As a make my way through Edward Castronova's Exodus to the Virtual World, I become more and more skeptical of his claims with every page turn.
I have a problem with his base claim that a migration to virtual worlds is going to happen on a large scale over the next few decades. I honestly don't ever see myself becoming that immersed in a virtual world and I sincerely hope that younger generations don't either. While I think that it is possible that virtual worlds could become more prevalent, I doubt that they will take over to the extent that Castronova predicts.
If such a migration were to occur I think it would mean terrible things for human interaction. Online interaction is inherently more shallow than real-world conversations. Physical proximity to others makes interactions more personal and relationships stronger. I can't imagine developing or maintaining substantial connections through the filter of a screen.
Another main assertion of Castronova that I also reject is the implications of game policy and development for actual public policy. Castronova presented this topic as if the connections between the two were obvious and undeniable. However, I think his claims are idealistic and doubt they hold any ground in the development of real public policy.
Virtual worlds are far more simplified and controlled than the real world. Castronova admits this in another section of the book but does not address it in his discussion of policy. Game designers have far more power to control and structure environments than real world governments ever will. It seemed to me that most of the policy designs used by game developers that Castronova highlighted would not transfer effectively to the real world. In fact, I thought that most of them, if they were even able to be instituted, would be terrible for real public policy. I am interested to read the third section of the book, "How the Exodus Affects the Real World", in the hopes that some of my questions will be addressed.
Castronova calls his book a work of "speculative nonfiction" and I think it will remain purely speculation. The claims that Castronova makes seem far-fetched and unrealistic. Clearly, Castronova believes that an exodus is inevitable but I don't think so. I hope I'm right.
I wanted to end the class with an optimistic work, and Castronova loves his games.
ReplyDeleteI don't, and use virtual worlds as a subject for research or casual exploration of user-generated content such as 3D artwork like Robbie Dingo's.
So you make some valid points here. We might add "fun" as a goal for our daily activities without borrowing other aspects of game-life. Sad to say, however, that most of you will not work in jobs that you find very fun. I wish that could change.