Virtual Worlds-where do we go from here?

At the moment games and the virtual worlds they create are immersive environments filled with interesting places and characters that players can interact with, millions of players can unite and create lasting impacts on this worlds and create entirely new persona where people can make strong social and bonds that the player can enjoy and react to in a way similar to that of social networking sites. But this worlds have yet to make make the next leap forward in their evolution. No matter how complex or realistic current virtual worlds are or how many ways players have to socialize, they are still to primitive to allow for deep emotional connection between the player and the fictitious world in which they are interacting. All value placed on actions within these environments are still arbitrary and created by the system designers with the players essentially running through an endless serieis of mazess looking for their next reward and acomplishment.

To become true virtual worlds actions must have value beyond the immediate, their must be overall goals and objectives to why someone would chose to exist in these worlds, in short, games must allow for existential thought.

This process is slowly beginning, in development is a virtual world created by a single individual titled LOVE where there is no object other than to aid in the creation of a better online society with others. Your character will age and eventually die and your character will have children that you can choose to play as or allow to exist in the world as AI characters. Higher philosophical thought will come slowly to games, however as it does we as a society we see a great advancement in the way interact with virtual worlds and how we perceive them, and this more than anything else will effect how they will be used in the future.

Love official site