The attraction of impossibility

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6 July 2004

by Mike Rozak

This morning I awoke with another "angle" on virtual worlds spinning through my head. It's an obvious one that any Hollywood script-writer would know, but it took some time for me to get my brain around to it...

People play virtual worlds to do or experience things they can't in real life.

The reasoning for this is fairly simple: If they could experience it (whatever that may be) in real life, they would; real life provides a more rewarding experience. Virtual worlds are merely a backup mechanism for experiences that can't be had in reality.

With this thought in mind, I started listing off the impossible things that players in contemporary MMORPGs can do or experience:

• Dangerous or illegal acts - Such as combat, murder, theft, extortion, bribery, etc.
  
  
• Have lots of money - Enough said.
  
  
• Leadership roles - In the real world, most people cannot be leaders. The same is true for a virtual world. However, a different set of people can lead in the virtual world.
  
  
• Anonymity - It's very difficult to be anonymous in the real world, trivial in the virtual world.
  
  
• Friendships - Some people can't find people in the real world that they wish to befriend, but can in a virtual world.
  
  
• Impact upon the world - Making an impact upon the real world is fairly difficult, especially a positive impact. Doing so in a virtual world is much easier.
  
  
• Exotic destinations (including space) - Most people cannot afford a trip to another continent, let alone another planet.
  
  
• Own a house - Although real-world home owners may think, "I already have to mow a real-life lawn, why would I want to mow a virtual one?", those that don't own a real-world house find virtual houses to be cheap substitute.
  
  
• Drive a car (at high speeds) - Look at the popularity of racing games.
  
  
• Own a pet - Not everyone can own a real-world pet (such as apartment dwellers), but everyone in the virtual world can. (One could also include virtual children in this category, although real-world pets often become a real-world substitute for children.)
  
  
• Physical differences - Not being terribly good at sports in the real world, it might interesting to experience a coordinated and muscular body in the virtual one. You can also include changes in appearance and gender in the "physical differences" list.
  
  
• Change careers - Trying out a new career in a virtual world is much easier than switching careers in the real world.
  
  
• Experience/use magic or science-fiction technology - These don't exist in the real world, but they do in the virtual world.
  
  
• See fantastic or alien creatures - Although many animals in the real world are amazing, a virtual world can be populated with even more amazing ones.

Interestingly, most of the "impossible" things that MMORPGs allow their players to do are actually possible in the real world. They just require the person to be an adult with lots of money, and in the case of illegal acts, an adult with enough money to hire a very good lawyer. According to this list, the demographic most attracted to MMORPGs would be teenagers, or adults without much money. Real-world statistics say it's about half teenagers and half 20-somethings.

My list is incomplete though. Virtual worlds (not just contemporary MMORPGs) allow players to do or experience other impossible activities. MMORPGs haven't catered to these activities because their designers haven't thought of them (unlikely), or because the demographic is too small.

• Wander around alien landscapes or architecture - MMORPGs are heading in this direction, but adventure games like the Myst series have done a much better job.
  
  
• Meet interesting real-life people - In the real world, it's actually very difficult to find people with the same interests as yours. Virtual worlds can make this much easier.
  
  
• Meet famous, interesting, or strange NPCs - Most people in the real world (and players in MMORPGs) are too normal. Just imagine having a conversation with Gollum in a virtual Middle Earth.
  
  
• Speak a foreign language - Students of a foreign language usually don't have any place nearby to practice their language.
  
  
• Talk to animals or aliens - of Dr. Dolittle or Star Trek fame. (Note: This is not the same as talking to people in the shape of animals or aliens. The animals or aliens must have a non-human personality and perspective.)
  
  
• Role play - Radically changing one's personality in real life is generally frowned upon. Virtual worlds are a different matter.
  
  
• Perceive things from a different POV - The obvious example is: What's it like to fly like a bird. However, there are much more subtle versions of seeing through another person's or creature's eyes. MMORPGs have mostly ignored this impossibility, although novels excel at it.
  
  
• Time travel - What was it like to live in ancient Egypt? Or during the age of discovery? Of course, many fantasy MMORPGs are based on medieval European culture, but the worlds they portray are so different from the real thing they hardly counts as time travel.
  
  
• Hyper-reality - Experiences beyond 3D physical reality. Unfortunately, if you don't know what I'm talking about, you're out of luck. I can't explain it in 30 words or less.
  
  
• Be a hero - Virtual worlds, using current technology, cannot allow a player to be a hero since there are umpteen million players in the world, and not all can be heroes. Offline games almost always result in the player being a hero.
  
  
• The ability to be a god - You gotta admit, there aren't many gods in the real world.

Of course, both my lists are incomplete. You should be able to add dozens more impossibilities.