Miss Dystopia in Synthetic Worlds

In Synthetic Worlds, Edward Castronova presents a detailed analysis of the nature and function of the worlds of MMORPGs in the computer game industry. According to Castronova’s thesis, these synthetic worlds have become loci of a broad and complex variety of human activities, and are likely to become an even greater part of the actual world as more and more people participate in MMORPGs. Castronova presents several key arguments that synthetic worlds ought to be taken seriously both as things of value to the vast numbers of people who engage in activities there, and as agents of social change in the real world.

According to Castronova, the relationship between synthetic worlds and the real world is such that the two are separated by a semi-permeable membrane, which Castronova identifies as the “magic circle”. Within the boundaries of the synthetic world, players participate in society with values, norms, desires, and meanings imported from their experience in the real world; thus societies both internal and external to the magic circle share a number of intrinsic human conceptions. The value placed on things within the synthetic world create among “inhabitants” of the synthetic world a social sense of those things having value, which makes them valuable to the users in a very real way. Objects of value and desire in the synthetic world may range from power and status achieved through character development within the game to synthetic world currency earned through the labor of one’s avatar and exchanged or sold for real world currency. As such, synthetic worlds have real economies in the same sense in which any nation state has a real economy: desires exist for people within a particular domain, and satisfaction can only be attained by choice from a range of limited resources. The distinction between the real world and the synthetic world is thus blurred by the ways in which the people who participate in the synthetic world import intrinsic aspects of real world life into their synthetic world goals and activities. According to Castronova, the ability of the synthetic world to imitate and personalize complex aspects of the real world in terms of values, advancement systems, incentives, status change, risk, and conflict that makes MMORPGs so appealing and engrossing as a pastime for many people, and indeed a way of life for some.

In spite of the evidence that synthetic worlds are real in terms of how they matter to people and the ways in which the desires of users form institutions, Castronova argues that there is a fundamental difference between the reality of the synthetic world and the reality of our world. The source of this distinction is found in the fact that the patterns of behavior of people within the synthetic world are not the same as those evoked in people by real world causes. It is deceptive to be overly simplistic, according to Castronova, in our evaluation of how real or unreal in general a synthetic world is. While synthetic world economies are undeniably real and the people there form real social connections, there are serious limitations to how the people of a synthetic world are able and willing to exercise their freedoms of choice. Synthetic worlds tend not to have governments: the rules of the game via the coding authority restrict every aspect of the world and maintain certain rights to punish misbehaving users by means of the EULE and COC, but actual use of authority is rare; even when exercised, such authority only applies to the user’s ability to access the synthetic world – it cannot compel or prevent any behavior on behalf of the user within the synthetic world itself by any means used by real world justice, for tools such as law suits, arrest, imprisonment, etc. simply aren’t practical in a synthetic world.

As both a major technology and a cultural phenomenon, Castronova argues, it is imperative that we take into account the possible future impact of synthetic worlds on the real world – both positive and negative. Synthetic worlds have the potential for many practical applications, not just for online gaming. With potential use as educational and training tools, synthetic worlds could become a powerful instructive tool for immersion learning and social or political experiments. Less likely in my opinion, but nonetheless a major part of Castronova’s analysis, is the potential for harm to be brought about by abuse or exploitation of synthetic worlds: they could be used as tools for terrorists to learn how to blend in with a foreign society long enough to destroy it with surprise attacks; further abuse of synthetic world technology could involve the creation of highly addictive worlds, or corporate/political brainwashing. There is also the potential threat of synthetic worlds taking such a great role in the lives of users that they extend beyond the role of the real world, taking its place in all aspects of entertainment, economic activity, and social interaction; these consequences would likely result in external restrictions on synthetic world activity, which would in turn cause both the destruction of freedom that functioned as a major benefit provided by synthetic worlds in the first place, as well as further blurring of the line between the synthetic world and the real world.

I think the most interesting aspect of Castronova’s thesis is the fact that while synthetic worlds are quite real to so many people in so many different ways, we cannot identify any one thing that draws users to the synthetic world in the first place. Derived from the culture of video games, synthetic worlds and MMORPGs were, I suppose, first and foremost intended to be fun. My first thought as to why someone would be drawn into an alternate, fictional reality is that the notion of storytelling seems to be an innate feature of the human mind – whether used to satisfy one’s desire for entertainment or inclination towards escapism, synthetic worlds seem to be the most engaging means of taking part in a story, by creating and becoming one’s own hero or heroine and taking control of one’s own plotline. The fact that there is no one set objective or methodology/strategy involved with engaging in a synthetic world makes it less of a game, and more of a hobby, in my opinion. But either way, I do not think that synthetic worlds pose any particular threat to the traditional, reality-based ways of humankind. For it is easy to forget, while reading Castronova’s book, that the realm of synthetic worlds is not one thing in itself, but rather many different settings or contexts in which different kinds of games and virtual activities, namely MMORPGs, are intended to take place. I think that MMORPGs are useful as an outlet for many people who seek hobbies or entertainment – they have just as much value as film, television, websurfing, or game playing in general, if not more value in light of their ability to expose people to different cultures, ideas, and ways of life. While the potential harm that MMORPGs and synthetic worlds could have on real world society ought to be identified and analyzed, they should not be considered any more serious than potential harm brought about by real world causes. Just as activities and behaviors in the synthetic world can have unfortunate consequences, harm relationships, cause addictions, waste time, squander money, abuse influences, skew perspectives, create unrealistic desires, and in general go awry, it is important to remember that so too do our best laid plans in the real world; that the misfortunes of synthetic worlds can be avoided by not participating in them does not make them any worse or any riskier than similar misfortunes in the real world.