Saturday, April 18, 2009

Avatars aren't real

I, Avatar by Stephen Mark Meadows raises some interesting ideas about how humans interact with avatars in an interactive game. The idea that the actions of your avatar and the resulting consequences effect the player's emotions doesn't seem illogical. Anything that goes right or wrong will effect our emotions. It is no different than doing well on a test or in a sport. If you play poorly that is the action you are responding to, I don't believe that people are actually affected by the notion that their avatar is poor, or can't accomplish something or even dies. I think that what the emotion is a response to is the players inability to win or achieve in the game.
In class during the second life presentation we talked of how “gangs” had taken over certain parts of second life, even creating guns so that you would have to exit and resume second life to continue. I don't actually believe, though it seems true on the surface, that if someone is crying because their avatar is being continually killed or hindered from achievement in the game, they are not sad over the poorly pixellated avatar, but on the fact that their own enjoyment they are getting from playing is being compromised and thus their achievements are being thwarted, not their avatars.
The idea that you can be convinced of things, even murder or other crimes, by another avatar operates on the same level as the previous thought. It is not an avatar that is convincing them, the avatar acts like a phone or instant messaging. The player being convinced by the player doing the convincing using an interaction between avatars, like two cell phones.
I do think that the idea that the pleasure one can derive from the interactions of his or her avatar can be wholly satisfying. For example we talked in class how severely handicapped people said that playing second life was a chance for them to escape and fully realize a lot. I am not saying that the pleasure still isn't from the players own since of accomplishment, even in the pleasant scene of drinking wine on a cliff with a friend they would be proud of themselves for making the friend, but the avatar can allow some if not all people to achieve certain things that are physically or mentally impossible in real life.

17 comments:

  1. I agree that the enjoyment that people get from interactions of avatars doesn't seem like it could be completely satisfying. I think it's satisfying enough for them to continue to live vicariously through their avatars.

    I read an article by Clive Thompson that talked about a study done by Edward Castronova about the virtual world called Norrath from the game EverQuest. In this article, Castronova talks about a homeless woman from British Columbia whose online avatar in Second Life was a living rags to riches story. She was poverty-stricken in her real life, but in the virtual world she was a member of the social elite. She was using her laptop, apparently the only possession she had left, to log onto Second Life. She had a huge virtual mansion and probably could have sold all of her virtual possessions on Ebay for several hundred dollars, but then she would lose her most prized possession.

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  2. I don't think there is anybody who experiences emotions through their avatar in the same way that they would experience emotions derived from real-life interactions. However, to a certain extent, we possess the ability to empathize and feel for other people. Movies or video games may make us sad or happy temporarily as we imagine that we are somebody else. However, we can always tell the difference between reality and virtual reality at the end of the day.

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  3. I agree with Oliver, except that there are definitely people who probably live their whole lives online, in 2nd life, and at that point the line between their real-life emotions and their second life-emotions becomes blurred. I'm not opposed to second-life bringing people enjoyment, but like anything else in life, an excess is unhealthy. That fact that you can pretty much live a complete life on second life lets people become consumed with something that is not real.

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  4. Although I agree with the point that the induced emotion is a response to the players' inability to win or achieve in the game, I think the actions of one's avatar can possibly result in consequential effect of the player's emotions to certain degrees. The player's emotions are induced not only because we tend to empathize and feel for other people, but also because we feel for our own avatar: someone who is not other people but the substitution of ourselves. As most people today can distinguish differences between real and virtual lives, there are still people who are not able to do so. Just like Professor Reeves indicated in "I, Avatar", "People feel bad when something bad happens to their avatar, and they feel quite good when something good happens". The feeling is so strong because the avatar is not only a figure in someone's game, but a shadow of one's own. Therefore, as long as people shadow their emotions from real-life interactions to the avatar in their virtual life, the psychological impact would be so strong that they can possibly mistake the virtual life for the real one. Then, they barely distinguish the differences between the virtual and the real world.

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  5. I can see your point as to why people do not experience emotions the same through avatars as real life. I agree in the most literal sense of the word, but I think that there are examples of people that get too wrapped up in their character. Some spend so much of their time in a game that they view it subconsciously as an investment and when that investment is taken away, this angers some to the point of bitter hatred. I personally have felt different after playing a game. It was right after Grand Theft Auto, the first one, came out. I played it with my brother for a few hours and then I had to leave and go to work. I knew in the most literal sense that I was in control, but I could sense rebellious feelings of wanting to speed and having the urge to provoke police, in REAL Life! That shocked me a little and I don't think I've played it since then. I do think that it is important to realize priorities and not put too much stock into games.

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  6. That is a very interesting point about the desire to live out some of the aspects of a video game in real life. Being someone who does not play video games very much, I do not like the idea of people getting so involved in their avatars that they blend into their normal lives. I feel that we are being turned away from genuine human interaction because of the advancements in technology. I think we can experience many more real life emotions through genuine human interactions, and avatars and second lives take away those moments.

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  7. I'm happy to read the comments that think that people shouldn't get emotionally wrapped up with the existence of their avatar. I found it disturbing to hear that people cry and find it traumatizing when their avatars are killed in second life. I'm mean, seriously? It's a silly avatar. Anyone that becomes that emotionally involved/dependent on the successes of their avatar have something inherently wrong with their emotional psyche/well-being that should be examined. I'm not saying that avatars are bad. They obviously aren't, and can provide a means of escape for many people who are dissatisfied with their lives. But to think that someone should be punished for killing someone's avatar in a stupid game, is just that. Stupid.

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  8. Avatars are NOT real, and people who wrap themselves up in their second life or their avatar are, in my opinion, strange. It is like people are trying to actually have a second life and do or say things they wouldn't normally do or say because they have the fact that these aren't real to hide behind. I thought it was extremely disturbing to hear that people were getting married or in a relationship on second life and then married at home. I know if I was married to someone who was in a cyber relationship with someone else I would not be okay with that.

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  9. As others have noted above me, I feel being overly engaged with one's avatar could have negative consequences. However, in many cases, I think the avatar acts as an extension of the digital selves we often create online, just a more 'physically' accurate representation. I think avatars much like any online alias allow people to be freer in their expression than they would perhaps feel comfortable with in real life. It is true though that this living vicariously through one's avatar could be taken to a level of irresponsibility that it becomes harmful to both the person behind the avatar and those with whom the avatar is interacting. The idea of people being more 'real' with their online selves is an intriguing one and I'm curious if anyone has studied/compared online avatar behavior with the less-inhibited behavior of drunk people. Well, perhaps that comparison is taking it a tad far or maybe it's a bit silly, but I'm curious nonetheless.

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  10. I agree with Kristine, Avatars are NOT real and never will be. Additionally, I felt little good comes from programs like Second Life (Aside from the MS patients who felt increased positivity and a chance to live a "normal" live).I was extremely distrub by the images and language some have create through Second Life. I mean Babies and Toddlers offering sexual acts to grown men?? ALl i have to say is SICK. These types of games and programs allow phodophiles to thrive and worsen their already sickening habits. The fact that a programs like Second Life is an open source is problematic in my eyes as well. As duscussed in class,the information and scenes created on Second Life cannot do censored because it does not have the same rules and laws of print mediums. Bottomline, I believe Avatars in general, are a waste of time and people need to live the life they were given.

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  11. I definitely agree with this post. To me, it seems like crimes in Second Life, are just as serious as crime in video games such as "Grand Theft Auto." If you can detect my sarcasm, that means that these crimes really don't seem all that serious to me. If a person decided to kill an avatar in Second life, why is it any more wrong that killing a pedestrian in GTA? I honestly do not think that it is more wrong than that, and I think this whole problem stems from people being too addicted to mediums such as Second Life.

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  12. I have to disagree somewhat with jebarnes -- "If a person decided to kill an avatar in Second life, why is it any more wrong that killing a pedestrian in GTA?" And I base this in part on what Sean wrote in his post -- that emotions in second life are derived not from the avatar, but from the player's interaction with other players, "like two cell phones."

    Given that logic, there is a big difference between "killing" in Grand Theft Auto and doing so in Second Life. The pedestrians in GTA are computer characters. They have no story and no one controlls them. Their death causes no one any pain or loss. So when someone kills a pedestrian in GTA it does show a slight sadistic character trait, but not on the same level of killing an avatar, a character an actual living person has put work into. Killing that avatar, as lame as it sounds, does cause its creator to feel a sense of loss, like when the class bully knocked over your block fort in kindergarten. So it is different and, I would argue, "more wrong."

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  13. I agree with most of the previous comments about avatars and their relationship with people. There is no need for people to become too engaged with their avatar because they can end up losing some of their real life social interaction abilities. I can see how avatars can be an escape for some people, but people should be able to distinguish reality and fantasy. People who are really engaged with their avatar should be able to know when to stop and realize they have a problem. Since avatars are not real, it can lead to negative consequences to the person. People should definitely not get emotionally attached to their avatar, because avatars are not real. The strongest emotions come when people interact with each other in person or face to face. Therefore, people should just be aware of the negative effects of avatars and what can happen if they become emotionally attached to their avatars.

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  14. I think a strong draw for using avatars is their customization. We can create them to be anything we want them to be (and because they are humanly represented, what we want ourselves to be). As we put what we want the avatars (and ourselves) to be into these customizations, we invest more of ourselves. As the avatar acts as a "human" we can make them do human (and inhuman) things, but regardless we are controlling their actions. When things happen to this avatar that we've created that are out of our control, we feel as if we're losing control of something we've created. Therefore, I think the issue with emotional attachment to avatars has a lot to do with control and investment in them.

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  15. Avatar's are not real, and that is the underlining theme behind virtual worlds such as Second Life. Since an avatar can basically be anything you want it to be, due to it's customization capabilities that Emily mentioned above, this is what makes their potentiality most attractive.

    After completing the research for the presentation on Second Life, I found it pretty astonishing how people become consumed into games such as these virtual worlds. It's just strange how these worlds were created for enjoyment purposes, but then can become extremely "real-like" for some users. Just as other comments have stated, it's pretty stupid to get sad over the death of your virtual character.

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  16. Playing video games a good deal myself, I feel as if avatars hold no real life meaning to the gamer. Avatars are simply a way to express the true feelings of a person. They are able to manipulate any characteristic of their avatar, thus giving some an escape from the monotony of their everyday life. Also, with an avatar, one experiences no consequences of their actions allowing one to do virtually anything in the online world. However, I have known people to be very connected to their avatar, and I have seen people explode upon dying with their avatar, which brings to question, is their avatar that much a part of their real life?

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  17. I am convinced that everyday Second Life users experience emotions through their avatars--they become so attached to these virtual figures that they experience personal violation when there avatars are robbed, and feel as though a part of them has died when their avatars are killed.

    Second Life is not a game; there is not defined objective. Among various other reasons, some people become Second Life "citizens" to make a real-world profit, or to create a social life after failing to do so in the real world.

    Users don't simply experience sadness or disappointment when failing to achieve their respective objectives, the emotions experienced run much deeper than those that result from losing a video game. This is evident within the counseling centers that exist solely for the rehabilitation of users who have basically forfeited their real life for their "second" life.

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