I don’t really play MMO type game. That is partly because I don’t want to commit the level of time required for most of them and partly because I don’t have Internet in my home currently. I did have a thought about them tonigt, though.
A few years back a new virtual world was launched called Second Life. This online game made a lot of us gamers scratch their heads because, really, it’s not a game at all. It was simply a virtual space where participants can do just about anything they want. They can interact, build, and create but there are no objectives, no rules, and no opposition. In other words, the participants in this world had now purpose for being there other than the purpose they assigned themselves.
While a lot of groups like embassies and educational institutions have taken shots at using this world in good ways for the most part the world has lead to the logical conclusion of a world without restrictions and with complete anonymity. In a way, it brought out the worst in people.
I would argue that the degeneration of this world is mainly a result of its lack of an overarching purpose. Furthermore, I would argue that this happens much the same way reality. Both games and life need to have a greater purpose (even if it is an abstract one). Without a greater purpose we have no motivation beyond self-gratification. We drift aimlessly from one experience to the next. Even the most grind-heavy, repetitive MMO works towards an objective and even the most boring of tasks in life can be bearable if they are done for a purpose.
Restless Ones 