Across the Made-Up Universe

Prepare yourself, because this is probably going to be the nerdiest and strangest ethnographic study you've ever read.

I love new experiences. Over the years, I've played a lot of games. And in a lot of these games, there are other not-real people controlled by real people... from all over the world. It can be a lot of fun to step into the realm of someone else's imagination and find another person there, doing the same thing you are. Of course, anyone can be anyone on the Internet, so your interactions are limited by perception and perceived perception. It's a lot like high school.

Since I've been doing that for so long, I suppose I took it for granted that these worlds existed.

However, over the course of the past year, I've been actively going out and trying new games like this (they're called MMOs or MMORPGs), only to see what new kinds of social environments I find. After giving a few a good try (at least a week for most cases), I've decided to report on the social climate of every MMO I've ever played. Like I said, it's pretty nerdy, but this is fun for me.

I'll also fill you in on some of the lingo that's used, if you're not familiar with the terms. Free of charge.

(Disclaimer: I didn't pay for any of this.)

1) RUNESCAPE


The very fist MMO I ever played... and I probably picked this up at about 13 years old. I thought it was the coolest, even though I apparently sucked at it. It's a game you can play for free, even though most of the game was restricted access that you had to pay for. You can run around and pretty much do whatever-- as long as you didn't hurt anyone or say any bad words (it bleeps out a lot of sketchy words like "piss"). This is because the majority of the player population consists of legal minors. This affects the social climate greatly, as you might imagine. Most conversations end up being about how they're playing the game in class, how much better they are than you (more than likely calling you a noob, no matter what level you are), and how "retarded" something is, which is usually just some random aspect of the game... or their parents.

Terms used:
noob (n.) - an inexperienced or ignorant player, derogatory (from "newbie")
level (n.) - an ordered plateau or stage of player development, usually having an arbitrary cap of maximum development (i.e. 80 in WoW)

So what? In Runescape, there are no social groups to speak of... no "guilds" or "alliances" or anything like that. You're basically on your own, so you don't have to deal with anyone at all and still play. But this makes the game boring after a while... so if you don't know the guy on the other end of another character, you might find yourself quitting after hitting rocks all day-- unless you make like other troublemakers in the game, who thrive on disrupting the normal play of everyone else in the game through harassment and trolling (usually older players). I found myself struggling to find reasons to keep playing after a very short time, and eventually quit after getting scammed by some wanker pre-teen.

Terms used:
troll (v.) - to randomly instigate and provoke to anger and fury via the Interweb (i.e. anonymously posting a picture of Buddy Jesus on an atheism message board)

2) FURCADIA


Oh Lord, I wish I didn't have to admit that even contemplated visiting the website. But it was too rich-- I had to see what this was like. Late in high school, I gave Furcadia a whirl. Now, let me tell you: it wasn't anything that my 15-year-old mind imagined. Furcadia is a world where people make characters that are animals. I said it. Animals. I was a dog. A blue dog, son.

Furcadia was also the only MMO I've "played" that wasn't actually a game. It was like a visual, virtual chatroom... where people did things, but with really no consequence. The population was also usually much older than Runescape (we're talking 16-30 years old). There's some sick people in that world. However, I did manage to share a bit of my testimony to a gray horse... next to a pool. Like I said, new experiences. But I'll never go back to Furcadia-- that was way too weird.

3) LINEAGE 2


I can honestly say that this is the only one I've ever played with people I knew. Heck, I've used it to keep in touch with Amanda and Gator-- where there were instances of all three of us killing things together. And you know what? That was the only reason I played. It made the game interesting when my brother was in my party, sharing things with me and fighting alongside. It was much more interesting to try to protect someone you knew from being killed.

People I played Lineage with include Amanda, Gator, RA (Erik Jacobson), Bryan Brigner, Shane Jewell, Chase Hammontree, Adam Knapp, Caleb Miracle, Caleb Knowles, Travis Traxler, and probably many others I've forgotten to mention.

This is also the game I've played the most, and for good reason. There are hundreds of free servers to play on, and they're all different. But the main game is usually the same-- get some friends, kill stuff, enjoy the electronic spoils. Lineage is probably the best proof I have that anything can be fun if you're willing to try it with the right people. The world is intense, even more so when you include the observations of your friends. I've raced to the top of a mountain, just to sit for a little while and look around. I've also "met" people from all over the world in this game. I remember distinctly certain conversations about the real world I've had with Latvians, Brazilians, Germans, Russians, and Australians. Besides, can you imagine me as a huge, green orc with dreadlocks?

Well, if you can't, then maybe we should play sometime. As long as you can get past the Korean-looking characters and a couple of wardrobe malfunctions... yep.

4) WORLD OF WARCRAFT
I did the impossible. I played the game for three days and quit.



It wasn't much fun. Now, technically, I say that because I wasn't playing with anyone else. There's really a lot to do, if you can find someone to do it with. But most of the chatter is about business in the game-- not the world we live in. It was disappointing for me. That, and after a couple hours of playing, I didn't even have enough money for my little gnome to have a new knife. Screw that.

5) MAPLE STORY


This is a cartoon. It was made by Koreans for Koreans. But I was initially drawn to this game after hearing about an impressive feat of electronic-real world integration in Japan, with the first recorded case of "digital murder."

Read about it here, you'll get a good laugh.

The very fact that you can even be married in the first place in this game displays what kind of time commitment most players put forth. It's ridiculous. Most people don't have time to talk-- they're too busy killing creature... after creature... after creature. Honestly, the most boring thing I've ever done; regardless of the fact that I was a pirate.

6) RAPPELZ


Another game made by Koreans for Koreans... and it didn't make it quite past the translation barrier. Not only was it really hard to understand what I was supposed to be doing half the time, but the chat is totally clogged with spam. There's no way to talk to anyone... about anything. That's all right, I figure they don't know what's going on, either.

At least I had a pet turtle. But I didn't get to name him. That's balls, Korea.

7) PERFECT WORLD


The game's not presumptuous, it's Taoist. It is fun to look at, though. Even though I was by myself, I found myself climbing mountains and walking through forests just for fun. Every once and a while, you'll see a random character sitting on the roof of a hut or under a waterfall, meditating. There's a spiritual aspect of the game that I haven't seen anywhere else, which creates a sort of Easter egg hunt to find a reclusive place to leave your character to meditate while you go take a break. Genius.


You know, I've probably played more than this. Obviously, Lineage was my favorite. But who knows? If any of my friends try a different one, maybe I'll give it a try. After all, it's a new experience.