cyberian Frontier”

Nick Yee   “The Daedalus project”  www.nickyee.com/daedalus

China Daily Newspaper online archive www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/…

New Scientist online  www.newscientist.com