Rhizome Experiment, Fall 2015

Persistent Video Games and the Possibility of Virtual Worlds

          In the 1970s and 80s computer culture infiltrated society. In 1984, Sherry Turkle described it perfectly when she said, “In the past decade, and without having had anything to do or say about it, computers have entered almost every aspect of daily life" [1]. The rise of the computer age was accompanied by the development of the video game industry. Video games operate in a virtual space designed by computer engineers. Early arcade games–Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Asteroids to name a few– used computer code to create challenges for the player. Arcades became overwhelmingly popular, and many feared they possessed a sort of power over the many young people ‘addicted to the games’. Justin talks about this phenomenon in more detail here.
          These early video games are referred to as non-persistent. Essentially, when the player’s game is over, the game resets back to level 1. The only information the game may remember are high scores and besides that, the game runs on a loop of static computer code. As technology advanced and more individuals immersed themselves in computer science, video games added a sense of presence. For example, “[Doom, released in 1993, is] widely recognized for its pionner use of 3D graphics, networked multiplayer gaming, and the support for players to create custom expansions.” [2]. Non-persistent games are still extremely popular and have advanced greatly. This includes the popular First Person Shooter games. FPS games now include platforms such as XBOX live which have a level of persistence that allow one to explore their individuality on the FPS interactive platforms. However, it was not until the development of persistent video games that the true power of the virtual space of video games was realized.
          Persistence refers to the world remaining intact when the user leaves/logs off. This was a later development of video games because it took more technology to execute (need faster computers, more data space, etc.). Once persistence was a possibility, video games became a platform for virtual worlds to exist. Non-persistent games effectively created a first person experience in which the gamer could control the interactive character. Persistent games enabled the gamer to interact with their character AND the environment which the character lived. Adjustments and actions in persistent platforms have consequence just as they do in the real world. As a result, the video game no longer resets when the gamer is done a turn. The next time a gamer comes back, the environment they play in is exactly how they last left it. This sense of causality in the virtual persistent platform aligns to the real world thus creating a ‘virtual world’.

[1] Turkle, S. (1984). Video Games and Computer Holding Power. In The second self: Computers and the human spirit (pp. 499-513). New York: Simon and Schuster. 

[2] Boellstorff, T. (2008). Coming of age in Second Life: An anthropologist explores the virtually human. (p. 48) Princeton: Princeton University Press. 

 

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