[MUD-Dev] DGN/HUMOR: Virtual worlds and virtual holidays

[Mike Rozak]

While on holiday, some of my holiday experiences cross-polinated
with my thoughts on virtual worlds. Attached is a short (and
bizarre) writeup. You can also find it on

  http://www.mxac.com.au/drt/VirtualHolidays.htm.

--<cut>--
Virtual worlds and virtual holidays
(Or... What I did on my holiday)
25 June 2004
by Mike Rozak

I spent the last few weeks acting as tour guide for relatives from
the US, showing them around northern Australia. In my spare time
(the few wakeful moments that I lay in bed before I fell asleep) I
puzzled about the nature of virtual worlds and how users might like
to experience them. Naturally, as I drifted off to sleep, I combined
the two thoughts and considered the similarities between holidays
and virtual worlds.

Quite a few similarities exist. After all, virtual worlds are places
that people "escape" to, and holidays are trips to exotic places,
usually an attempt to escape from the stresses and dullness of
ordinary life. Of course, a virtual world is not entirely the same
as a holiday in an exotic location, but I'll get to those issues
later.

By the way, don't take this write-up too seriously.

Let me enumerate the "elements" of a holiday and how they are
similar to a virtual world:

Reasons for going on a holiday:

  Escapism - Part of the reason people take a holiday is to escape
  from their ordinary life, either the stresses or the boredom. As
  such, a good holiday is so engrossing that the traveller will
  completely forget about their problems at home. Virtual worlds try
  to do the same, sometimes too successfully.

  Visit relatives and friends - While visiting relatives in a
  virtual world is possible, it's not really necessary since the
  same relatives and friends are a virtual phone call away. Besides,
  there's no reason to visit relatives in a virtual world since the
  main purpose of visiting them is to use their house as a free
  hotel ;-).

  Relaxation - Many people just lie on a beach when they reach their
  exotic destination and enjoy the scenery. Contemporary virtual
  worlds, on the other hand, encourage players to action. Maybe they
  should provide some down time in a scenic location while NPCs
  serve PCs virtual margaritas.

How people get to their destination:

  Plan the trip - The would-be tourist must first decide where they
  wish to visit, then how they'll get there, and what they'll do
  once they're at their destination.

  A virtual world player must first decide which virtual world to
  play in, and then what to do once there.

  Tour guides - Tourists can purchase tour guides about their
  planned destination or pick up brochures when they arrive. Better
  yet, they can hire a tour guide, in the form of a packaged tour.

  Maybe there's a market in virtual worlds for tourist brochures and
  real-live tour guides. "4WD trips to the Misty Mountains for $129
  pp. Includes meals. BYO weapons, armour, and sunblock.".

  Earning money - A tourist must first work at a job to earn money
  for their holiday. The cost of holidays limits most people's
  travel time to a few weeks a year. This is (perhaps) good since
  the Earth is a small place; someone on perma-holiday can visit all
  the tourist hot-spots in a few years.

  Most virtual worlds make the player "earn" their keep by fighting
  monsters or mining resources. I find this odd since players also
  need to earn real dollars to pay for their virtual world
  experience. Why should someone have to work both in the real world
  and the virtual one?

  Travel time - In real life, it takes time to travel to a
  destination and still more time to travel from point-of-interest
  to point-of-interest. Tourists always want faster travel, but
  reducing travel times negatively impacts the overall experience:
  The more work required to reach a destination, the more it's
  appreciated. And, if all destinations could be reached instantly
  they would quickly be "consumed", leaving the tourist without any
  place left to tour.

  Virtual worlds do their best to remove travel time. Maybe they are
  making a mistake by doing this.

What tourists do on the holiday:

  The sights - All tourists are obliged to visit the famous sights,
  take a photo, and then gaze at the marvellous vista before jumping
  back on the bus.

  Virtual worlds, other than the Myst series, lack any kind of
  amazing scenery or architecture that begs to be marvelled at.

  Socialisation - Holiday makers socialise with four distinct
  categories of people:

  They socialise with friends/family that have joined them on the
  trip. Virtual worlds allow this.

  They socialise with people they are meeting at the destination -
  such as relatives. Virtual worlds allow this.

  They socialise with other tourists. Virtual worlds allow (and
  encourage) this.

  They socialise with colourful locals. My guests got a kick out of
  talking to a local that once caught a 5.1m crocodile and now runs
  a buffalo farm. Contemporary virtual worlds disdain NPCs (other
  than those acting as vending machines), so they miss out on this
  form of socialisation. Who wouldn't want to have a chat with
  Gollum?

  Activities - Tourists sign up for various activities. These
  include physical activities (water skiing, snorkelling, bungie
  jumping, crocodile wrestling, etc.) which are difficult (but not
  impossible) to simulate in a virtual world. They also partake in
  mental activities, such as learning a new language (described
  below).

  Contemporary, virtual worlds provide a limited menu of activities:
  just combat and mining. Perhaps they should include other
  diversions, just as real holiday destinations do... "Skydive over
  Gondor !".

  Learning - Many tourists enjoy learning while they're on
  holiday. Such learning includes:

  Knowledge about the place visited - Anyone visiting Uluru (Ayers's
  Rock) will not only see the monolith, but they will stop by the
  visitor's centre where they learn about its cultural
  significance. While there, they will also learn about the local
  plants and animals. Contemporary virtual worlds are weak on local
  history and trivia... "Visit the Lonely Mountain cultural centre
  and learn about the history of the Kingdom Under the Mountain!
  Watch live demonstrations of mithril smithing!".

  Culture - While touring, holiday makers learn about the local
  inhabitant's culture. Virtual worlds have few NPCs (other than
  vending machines), so their NPCs lack a culture, preventing
  virtual world players from exploring this aspect of a world.

  Location-independent knowledge - Tourists learn how to ski,
  scuba-dive, or even cook curries while on holiday. Such knowledge
  can be used when the tourist returns home. Maybe virtual worlds
  should include cooking classes or some other learning that's
  practical in real life.

  New language - Many tourists enjoy learning the language used in
  the place they visit. Perhaps a virtual world like Middle Earth
  Online could teach players Elvish. Or, maybe the world could
  support players from different countries and languages on one
  server so that English speakers could learn Japanese, or vice
  versa.

  Shopping - Don't forget this one. While virtual worlds allow
  players to purchase virtual goods, they don't allow the players to
  return with real-world trinkets. Maybe a virtual world could allow
  players to mail-order real souvenirs (with real money), assuming
  their PC visits a key destination in the virtual world... "My
  brother went to Mordor and all I got was this stupid T-shirt."

  Live like the locals - You could lump this in with learning, but
  living like the locals is slightly different because it's less
  intellectual and more about experience. My visitors enjoyed their
  trips into the bush, gathering and eating bush foods
  (lemon-flavoured green-ants), and being chased by water
  buffalos. (A few locals still live like this in Kakadu. Most just
  go to McDonalds or KFC.) Virtual worlds limit their
  live-like-the-locals experience to combat, but could broaden the
  experience... "Spend time with the Elves of Lothlorien, enjoy an
  Elvish feast, and learn some Elvish songs."

  Games - Holidays include sub-games, such as cards (when stuck on a
  bus) or shuffleboard (when stuck on a ship). Virtual worlds could
  include more games to pass the time and encourage
  socialisation... "Join a game of Hobbiton lawn bowls!"

  Food and drink - Infants explore their world by placing objects in
  their mouth and tasting them. Tourists explore their new
  environment by eating it... or at least eating large portions of
  the local cuisine. Unfortunately, virtual worlds can't simulate
  taste.

  Holidays also include some experiences that aren't so easily
  classified:

  Photography and videos - Everyone wants a snapshot. Virtual worlds
  allow players to take photographs (called screen captures) but
  they could do better. Why not render the "photograph" in a higher
  quality than the normal image, so it can be used as a desktop
  wallpaper and cherished forever? Of course, PCs will want to pose
  next to famous NPCs and get an autograph. (Don't forget to make at
  least one rendered character blink during the virtual photograph.)

  Food poisoning, viruses, injuries, motion sickness, and other
  nasties - Virtual worlds may want to avoid these.

  Lost luggage - Do internet drop-outs count?

  Packing and unpacking - Virtual worlds call this inventory
  management.

Of course, virtual worlds differ from real-world holidays in a
number of important aspects:

  Real-world tourists don't try to change the place they visit
  (other than the occasional piece of litter). Virtual world players
  enjoy changing the world, and sometimes make it their goal.

  Real-world tourists are expected to leave their destination after
  a week or so, not to return for at least a year. Virtual worlds
  try to keep their tourists coming back again and again, despite
  the fact that the virtual world's tourists have done all the tours
  on offer several times.

  Because players spend so much time in virtual worlds, they form
  strong social bonds (and conflicts) with other players. Real-life
  tourists rarely have time to get too close to (or too antagonistic
  towards) other real-life tourists.

  Real-world tourists don't usually assault other real-world
  tourists. Contemporary virtual worlds, on the other hand,
  encourage this.

  Real-world tourists are not allowed to partake in dangerous
  activities due to insurance costs. In the real world, all chasms
  in the Mines of Moria would include safety rails, and fighting a
  balrog would definitely be out of the question.

  Many real-world holiday destinations are crowded with
  tourists. This doesn't need to happen in a virtual world where a
  new shard can easily be created. Alternatively, if the buffet line
  is too long in a virtual world, the virtual tourist can easily
  kill off anyone in front of them; don't try this in the real
  world.

Does this comparison amount to anything? Maybe. Maybe not. It does
provide a different perspective though, one that I wouldn't take too
seriously.

Copyright 2004 by Mike Rozak. All rights reserved.
Mike at mXac.com.au
mXac Home
--<cut>--

Mike Rozak
http://www.mxac.com.au
_______________________________________________
MUD-Dev mailing list
MUD-Dev at kanga.nu
https://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev