Mark Wallace"Just who is it I see before me on my screen? Is it him, or is it me? What real difference could it possibly make?" Mark Wallace discusses player-to-avatar relationships.
Issue 30 - In Celebration of the Inner Rogue
- Thread starter The Escapist Staff
- Start date
Original Comment by: parkbench
I wrote a reply to another article, but using this, it also applies to yours:
"Many games *do* give you an awkward disconnect from your avatar. But when it's executed masterfully, or even if it's just well-done, the game instantly feels a thousand times better. Even games like Animal Crossing; it feels like *your* village, *your* house, that *you* are building up and decorating. You don't say, 'he got a royal couch,' you say '*I* got a royal couch, and it looks good in *my* house.'"
I wrote a reply to another article, but using this, it also applies to yours:
"Many games *do* give you an awkward disconnect from your avatar. But when it's executed masterfully, or even if it's just well-done, the game instantly feels a thousand times better. Even games like Animal Crossing; it feels like *your* village, *your* house, that *you* are building up and decorating. You don't say, 'he got a royal couch,' you say '*I* got a royal couch, and it looks good in *my* house.'"
Original Comment by: Seasought
"It doesn't necessarily happen on a conscious level, of course. But if you're open to it and you're lucky, you may notice the manner in which you make your way through World of Warcraft is bleeding over into how you make your way in the physical world."
This is an interesting and over-looked effect of the experience. Bravo.
"It doesn't necessarily happen on a conscious level, of course. But if you're open to it and you're lucky, you may notice the manner in which you make your way through World of Warcraft is bleeding over into how you make your way in the physical world."
This is an interesting and over-looked effect of the experience. Bravo.
Original Comment by: The Dude Abides
this article wasn't bad, per se, but i didn't find it very interesting. it tried to cover too much in too short a space to make a relatively uninteresting (and uncontroversial) point.
this article wasn't bad, per se, but i didn't find it very interesting. it tried to cover too much in too short a space to make a relatively uninteresting (and uncontroversial) point.
Original Comment by: Old
1. Loved your article, more for it's excellent synthesis of Bartles work but still for its overall good writing and value.
2. I'm of the "I can't believe it's midnight already, it was just 8 PM" type immersion, I play alone, both in my RL environment as well as often in the VR environment. Full immersion is typical for me. I am 50+ years old. I guess I'm nuts.
3. I wanted to make an extra point, when you play with a RL friend who is not present in RL but is with you in VR, a whole other personality dynamic develops between the two (or more) of you. I mean real people you know, not those you met IG and have never actually met. The play changes your understanding of each other and your established RL routines and nuances. I play with my 20-year-old-son and he tells me what to do and yells at me when I make a mistake. That's a change from the regular! And we both love it.
_0Ld
1. Loved your article, more for it's excellent synthesis of Bartles work but still for its overall good writing and value.
2. I'm of the "I can't believe it's midnight already, it was just 8 PM" type immersion, I play alone, both in my RL environment as well as often in the VR environment. Full immersion is typical for me. I am 50+ years old. I guess I'm nuts.
3. I wanted to make an extra point, when you play with a RL friend who is not present in RL but is with you in VR, a whole other personality dynamic develops between the two (or more) of you. I mean real people you know, not those you met IG and have never actually met. The play changes your understanding of each other and your established RL routines and nuances. I play with my 20-year-old-son and he tells me what to do and yells at me when I make a mistake. That's a change from the regular! And we both love it.
_0Ld
Original Comment by: slybri
II've never gotten to deep into the RPG's to believe that the character on the screen was "me." It's more like a little robot I remote control, via cameras. But recently I've been playing WoW with a pair of 3-D shutter glasses, thus making the world of Azeroth a lot more convincing. Walking around Stormwind in first person view, with the UI and all Text name tags off, in perfect 3D, you kinda get lost in the game. Goblins hover in front of your face, their nose protruding from the screen so real you could reach out and touch it. Throw the LOTR soundtrack on in the background and it becomes an emotional experience.
Problem is, you need to turn the UI back on to fight, or chat, or interact. And that gets in the way of total immersion. Also, Nvidia is very lazy about updating their 3D drivers, so the visual quality takes a hit.
II've never gotten to deep into the RPG's to believe that the character on the screen was "me." It's more like a little robot I remote control, via cameras. But recently I've been playing WoW with a pair of 3-D shutter glasses, thus making the world of Azeroth a lot more convincing. Walking around Stormwind in first person view, with the UI and all Text name tags off, in perfect 3D, you kinda get lost in the game. Goblins hover in front of your face, their nose protruding from the screen so real you could reach out and touch it. Throw the LOTR soundtrack on in the background and it becomes an emotional experience.
Problem is, you need to turn the UI back on to fight, or chat, or interact. And that gets in the way of total immersion. Also, Nvidia is very lazy about updating their 3D drivers, so the visual quality takes a hit.
Original Comment by: Mark Wallace
http://www.walkering.com
Old > "when you play with a RL friend who is not present in RL but is with you in VR, a whole other personality dynamic develops between the two (or more) of you"
That's a good point. I belong to guilds in two different games that are filled with people I know offline as well. It does add a whole new dimension to the thing. For me, it only draws me deeper in and gives me more of a stake in what goes on in-world, as I'm more closely tied to the people I'm "with." I wonder whether being in such a group brings on stronger identification between your offline and online selves. I'd wager it does.
http://www.walkering.com
Old > "when you play with a RL friend who is not present in RL but is with you in VR, a whole other personality dynamic develops between the two (or more) of you"
That's a good point. I belong to guilds in two different games that are filled with people I know offline as well. It does add a whole new dimension to the thing. For me, it only draws me deeper in and gives me more of a stake in what goes on in-world, as I'm more closely tied to the people I'm "with." I wonder whether being in such a group brings on stronger identification between your offline and online selves. I'd wager it does.
Original Comment by: Aggie
http://www.ncat.edu
Mark, I enjoyed your piece. But I wonder what you think about games like Jumpgate: The Reconstuction Initiative. In Jumpgate, players are pilots of spaceships. Their viewpoint is from the point of view of the ship. Basically you're avatar is your ship. You do not see the person behidn it and while you may view the ship via "3rd-person" you cannot effectively aim your weapons or plot a course that way.
Also once you dock at a station, the only thing you see of "yourself" is a representation of your ship at a hangar bay.
To me, this game is a bit harder to roleplay since there really is no distinction between flying that sim ship and just remotely controlling a UAV.
http://www.ncat.edu
Mark, I enjoyed your piece. But I wonder what you think about games like Jumpgate: The Reconstuction Initiative. In Jumpgate, players are pilots of spaceships. Their viewpoint is from the point of view of the ship. Basically you're avatar is your ship. You do not see the person behidn it and while you may view the ship via "3rd-person" you cannot effectively aim your weapons or plot a course that way.
Also once you dock at a station, the only thing you see of "yourself" is a representation of your ship at a hangar bay.
To me, this game is a bit harder to roleplay since there really is no distinction between flying that sim ship and just remotely controlling a UAV.