I have never really understood the appeal of MMOs as single player games, despite Parc's interesting work. (if I recall correctly, the motivation they uncovered is exhibition of skill, while maintaining social distance). I like the idea of players polishing each other. As you say, we are all humans, and many of the same rules apply. But we still have the cloaks of anonymity that allow people to operate outside of typical RL norms. Some people choose transgression, and others choose progression. Typically these things are mutually exclusive.

Sending them positive vibes with my post. :-)

I think encouraging people to think about the [possible] spiritual aspects is a great part of any game we might choose to create. Ted, it's cool... but it's also cool for me to acknowledge that I was born with 400 or so eggs that all had the potential for life. Yet I hsve borne one child and will probably bear no more. I have used a lot of birth control and therfore avoided many a conception. But those possibilities, as you intimiate, are interesting... in games we can explore them in the ways we can't in real life. I think maybe we should... if only as thought experiments...

@Stabs Excellent point. But also part of the education would be about helping them improve their creep meters, which are already surprisingly well developed in today's kids.

Also business diversity, character creation, resource management, dungeon keeping, identity permutating, etc. A sophisticate's games.

Games may fade, mechanismms/dyanmics might stay the same...

@Mike. You may have hit the nail on the head. True happiness might just be about variety of experience. Certainly it's about Maslow-type needs fulfillment, of belonging, self-actualization, contributing, being needed, creating. Virtual worlds sometimes give people the first tangible, merit-based encounter with this kind of openness to possibility. Sure, if they can find it elsewhere, wonderful. But what about when they can't (due to disability, social awkwardness, cultural limitations, overwork, etc.)? Then that world becomes sanctuary, and that's not always a bad thing. I say that if people think they are finding happiness, then they likely are. If that happiness comes at a cost of other important aspects of one's life? Yes, problem. But life is a constant balancing act, and moderation is the oft-lauded middle way.

@Mike Don't know if you remember this thread? http://terranova.blogs.com/terra_nova/2006/06/the_new_love.html My contention is that virtual plus real experiences are additive...

Loved your article, btw, Ted. Do wonder if the fact that I take soma daily (for various broken head things) means I have sold out. Confess I don't care all that much, but do know I am constantly seeking more and varied experiences, some of which will occur online or in some other virtual space, many of which do not. Cooking Mama replaced by actual cooking, for instance... so much more satisfying, on multiple levels. I think that's the end game.

I think part of this issue relates to the fact that happiness varies in definition and duration, from a sense of well-being in a moment to a sense of well-being over time. I agree with Mike that well-being over time is probably a confluence of factors, some of which are physical and some, arguably, virtual. But I have no doubt that games produce authentic happiness sometimes, though certainly this varies depending on what motivates a player most. Is their thrill the zen of the grind, the massive collective woot at raid's end, or something perhaps more about creation, achievement or even transgression? I will tell you that my big MMO research project stunned me with the power of players' statements about the impacts of games on their lives. Not just that they were amused for a while, but that play in the game had some transformative aspects. Not for everyone, no certainly not, but for those open to the experience, yes. What was always particularly touching were those comments that declared vehemently that life changed utterly when the universe of online games opened. Words like love, acceptance, joy, and feeling valued for the first time in their lives. Czik's famous book about flow began its life as a book about the 'psychology of optimal experience'. Flow was the discovery: happy=good, consistent flow - not happy = constantly interrupted or never achieved flow. I agree that we shouldn't/couldn't engineer happiness (outside of pharmaceuticals), but I think it's quite lovely that we have sandboxes in which people can find their solace, fulfillment and sense of belonging in whatever guise they choose.

I'm reminded that it's frequently the small things that jump out as meaningful years later. I often capture things that seem linked somehow, though I frequently don't know how. I cast a super wide net, then focus, synthesize and disseminate. That's how I'd describe the method simply.

Numbers... patterns... http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/11/04/the-perfect-ten-weird-staples-of-every-fantasy-mmo/

If I were properly prescient, I would have known that Jane McGonigal's book was launching... Go Jane

Jon Stewart's take on 'effects': http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/01/11/jon-stewarts-moving-monologue-on-the-tucson-shootings/ 'wouldn't it be nice to be able to draw a straight line of causation?'

Oh dear, I was totally waiting for this. My response was going to be 'but doesn't everyone play videogames by now?' along with my requisite 'we were finding inspiration to kill each other long before books/tv/videogames'! But this? MUDs? Has thrown me for a loop.

Mmm, 5 years? http://www.videosurf.comwww.videosurf.com/video/life-like-walking-female-robot-62356652 And Dean, realized I can answer your question better. While I mention control as a benefit, I wouldn't want complete control. Spontaneity, mystery and surprise fuel romance. They would all have to be complexly modeled and integrated into the AI.

@Dean The key, I think, is the equivalent of a romantic turing test that will tell if an android or bot is sentient enough to overcome my cynicism. If it appears substantially real and elicits romantic response in me and is sincere, what do I care if it actually is physically 'real' or not? How far off are these kinds of choices? 10 years?

Isn't it highly possible that our universe itself is such, or some combination thereof (a handful of 'real' people, the rest NPCs)? Did you know that Philip K. Dick's middle name was 'Kindred'? Yet he was the guy most in doubt of the reality of our apparent SE. I'd take AE as the whole kit and kaboodle might just be a big illusion anyway, and I don't need real people if AI is just is good. But that's gonna take a while: http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/12/ff_ai_essay_airevolution/ Yes, I have thought about this, kind of a lot. Would I take an android boyfriend that mimics Keanu Reeves, perfectly? Yes, yes, I would. I can turn off the body odor and snoring, you see, shut him down when I want control of the remote, and I wouldn't have to feed him, etc. Unless I want to.

Don't disagree with any of the comments, thanks!... (and certainly agree that sitting is needed for marathon gaming). I should probably clarify that I was blogging from elated self, not pragmatic self. It's certainly just one step along the way... to the holodeck?! ;-)

We can do a six point reality/virtuality scale like the Kinsey folks did for sexual preferences. Bartle 1 is a completely physical reality person, Bartle 2 eschews Facebook and Twitter, barely emails. Bartle 6 is the so-virtual-they've-lost-their-jobs-and-are-wearing-Depends types. I think most people in the U.S. are 2-3. I also think we have no idea what virtual ubiquity means. Or maybe we do, as it's likely everything we perceive as real is some kind of virtuality, at least if you believe The Holographic Universe guys and loved the Matrix.

Wow, Richard, I like that notion of reality/virtuality as a continuum. I think of it differently, as modalities: some more expansive, some more limited, each augmenting the other.

Just because it's not physical doesn't mean it's not real. We've been virtual since the telegraph. (Suggest The Victorian Internet by Tom Standage) Before even. Myths, stories, epic poems - don't they all transport both speaker and listeners (oral histories) or readers to 'new worlds'? Look, Salman Rushdie said it: "A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore it; or offer your own version in return." (Imaginary Homelands)

@Tom: More importantly, it will mean that we can try out mistakes before we act on them. Hope your cache is updating. :-)

I certainly feel like several economies (physically) existing as one! Dichotomies abound when a multitude of identities are in play.

Mark's also a phenomenal artist.