Interactive Entertainment

Over the past decade we have seen a dramatic increase in the popularity of massively multi-player online role playing games also known as the unpronouncable acronym MMORPG's. These have been largely virtual world video games such as World of Warcraft. However, virtual worlds such as Second Life have also provided interesting possibilities for online role playing. Some media pundits see this as the next generation of entertainment also know as interactive entertainment.

To see the difference between traditional home entertainment such as television and interactive entertainment, consider the following scenarios. With traditional home entertainment, you select a show that you want to watch, put the television on the proper channel, plop down on a chair, and veg out while you are being entertained. It is passive and non participatory.

Now, consider online role playing. You select a role or a scenario to participate in. You log into a virtual world. The story unfolds as you interact with the environment. You are thinking, planning and engaging. You might even interact with other role players. Instead of following a rigid script, the scenario evolves in a unique fashion based upon the actions of the player(s).

If you were to go to a automobile dealer to buy a car and there was only one model available, you would find that unacceptable. You would think the world a very dull place if everyone had to drive the same car. If you went to the store to buy a shirt and only one kind of shirt were available, you would find that unacceptable. However, if everyone watches exactly the same television show, we somehow find that perfectly acceptable. And if we watch the same show again, it is still the same show. Why is it that we find that acceptable. The answer, perhaps, is that we have come to expect it. However, online role playing games are likely to change that.

But, are online role playing games just a new form of entertainment? Or is there more to them than that. I think there is quite a bit more and we will turn to the various uses of online role playing games for serious play next.