Mercurial Thoughts:

Is There Enough Reality In Virtual Worlds?

by Mercurie

---

One question that I have sometimes pondered is: just how much should MMORPGs imitate real life? Now, given that most MMOs are set in some sort of fantastic setting (Telon in Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, the planet Rubi-Ka in Anarchy Online, and so on), I don’t think it would be expected that characters would be punching time clocks for some nine-to-five job. That having been said, there are other ways in which MMOs can emulate real life.

One of the ways in which many MMOs already imitate real life is through weather. Let’s face it; in real life the weather can have an enormous impact. Cities the size of New York City can be brought to a halt by a snow storm. Individuals often have difficulty driving in the snow or rain. Although weather has a large impact on the lives of individuals in real life, I am still not sure that this is the case in MMORPGs. Playing in Dark Age of Camelot, I have noticed that it does snow from time to time, but I have never noticed snow having any effect on game play.

In the past few years a patch that added weather to World of Warcraft was touted as a big deal. I don’t play World of Warcraft, so I do not know if the weather is merely for appearances or not. I know that weather also appears in both EverQuest and EverQuest II, but, again, I have no idea if it impacts game play. Vanguard: Saga of Heroes would, then, appear to differ from most MMOs in that weather is planned to have an effect.

Of course, in real life people have to eat and drink in order to stay alive. It seems to me that this is not always the case in MMOs. If I remember correctly, in both EQ and EQ II, food and drink give bonuses for recovering after a fight or other strenuous activity. While food does allow characters to regenerate faster, it is not necessary for characters to consume food or drink a beverage in order to live. That is, a character could survive indefinitely in the wilderness with nothing to eat or drink. Like EverQuest, food and drink in World of Warcraft grant bonuses with regards to regeneration. And like EverQuest, it is not required for one’s character to stay alive.

Like food and drink, sleep is required for people to survive in real life. Again, this is not always the case in virtual worlds. In Dark Age of Camelot, it seems to me that it is a good idea for one’s character to rest every once in a while: if one doesn’t, then fatigue starts having a very negative effect on combat abilities. But in Dark Age of Camelot, rest means sitting down. One isn’t required to simply go to sleep. I have no idea if sleep is required in EQ, EQ II, or World of Warcraft, but I am willing to bet that it isn’t.

In real life, eating, drinking, and sleeping are the ways in which human beings survive. Another thing that can endanger a person’s survival is illness. I know that diseases exist in EQII. After all, the big event of last year was the plague that struck many characters. Fortunately, while the plague did have a negative effect, at no point did it endanger characters’ lives. I don’t know if one can randomly catch a disease in the original EverQuest, although I do know of a spell called Imbue Disease.

Disease also exists in World of Warcraft, although apparently not always in the way Blizzard planned for it to exist. Last year, the dungeon of Zul’Guruub was added where characters faced the God of Blood, Hakkar. When slain, Hakkar would afflict those who had killed him with “corrupted blood.” Only those near his dead body were supposed to be affected, but somehow the disease spread to several of the realms in World of Warcraft. Worse yet, the disease actually killed characters! Many players were not happy.

Looking at how various MMOs handle weather, food, sleep, and illness, I guess I should reiterate my initial question. How true to real life should MMOs be? I suppose it is a question that can only be answered by the individual player. In real life, literally millions of people across the globe die from illness. A truly realistic MMO would have characters sometimes catch and even die from diseases. Looking at the reaction of players in World of Warcraft to the Hakkar’s corrupted blood plague incident, however, I am not sure that this would be desirable. Most people I know can handle their character being killed by a monster or other NPC. I rather suspect that most would not be able to handle their character dying from some virus.

That is not to say that disease should not be a part of MMOs whatsoever. Most of my friends who played EQ II enjoyed last year’s plague event. Okay, their characters were coughing and sneezing for quite a while, but it was a change from usual game play.

While most gamers I know are a bit ambivalent when it comes to disease (some don’t like diseases at all, others don’t mind them as long as they aren’t fatal), most gamers I know tend to be a bit more receptive when it comes to the idea of more realistic weather. Indeed, I have heard complaints from players that the weather in most MMORPGs is merely cosmetic. That is, it has no real effect on game play. Of course, while most gamers I know want weather to have some effect on game play, I do not know how they would they feel if the weather could actually result in death. Let’s face it, snow storms can result in fatal car crashes. People do get hit by lightening. Would gamers be so receptive to weather effecting game play if those effects could be fatal? Somehow, I don’t think so.

As to sleep, food, and drink, I have only seen a few who have expressed the thought that characters should be required to sleep, eat, and drink. Most gamers I know seem to be satisfied with the way things are in most MMORPGs, in which food and drink merely give bonuses to recovery and regeneration. I must admit that I am fine with this myself. Indeed, I have always assumed that our characters eat and sleep when we are not playing them.

Given the variety of opinions that gamers hold regarding sleeping, eating, disease, and weather, I think that the level of realism desirable in any given game can only be decided upon by the individual player, or at least on a game-by-game basis. Many gamers do not like the idea of illnesses that can actually kill their characters. Others don’t mind it. Many gamers want weather to have an impact on the game. Others might not. These are things that only the individual gamer can decide for himself or herself. And with as many MMORPGs as are on the market now, I think it is safe to say that most players can find games with just the right level of realism to suit their tastes.

---