Capstone Research: Michael Jindra's "Video Game Worlds"

I'm making a board game for my senior capstone project, but before I start I need to research game design, game development and testing, and games and culture to get some background information.

I just read Michael Jindra's article "Video Game Worlds" from the journal Society. The article was published in 2007 but its concepts are still true today.

In the article, Jindra reviews other non-fiction books about video games and culture and discusses how valid the other authors' arguments are. He even sets up a sort of debate in his article, and brings up opposing concepts from the books he read to show contrasting ideas.

Something Jindra spends a lot of time talking about is what another author, Edward Castronova, calls "synthetic worlds", the virtual universes of MMOs like World of Warcraft, SecondLife, and Everquest. Castronova, who coined the term synthetic worlds, seems to be in favor of them and the escapism they provide from the real world. According to Jindra, "In fact, he argues, most of the activities of the real world can be replicated in online societies. This, of course, is already happening for millions that already use MMOGs, but Castronova foresees a time when 'hundreds of millions' decamp into cyberspace".

One of Jindra's arguments against Castronova's support of synthetic worlds is the neglect for the real world that occurs when one is so caught up in a virtual world. Castronova mentions little about the player's mind, health and real social life deteriorating, and says that we as a society should make the virtual world a beautiful place that we want to spend time in. Jindra thinks this is backwards, and we should spend time on bettering the real world. The dangers of synthetic or virtual worlds are also discussed in the article in regards to dating and sex simulations that make a game out of infidelity.

If synthetic worlds impact people so negatively, why are they so popular? Jindra brings up the ideas of some other authors who explain that players have nearly unlimited control in virtual worlds. The feeling of power is something people love, and in synthetic worlds players can control anything from people (the Sims) to history (Civilization) or battle against other players and guilds for fame, money and glory (World of Warcraft and other fantasy MMOs). With this euphoric feeling of control, multiplayer games bring a second attractive element, the element of social interaction. No matter how superficial or fleeting these encounters may be, players feel less alone in their quest for domination. It's no fun to conquer the world alone, and players need allies, and sometimes enemies.

Another major discussion point in Jindra's article are the effects of video games on children. The article mentions that children are not the only age demographic playing, but they tend to play the most hours a day. Studies showed that young adults in college had dropped classes or gotten low grades because of hours spent playing video games. The article pointed out that the amount of hours played per day should be limited, and that parents should think before letting their young children play violent or graphic video games.

Citation:

Jindra, Michael. "Video Game Worlds." Society 44.4 (2007): 67-73. EBSCOhost. Web. 22 Feb. 2011.