[MUD-Dev] Deriving Self Esteem from one's MMORPG avatar [was: Long-Term Rewards]

[Michael Hartman]

John Buehler wrote:

> Imagine if something that made you feel good about yourself was
> under somebody else's control - and they planned on dinking around
> with it.  No wonder players get so upset at game developers; their
> self-esteem is on the line.  No wonder players get addicted to the
> games; what could be more addictive than a sense of growing
> self-esteem?

This is a phenomenon that I would love to see psychologists study.

My wife and I have noticed this effect even on ourselves, and we're
pretty well adjusted (we think!).

If we are playing an MMORPG and are kicking tons of butt, over time
it can affect our work and personal lives. We've noticed that we are
less "hungry" in our work and are less serious about making sure we
exercise every day (normally, we're quite good about exercising at
least 1 hour a day- at a minimum going for a walk). It would be easy
to throw the latter into the typical "computer nerds don't exercise"
category, but I don't think that is the case. When we've been
hardcore into games like Diablo 2 it didn't have the same effect.

I think the competitive nature of a good MMORPG can result in people
investing a lot of themself into their character. The potential
harmful effects of this can be numerous, but this one is
particularly interesting to me:

Can having a successful MMORPG character make one less ambitious or
driven in real life because the sense of accomplishment you are
deriving from the game is sufficiently satisfying?

--
Michael Hartman
President and CEO, Threshold Virtual Environments, Inc.
http://www.thresholdrpg.com
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