MMORPs

It has often been contested that Second Life isn't a game. Apparently it doesn't meet the proper criteria to be considered as such. A lot of people conduct a lot of their business on it. Some levels of file-sharing takes place through its ability to upload custom content. IBM and Sun Microsystems are watching it ever so keenly for effective business use.

Maybe it's the sophisticated interface which does it (sophisticated being there aren't any major weapons or crazy aliens or G-Man or cakes that don't exist). Maybe the fact that your character doesn't level up, but rather can earn some sort of legit currency does it. Or maybe it's just cause talking about using a game for businesses doesn't "sound cool".

I contend that if Second Life isn't a game, World of Warcraft isn't either. They are almost completely identical according to the criteria for games as systems. So let's see if we've moved from MMORPGs to just MMORPs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Plays).

System - Both SL and WOW are fairly complicated pieces of software. Everything functions together as a system - all the different classes and objects and methods and scripting fit together to form a functioning whole.

Me - 1, People who don't think Second Life is a Game (herein referred to as PWDTSLIAG) - 0

Players - Both titles (I almost said games cause, they are) contain a large amount of players. All of these players are involved in heavy interaction, such as trade, chat or task-based networking.

Me - 2, PWDTSLIAG - 0

Artificiality - This is probably the grey area which caused many people to be confused. People say that because real money can be used in Second Life, the fourth wall is knocked down. I'd argue that if this is justification for an OpenGL application with the same controls as a game, same feel and same options available, to not be considered one, World Of Warcraft also is not artificial. The copious amounts of earnings which can be made by gold farming, buying accounts or trading equipment equally, if not moreso destroys this fourth wall.

Me - 3, PWDTSLIAG - 0

Conflict - Both WOW and Second Life provide incredibly open ended gameplay (there, I said it). The main difference here would be that WOW provides some sort of context for contesting powers as part of the narrative. Horde vs. Alliance. People striving for the best gear. Player vs player quests. Lots of opportunity for struggle. Isn't this is the same in Second Life? Everyone's a captialist, striving to monopolise the whole game. People invest money to buy territory. You can create and upload your own scripts so your clothing is better than the Jones'. Just missing the narrative.

Me - 4, PWDTSLIAG - 0

Rules - As mentioned, WOW and Second Life are extremely open ended in terms of what can be done, but at the same time, adequately restricted to prevent them moving outside of the "game" mechanic. Eg. You can't teleport anywhere initially, content is usually restricted for editting by the owner etc.

Me - 5, PWDTSLIAG - 0

Quantifiable Outcome - Both titles don't have one, or nothing conventional at least. There is no "game over" screen. You just keep playing til you get bored. There are definitely quantifiable achievements and goals in both products. Just no real way to end them. If this stops Second Life, it also stops WOW and all other MMORPGs.

Me - 6, PWDTSLIAG - 0

So it would seem that either Second Life is a game based on these criteria, or WOW isn't. It's ok to use a game in businesses and still call it a game. Methinks we shouldn't destroy the entire MMORPG genre as a result.

(Criteria taken from Drennan, P. Fundamentals for Games Design Lecture 3 - Games as Dynamic Systems. 2008, accessed 16 March 2008).