Real-life, virtual worlds collide

Last month's outbreak of a plague in the online game World of Warcraft was just the latest in a string of events that show how real-life and virtual worlds are becoming increasingly intertwined. The virus, which spread rapidly and potentially affected millions of players, has gotten quite a bit of attention in the press, and several professionals who study epidemiology and infectious disease have said that virtual worlds might be the perfect place to research how people react to such sudden outbreaks.

The plague was not a hack, but rather a bug in an element of the game that was never intended to spread beyond a small group of players. But the havoc it caused, including the temporary deaths of countless players, has again brought to the table a discussion of the increasing overlap of real-life and virtual worlds. Just last week, attendees at the State of Play conference in New York focused on how, if at all, the terrestrial world should control online gaming communities.

In his blog, Discourse.net, "Judge, Jury and Executioner" Michael Froomkin summarizes "The Great Debate" at State of Play, in which teams debated the statement: A legal system based on geography, territory and physical force is inappropriate for Virtual Worlds. In the end, the affirmative team won, albeit after a close call by a reluctant judge.

As a matter of principle, it may seem ludicrous for real-life politicians to step in and regulate virtual worlds. But the economy of online gaming is booming, with more and more people investing real-life money in virtual property as well as making money selling virtual goods or services. Likewise, criminals have spotted an untapped reservoir of potential victims and have slowly begun taking advantage of an unsuspecting crowd. As the trend of real-life creeping into virtual worlds continues, will some form of regulation be necessary sooner than later? And how valuable can online games be in modeling real-life human behavior?

Blog community response:

"Virtual worlds have businesses. They have stock markets where you can buy stock in virtual corporations. They have banks. People have jobs. And none of this is regulated by any terrestrial government. This can't last."
--Freedom to Tinker

"At Ludium I, the Sysland team wrestled hard in early discussion with the eternal question about the degree to which models in virtual worlds be trusted when compared to the real instance. Beyond the question of model fidelity per se, the gamer dynamic was in play too. Could gamers and their ethic lead to 'gaming the game' and might that distort the virtual world model in ways that can undermine direct comparison to the real one?"
--Terra Nova

"According to Rosedale, "the world is getting better, Second Life is making people better." This assertion also appears to be true for several general reasons: 1. The users of SL appear to exhibit greater than normal levels of social empathy. 2. Systematic Increase in Social IQ. As technology makes us smarter over time (related to the Flynn Effect) we can expect to develop more top-mindedness and thereby value human resources more. 3. The Pen Pal Effect. International collaboration ends conflict, as evidenced at the end of WWII when France and Germany overlapped businesses and saw a subsequent systemic decrease in hostility toward one another. SL allows individuals of diverse backgrounds to more meaningfully interact and develop friendships with other diverse individuals."
--Second Life Future Salon