Strollerderby : virtual reality

Is Online Cheating a Deal-Breaker?

Kelly Mills — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 21:33:00 GMT

From Britain comes the news that a couple who had an elaborate wedding on the virtual reality game "Second Life" are now getting divorced. So what tore this couple, who met in a chatroom, apart from each other? Well, Amy Taylor says she caught her real-life husband having virtual sex with a woman on the same game. Later she also reported she hired an online detective to track his virtual activities, though she knew he wasn't fooling around in this reality. "It may have started online, but it existed entirely in the real world and it hurts just as much now it is over," she said. Taylor is now in a new relationship with a man she met on "World of Warcraft".

Now, for a couple who are so invested in their virtual lives, it makes sense Taylor would consider this a betrayal. But what about other couples? With virtual reality games becoming more elaborate and consuming, do activities online carry the same weight as those commited in the physical world? Perhaps some would draw the line at any kind of online flirtation, whether or not it was acted out with avatars, while others would consider this harmless fun as long as it never spills over into real life.

What do you think? What's cheating in the age of online worlds? Where would you draw the line?

Online Husband Murdered By Bitter Ex

Missing Teen's Dad Blames Xbox Game Call of Duty

Online Husband Murdered By Bitter Ex

Kelly Mills — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:25:00 GMT

Nobody said marriage in an interactive game was easy. What do you do when your husband in "Maple Street" (similar to "Second Life") up and divorces you? Well, you are going to feel a whirlwind of emotions, and your fury and hurt might know no bounds. But of course, while you might contemplate murdering his avatar, would you go ahead and do it, thus taking a virtual life?

One woman in Japan answered yes to this. When her spouse in the game divorced her, she says "I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry." Murderously angry. She used the login and password she got from her hubby when they (virtually) married, and axed him. (She doesn't know the guy in real life.) She now faces a possible five years in prison and a fine of up to $5000 for manipulation of computer data and illegal access on a computer. Thank god they did not have any virtual children that I am aware of, because it's always worst for the child avatars.

I have an idea here. Maybe they should send her avatar to prison in the game, thus completing the cycle of wacky internet justice. She'd have to play out the rest of her online life in a small, virtual cell. Fitting, no?

Missing Teen's Dad Blames XBox Game

Good Kids Like Video Games Too---Who Knew?

Your Girls Can Be "Bimbos" Online!

Kelly Mills — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:02:00 GMT

Sometimes you see stuff and think, "Is this fer real?" When I read about the Miss Bimbo game, I kept thinking, "Oh, in a minute they'll say the game is for adults." But no, in fact the majority of the 200,000 players are between the ages of 7 and 17. But let me back up: There's a virtual "fashion" game for girls where they get a "Bimbo" and have to navigate her through boob jobs and diets and so on to make her the coolest bimbo of all. Girls can dress their dolls in sexy outfits for clubbing, and are encouraged to keep them waif thin through diet pills and plastic surgery. Niiiice.

Most of the accounts I read focused on the weight and cosmetic horrors of the game, but I personally was more disturbed by the fact that the bimbos are supposed to find a rich boyfriend so they don't have to work. Like, it's one of the goals of the game. Now that is just creepy. For god's sake, we don't even read "Cinderella" without some irritable commentary about how Cinderella ought to stand up for herself instead of waiting to be rescued. So the idea of having girls finding a sugar daddy through the game is icky. It simultaneously asks them to identify with and look down on the bimbos, and frankly, it seems strangely angry to me.

Here's the best quote from the game's creator: "It is not a bad influence for young children. They learn to take care of their bimbos. The missions and goals are morally sound and teach children about the real world." Frigging excuse me? But it goes on: "The breast operations are just one part of the game and we are not encouraging young girls to have them, just reflecting real life." Well, that's a relief. For a minute there I was worried. Yeah, these are totally the lessons I want my kids to learn. Why does it smell so strongly of misogyny in here?

My Very First Avatar

Kelly Mills — Mon, 07 May 2007 15:23:00 GMT

I guess there's this new thing called online communities that all the kids are into. Apparently they even have virtual worlds where you can adopt a persona called an avatar and do everything from slay demons with a broadsword to buy art using virtual money. What will they think of next?

Some very smart people realized that there's a market in creating virtual worlds for preschoolers. If you haven't heard, Webkinz are stuffed animals that come with a registration code, so you can log into the site and play with your stuffed animal in cyberspace. You earn virtual dollars by playing online games, which you can then use to buy things for your Webkinz doll. Think Sims for kindergarteners, with less of the frustration. You know, the kind you felt when your Sim was completely unable to score with any potential mates (I'm still bitter).

I am fairly anti-marketing for children, to the point where my child has seen maybe three commercials in her life and I think she believes her eyeballs will melt if she watches one all the way through. However, I'm not that freaked about this new development in kid consumerism. Because I recognize that toys are generally marketed to, well, kids, and my child is growing up in an age where virtual reality will be part of her life. We always try and practice critical thinking with advertising, pointing out marketing ploys, asking "Do you think the toy will do all that?" and having conversations about it. If Ganz is going to try and build brand loyalty, we'll discuss that, but with the current fickle climate at our house, I wish them luck in that endeavor. And I'm not particularly bothered by the fact that my child can play with her animal online, as long as we do it the way we do television and cake: in moderation. In fact, when my sister brought home a Webkinz animal, she and my child spent a nice hour poking around the site. Then my kid got bored and wanted to draw instead, while my sister spent the next three hours playing preschool games to earn enough money to buy a swimming pool. (Note to self: daughter is fine, but do not allow sister to play World of War-crack.)

Just so you know, I'm the permissive parent in the house, and if you think the Webkinz site is the devil's playground, feel free to share.