The World of Love-Craft: A Social Anthropological Study
Virtual is defined as "Existing or resulting in essence or effect though not in actual fact, form, or name", this definition suggests that all interactions with virtual space does not feature a perception of actuality, only the essence of it. With this, the notion of virtual love becomes somewhat meaningless and crudely unreal. So then, why does human affection transmit through the virtual medium so frequently? This question may be one of importance in the future of the human race. This is because perhaps one day the fantasy of virtual suspension may become a standard for human entertainment, and with the molding of our reality with a second may present questions involving morality, perception, and the popular question of “What is love?”
The space I chose to investigate this question is one of the most popular games in the massively multiplayer gaming industry (or in an abbreviated term MMORPG). One named World of Warcraft, created and maintained by Blizzard entertainment. This game being the fourth release of a franchise termed the Warcraft series which began its rise to power with the first installment named Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994. Although this was a different game all together (Based on a real time strategy mechanic) this did not stop the developers from considering a more massive approach.
Following the games release in November 23, 2004 more than 2 million people took up arms in either the Horde, or Alliance factions, and began their individual journey in the virtual space. With a choice of 4 different races (now including 7 plus 1 new faction and race) according to faction and with the option of 9 different classes depending on race (now including 11) it was easy to see why the game hit such popularity around the world so quickly.
This fan base brought about the birth of a new subculture that dominated the viral universe for years to come. This culture centered on the addictive nature of the games concept, the concept being one that had been dreamed of since the dawn of multiplayer games. The collective collaboration of an immense mass of player controlled avatars jointly pursuing a single goal. This goal was level progression to the final “level cap”, which means the maximum amount of influence one can have on the presented virtual environment. These levels were measured in experience which was awarded every time a specific objective was completed, along with the option of freedom from gaining experience that was irrelevant to the overall storyline the game presented.
Though a single goal was presented, there is always an existential alternative that gives meaning to the otherwise meaningless. This alternative was born of the notion that a second reality can have a joint relationship that is directly influenced by the first or original setting. This symbiotic relationship is based from the resources given by the original space as a host for the creation of a subsequent third reality that is only perceived through the means of the fore mentioned second reality that exists as a complex grid of generated code. This suggests that players can mold an independent goal that is contrary to the pre-rendered objective, through the use of a common force that is said to be abundant in those who play videogames; imagination.
Imagination manifests itself in player created scenarios that find appeal through its moldable falsities. These circumstances in which multiple players find themselves immersed in a double layer of virtual actuality are referred to as cases of “role playing”. The Oxford Dictionary offers a more universal definition: “the changing of one's behavior to fulfill a social role”. While both definitions are true, the nature of role playing is more sporadic than one would presume. For instance, players adopt a certain character as their virtual personality in order to interact with other player created personalities, but the value or worth of this personality is gauged by those around them as approachable or easy to interact with and create scenarios as an equal cooperation. This creates a kind of social pressure that is conducive to the area or environment one finds themselves interacting in. Because of this pressure, one determines a featured personality and a main personality that are presented to the outward community for judging of imaginative value (This suggested strategy is sometimes irrelevant based on level of role playing experience).
Looking past the general base of role playing and the complicated human digressions, role playing is just a means of exploring ones community and interacting with people around them in new and interesting ways. With these interactions comes the original point I set out to explore, the conception of relationships through a virtual medium. This virtual medium (as connecting to a previous point) is role playing, which harbors the growth of these emotional bonds. With this hypothesis I set out to interact with every part of this role playing sub-subculture, while also maintaining an unbiased lens as well as, as little of an influential role as possible; So begins my social anthropological field work into the World of Warcraft.
I first started with the creation of a versatile questionnaire that could be used as a basis for understanding at least some of the types of personalities I encounter. This questionnaire included an outline of my overall report, with questions ranging from simple relationships that have lasted for no more than 1-2 days, to long term relationships involving complex inter-weaving virtual and physical lives.
The original premise of my exploration into this massively multiplayer game was to observe a virtual marriage and interview the groom and bride as well as attendees. The reason this did not become the soul of my paper was because at no instance when I was online, was there any trace of a publicly advertised wedding ceremony. I was, in this case forced to rethink my approach to online emotional bonding, and through this I was met with a realization; Why not observe relationships in general, As opposed to the select minority of a ceremonial relationship (this acquired a far wider range of observable experiences)?
I began advertising my campaign publically with the use of Global Chat, a messaging center where everyone in the surrounding vicinity can read a specific message. Since this “Message Board” was available to everyone, it was difficult to be heard, though through repeated announcements I was heard at last and scheduled for an interview with a character named Taelendra. In this interview I asked her a variety of questions involving her relationship with another character she had named as Draxyl, the first few of which involved her wedding.
Interviewer: Why did you choose the location in which to elope with your partner?
Taelendra: We had both decided on Tol Borad because with that area we could kill each other right after the ceremony.
Interviewer: How or where did you find a priest?
Taelendra: We thought priests were a little cliché so we got our good friend to do it for us, he was a druid.
Interviewer: Why did you choose to marry in-game?
Taelendra: This was actually a celebration of our anniversary, we would have been together for a while at that point as husband and wife in the real world. We had moved in together after meeting in game, and sharing skype calls, phone calls, chats, and even visiting one another. “It just felt right”
Interviewer: How did this effect your gaming and physical life?
Taelendra: It worked out because he was the GM (Guild Master) of our guild and I was the raid leader. But of course stresses often seeped into real life some times and people could tell that, along with the opposite. All and all our personalities clicked and I liked that.
Interviewer: What are your plans for the future?
Taelendra: Patience, we are living together, married and have a child on the way. It will take a lot of patience, though we feel WoW is coming to an end we still love each other without all the pixels.
This interview set the foundation for my project and from it I learned the simple pleasures and problems that come from an online relationship and how the relationships lineage affects life after the initial bonding period. I thanked Taellendra for her time, and asked her politely to tell Draxyl hello for me next time they’re together.
I was, after this pleasant interview determined to find another willing group of persons to help me explore the beauty of online relationships. So quickly had I started, I received a lead on a place in Elwynn Forest (the starting point for the human race and home of the main city of stormwind) where people gathered to exchange information and meet new people. I had thought at its anonym’s description it would be a superb place to find couples in which to interview. This hypothesis was disproven immediately when I walked into a local tavern to witness a crowd that accounted for the entire population of the alliance faction condensed into a single room. That would have been fine, if not for the fact my laptop immediately burst into fumes and began begging for euthanasia. I chose to push on for educational purposes, and through the three frames per second I observed the rare occurrence of a virtual brothel.
On my way to the second floor (to escape the massive crowds of people) I walked past two or three tables where people sat surrounding characters who danced in their PG-system bound underwear. Though this was not a deterrent to my efforts to expose clues to the reason for virtual bonding, the second room of which I entered should have been. I walked into a bedroom where three Night Elf women stood side by side nakedly perched on the bed board of a loft, in which laid a skeleton with a large bear sitting on its skull, forwardly facing the Night Elves. Upon closer examination I noted that all three women wielded buckets of water in one hand, though my mind urged for the release of the multitude of questions storming in my head, I chose to leave this opportunity alone. I then rewrote my questionnaire and promptly left.
Through this experience I observed the somewhat common desire to connect through a medium in which players presented their falsealities as their only positive quality. With this begged the question of “Why?”, why had there been an emotional excitement through something that was not inherently real? Was this perhaps the result of withdraw from reality, or the similarities to it? These questions and more where answered by an anonyms role player that told me of his mental disability: Autism in the role of his immersion in this second reality.
He said that because he was socially out-casted from any group of people it was hard for him to find a foundation for a normal life in the physical world. Because of this he turned to a place that saw no disabilities and turned no person down because of their appearance. “People use World of Warcraft to escape from their life’s, and find players like us that make us feel like real people with real friends. That is why we live through our fantasies and not through our bodies.”
For a moment after this interview I realized my mistake in leaving the brothel because of my own cultural censorship. I could not turn my back on a practice because it breaks my own moral code, this would forfeit my ability to be an anthropologist. So at the first sight of a new interviewing candidate I accepted, and saught out an opportunity to participate in an undercover observation of an online “date”. My associates name was Eremethae, a female Dranaei. I had spoken to her about her past relationships that included various boyfriends and girlfriends of which she experimented with around Azoroth (The main world of this game) in different dating atmospheres. For example, a more recent date included a “scare trip” to Dusk Wood (an actually quite frightening area draped with spider webs and such) for a Halloween event. I also noted in this interview why she seeks out online dates other than physical, she said that because she was socially awkward, online interaction was easier because of the separation of persons involved.
After this brief interview I took her directions to a meeting spot in which she was currently performing a “date” with another female character. I chose a good hiding spot and awaited for the beginning of a romantic evening overlooking a beach (the perfect setting of which to take notes). I then sat for 20 minutes reading a sexual exchange between two females that had entirely no lead up, or casual conversation (I referred to this as a case of sexual spontaneous combustion) While reading the cacophony of moans and various other noises the two players tried to play off as a legible love session, I noted how grammatically correct the entire conversation was. It was surprising to me that two people worried so much about how they presented their fantasies when they both fell under the same amount of emotional exposure. Even when in this fragile state, the two still built up their own mental walls, for what? I questioned.
This final examination of the practices of online couples gave me a new insight into the entire problem at hand. As a society and culture we do not question the practices we hold as traditional or “right”. This is why in the past most of the American population shunned the existence of homosexual bonding. Even before this we separated ourselves from interracial relationships, and in some cases, premarital relationships. This is not because of the fact that we had not experienced these feelings for ourselves, but because we had never observed the bonding in person. I believe the reason we began accepting others for their sexuality is not because a global change in morals, but because at the root of every emotional dependency is a repeating pattern of normality. Love is a universal concept, regardless of orientation, race, gender, and appearance. Ignoring this concept some may close their eyes to a virtual relationship, for its defiance of cultural norms, and reserve their traditional practices and morals. But in the end, every couple has fights, every couple relies on the other for support, and at the end of the day who is to judge these people for what they understand that we do not.
In conclusion, through my endeavors from loving story to overcrowded brothel, I have explored many of the practices and rituals that bond people from different cultures, different areas, and different orientations over a virtual medium. From this research I have found virtual relationships to be a result of pure happen-stance, social rejection, and an inner factor relating to the hormonal response to pseudo-sexual experiences. With the importance of this research comes the understanding of a new dawning on human kind, and the inclusion of different realities of immersion pertaining to the code driven world of the Internet.
