After experimenting with World of Warcraft for a couple of months, I ultimately cancelled the account. It was interesting to explore the "massive multiplayer" environment, but even with an enormous 3D world to explore, and numerous ways to interact with other players (and computer generated characters), that world becomes a repetitive excercise in endless quests and battles against enemies. For kids with time to spare, I can see how engaging it might be, but without that time, it's just an endless time-sucking monster.
My friend Andrew Tarr (with whom I created "What Ever Happened to Andy Tark"), writes a blog about Second Life, which is another take on the massive multiplayer world. I might try that shortly - Second Life is an attempt to expand these alternative online worlds to reach a wider audience. It's not so much a game as it is a world largely generated by users - including retail vendors hoping to be on the ground floor of a new marketing bonanza.
Ultimately, I think that all of these worlds will increase in popularity in a massive way when individuals can virtually enter highly defined environments, and "wander" in a fully immersive world, walking and talking with users around the world. There was a time when such a concept was pure science fiction (as in the film "Total Recall," but technology is moving ahead so rapidly, I suspect such an world can't be that far ahead.
3 comments:
What ever happenned to real life? Is it too dull or too terrible to settle for? Certainly what they call real life on reality TV is anything but. When I was a boy, my friends and I went into the woods to play "Army". I guess that has been supplanted today by "Paintball", which I have never played, but seems most preferable to video games.
Video games are no better or worse a form of entertainment then motion pictures or television - everything in moderation.
Stephen brings up an excellent point. Growing up we played Basketball, Whiffle Ball, Baseball, Stomp Rocket, Smash Ball, Handball, Squirt Gun Assault, Secret Agent, Laser Tag, Build-Large-Army-Vehicles-With-Cheap-Plastic-Toys, Explorer, The Scene(fight choreography), Invisible Secret Agent, Spy, Capture the Flag, Flex, Catch, Paleontologist, Skateboards&Scooters, Bike Races, Hockey, and our own youth fantasy sport leagues among many, many others.
World of Warcraft? Ha!
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