The Positive Side of Virtual Worlds

You know, if this were more of a philosophy class, I could write on about how we all live “virtual worlds,” so to speak. But rather than get bogged down in discussing existentialism in an interactive media class, I think I’d like to speak about how virtual worlds aren’t as weird as we might initially speak. The key is in how we define “virtual worlds.” While Warcraft and Second Life are obvious answers, I think there are non-digital virtual worlds that get overlooked. To me, anyone who’s ever spent time reading a great book, or lost themselves in film, could be said to have spent some time in a virtual world. In my opinion, any deviation from direct human-to-human interaction could be considered a virtual world. Any flight of imagination, or narrative indulgence, brings a person to a different plane of existence that separates them from our traditional world. Whoops, I guess I couldn’t stop the Kierkegaard in me from getting out.

With this broader definition, I think we can analyze a lot of benefits to spending times in virtual worlds. While the documentary we watched seemed to focus exclusively on the negative aspects, such as addiction, associated with digital virtual worlds, they seemed to ignore any possible positive effect. Like almost anything on Earth, there are those who become addicted to virtual worlds. While I will not argue that this is not an issue, it is far from outweighing benefits of virtual worlds. Addiction is a personal problem, not a social one. Blame the player, not the game.

The primary value of virtual worlds, as I use them, is through entertainment. Whether through narratology or ludology, these worlds offer the user to escape from frustrations of every day life. You can battle a dragon, interact with users around the world, or simply observe the story of anyone imaginable. This escape, however, is what primarily feeds the aforementioned addiction. Its easy to get lost in a world that can gives players unparalleled power with (relatively) no real-world consequences. Like everything in life, moderation is the answer. And while entertainment may be considered trivial by many, virtual worlds offer a cathartic effect to relieve the tensions of everyday life.

But that isn’t always the case.  As almost any gamer would tell you, games are about challenge almost as much as entertainment. Many virtual worlds challenge players to solve problems. In presenting these challenges in a consequence-free environment, games in virtual worlds are an excellent way of pushing a player’s thought process and problem solving skills.

While virtual worlds do present many issues in regards to addiction and social isolation, there are almost many benefits, entertainment and puzzles among them. And in regards to more open-ended worlds like Second Life, these worlds allow users to experience social interaction in an entirely new and thought-provoking way. Just because they’re different from traditional communication modalities, doesn’t mean they’re invalid. The more diversity we can bring to life, whether through in a real or virtual world, the better.

Tags: response, virtual worlds