Virtual Worlds
To blog or not to blog? Don’t know if anyone’s still reading this at this point…(it’s like that “if a tree falls in the forest” question- if I blog in the data/information overload that is cyberspace, will anyone hear me?)…but here goes.
Castronova’s argument about MMORPG’s largely concerns virtual worlds structured around game-playing. VW’s that don’t have a clear objective or game are inevitably, he argues, unsuccessful. Which brings us to thinking about Second Life: one can “work” in SL if one desires (selling virtual wares for instance, sitting in chairs to earn Linden dollars), but it’s also possible to not have to work. If I want to walk around SL in my standard, stock avatar with no whistles and embellishments, I can simply enjoy the virtual scenery and chat with people. But the built-in possibility in SL to work if I felt I wanted to echoes Castronova’s line of reasoning and (here’s a short anecdote) reminds me of this pet hamster I had: ambitiously, determinedly, she would run on her hamster wheel and my 10-year old self would ask her, “Why are you running? Where do you think you’re going?” This caged hamster could have lived out her life eating the plentiful amount of food I fed her, lounging on hamster hay- but she didn’t want paradise, she wanted work. Which brings us back to Castronova’s point: are we like hamsters running on hamster wheels, work-horses who need some kind of labor objective even if such works gets us nowhere? This goes back to The Matrix again and the architect’s point that humans rejected the perfect virtual world in favor of one simulating struggle. I’ll end this musing with an exchange that occurred between my boyfriend and I last week: (Me) “Why don’t you open a Second Life account?” (Him) “What’s there to do in SL? Nothing. Let’s get into WoW instead.” Score one for Castronova.
BTW, it’s been a real pleasure being in the cyberpunk seminar with all of you and reading your blogs. This last post is me signing off from the blogosphere (yes, I realize this term is mildly irritating, but it’s apt for this moment) not indefinitely, but for now. Have a wonderful summer, everyone!
