escapism
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Tamriel Infinium: Immersion matters in Elder Scrolls Online and every other MMO
I'm fully on board with all of the changes ZeniMax listed in its latest state-of-the-game update. My only concern has more to do with personal OCD issues than it does with any long-term effects on Elder Scrolls Online. See, as I mentioned in a previous piece, I love the fact that ZOS allows me to play all of the game's quest content, which is spread across three different factions, on a single character of a single faction. I hate alts, or more accurately, I hate the need for them because they pull me right out of the game world. Oh yes, I'm going to talk about immersion, even at the risk of inviting a bunch of anti-immersion comments. I'll even define the dreaded "I" word, though of course it's pretty subjective.
Perfect Ten: Consequences of living in an MMO world
Escapism and daydreams are, in my opinion, wonderful and part of what fuels our creativity and excitement. I mean, most of us probably engage in some form of escapism just by the act of playing MMOs. These are settings that make us heroes, gives us clearly defined objectives with assured rewards, and continually dole out progression and backpats. Am I the only one who purrs when the game says, "Well done, chap?" But there's always that next level of escapism where the mind starts to fantasize about leaping through the monitor and living in these vivid, exciting worlds. Consider the amount of homework or responsibilities or job tasks you have on your plate, and then consider dropping it all to spend your life as an adventurer in Azeroth, Norrath, Tyria, or Eorzea. Wow, that would be such a relief, wouldn't it? Nay, say I -- it would be a nightmare from which you would be unable to escape. You would most likely star as an ironic mishap victim in a Twilight Zone episode. Today we're going to look at 10 consequences of trading the real world for a virtual one.
The Soapbox: Stop reminding me that I'm playing a game
To me, the most amazing part of a video game is the way that it can steal you away from the real world in a way that nothing else quite can. A good book or film will take your focus for several hours, but you're still aware that there's a layer between you and the media. A good game blurs that, lets you creep into the game world for a while and experience things you never would otherwise. There are moments of wonder and joy that you can feel from a few hours in games that are simply unmatched. So please, stop ruining it. MMOs in particular have gotten bad about this. It's ironic, as the genre as a whole lends itself to people taking a step into another world. But what's changed isn't a matter of systems or mechanics, just a sense of what designers feel are completely acceptable breaks between in-game reality and the real world. It's annoying. So stop reminding me that I'm playing a game, will you?
The Soapbox: Using MMOs to relax and unwind
Every now and then, everyone needs to take a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life to relax and unwind. The outside world can be loud, and the stresses of work and home life can add up quickly, so it helps to be able to switch off for a while. Some of us find relaxation in sitting down in front of the TV, others in zoning out to their favourite music, and an increasing number of people now wind down with computer games. I've personally found MMOs to be incredibly effective refuges from stress and anxiety, but until now I've never really thought about why that might be. Any game can provide a few hours of escape from the daily grind, but there's something special about MMOs that seems to make them more comforting places to be. Certainly MMOs are manufactured to give a sense of solid progress as you play, a fairness that the unpredictability of real life often can't deliver, but there has to be more to it. Do the music and ambient sounds in EverQuest II's virtual forests and glens produce the same reaction as walking through a real life wood? Likewise, does EVE Online trick us into slowing down, and is spending time in a virtual world just more appealing than slogging along in the real one? In this opinion piece, I look at some of the most relaxing areas and activities I've found in MMOs and try to figure out what makes them tick.
Wings Over Atreia: Immersion 101
This week's course: What were they thinking?!? Maybe it was running smack into the garish sugary confection amid the beauty of Pandaemonium. No. Honestly, it was a combination of many things that finally exploded my synapses; the sight of that gaudy cake that made me whip my head around looking for little Hansel and Gretel was just the catalyst. I may be missing something, but I just don't quite understand why a game -- one that obviously put a lot of effort into not only making a visually stunning world but interweaving lore throughout the entire experience -- would toss in such jarring breaks of immersion. There is no denying (even the hating haters agree) that Aion is an extremely beautiful and detailed world; the team even rolled out a graphics upgrade to enhance it. The developers have also obviously spent time developing lore for the players to experience: The campaign quests give personal cutscenes sharing this lore. This implies, at least to me, that the devs want you to immerse yourself and envelop yourself in their world. So why in the Seraphim Lords' names would they toss in things that not only break the suspension of disbelief but yank players out of it so forcefully that they are left dizzy and disoriented? Join the class beyond the break for Wings over Atreia's look at immersion, why it is important, and what destroys it in our favorite game, Aion. (BTW -- the cake is not a lie!)
The Soapbox: A violent scene
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. When Star Trek Online was first released, it had more than its fair share of critics, and one of the chief complaints was the fact that the game seemed to focus largely upon combat. Sure, Star Trek had always featured combat, but it had also featured negotiation and diplomacy and unknowable phenomena alongside human drama. The idea that the entire universe could be pared down to ships and ground teams firing disruptor beams at one another didn't sit well with a sizable portion of the fanbase. Of course, Star Trek Online is hardly the only culprit. MMOs have always had a heavy focus on combat as far back as Ultima Online -- the PvP that people look back on with fond memories wasn't a game of cards, after all. Sometimes it can seem as if we have a sea of games with nothing to them except fighting and killing things, without any other meaningful interactions with the world. In a genre that offers us such a wonderful tool for social interaction, why are our games so violent? As it turns out, for a lot of very good reasons.
Are MMOGs escapism or a refuge?
When you play a Massive game, are you escaping the real world? Are you running from it? Or are you just seeking a temporary refuge from all the frustrations and challenges of modern living? That's the question asked by well-known Virtual Worlds researcher Edward Castronova in his new book Exodus to the Virtual World: How Online Fun is Chaning Reality. In a discussion with the BBC, Castronova elaborates on concepts implied by the book's title. The professor sees a lot of people withdrawing from physical reality as the opportunity to do so arises - a move the BBC refers to as an Exodus. Castronova likens this to the settling of the North American continent. "What I tried to do in this book is say, 'listen - even if the typical reader doesn't spend any time in virtual worlds, what is going to be the impact on him of people going and doing this?'" And he predicted that everyone will be involved in a virtual environment within ten years - although the level of that involvement will vary. In the meantime, though, he focuses on the reasons that people go online today. On the one hand you have people who go online to escape reality, to disconnect. On the other, you have people who seek to connect in ways they couldn't offline. "A father of two spending 90 hours a week in a virtual world because he doesn't like his wife - I would say that's escapism, and it isn't anything you would say is good. "But if it's a heavy-set girl from a small town who gets victimised just because her body isn't the 'right' kind of body, and she goes online to make friends because she can't get a fair shake in the real world, then I would say the virtual world is more of a refuge." If you're willing to share, why not add a comment letting us know why you log into your MMOG of choice?
The Office's Dwight takes to Second Life, hilarity ensues
As fans of NBC's hit 'The Office' are probably well aware, last Thursday's episode "The Ad" gave a fair bit of screen time to Second Life. Games don't usually get a terribly fair treatment in popular media, as writers tend to perpetuate popular stereotypes about players as unsociable, unhealthy, or both for the sake of making an easy joke.And while we have to concede that The Office's take on Second Life did focus on the escapism for which many people play the game, the punchlines were in all the right places. (See: Dwight's Second Life character playing an MMO within the MMO, to help escape further.) Check out the full episode on NBC's website, it's a good one.
Azeroth Interrupted: Escape from Los Angeles
Each week, Robin Torres contributes Azeroth Interrupted, a column about balancing real life with WoW.I love L.A. I really do. But there are times, like these, when I'm glad I'm a gamer and have a wide variety of ways to escape. I don't know if you non-Angelenos know what I'm talking about. Our local news gets all silly when a few drops of water are planning to fall from the sky, so it's hard to gauge reality from hype. On the other hand, celebrities have had to flee their homes! So there's a good chance that our local wildfires caused by high winds and a long drought have caught more than just local attention.I'm fine and my family's fine, but there are inconveniences and the air isn't so healthy and I just want to escape into my favorite game and relax. But I'm afraid that WoW is not going to provide the immersive experience I need right now. And I don't think it's Blizzard's fault, though there are some aspects of Azeroth that contribute to the problem. It's the WoW players.
