Part 5 - The pixelated, the text, and the ugly

As an avid PC user, I have had many online experiences both within the gaming world and through simple boxes of written text. I created an MSN messenger account back in 2004. At the time, It was the ultimate way to socialize; the internet was pure of the 'facebook' and 'twitter' plague that was soon enough going to engulf ego's worldwide. Anyhow, it was a simple, effective and efficient method to deliver any kind of information over the internet to your friends without the use of e-mail. You could send pictures, videos, sounds, anything. You had a brief profile about yourself, apart from that, that was all anyone ever knew about you.

For online games such as my recently played, "Active Worlds", the differences in socializing vary completely. Games such as this allows the player to develop [an often] fully customizable character that closely mirrors the appearance of your real self. Where programmes such as MSN only delivered a small profile, 3D worlds allow you to elaborate upon your persona and give off a unique appearance for other players to see. This can range from clothing to behaviour in-game. How you act in-game can create many outcomes in terms of your social status. Most of the time, you will get away with it. MSN would be more restricted to this idea, as the way you act online would attract the attention of all your friends.

Another key aspect I found within "Active Worlds" was the amount of interactivity. Programmes like MSN is fairly restricted in terms of interraction and focuses solely upon communicating via written text. For 3D worlds, written text is implemented along with a variety of other functions, such as 'emotes'. This allows the player's character to perform physical actions in-game for amusement or to reinforce a reaction. A simple 'wave' in-game is the best way to overcome any awkward introductions, as opposed to the more 'confrontational' method of writing direct messages to them across MSN. Most importantly, 3D worlds are fun.
MSN allows you to play simple flash games such as 'checkers' or 'minesweeper'. A player in a 3D world is playing a game, something that is intentionally designed to be fun.

There are many ways to think where internet socialising can lead us. Programmes such as MSN have recently recognized the growing trend in applications such as "Active Worlds" and frequently provide updates. These range from designing your own background to allowing you to write 'personal messages', twitter style. Overall, IM programmes are good at one thing and do it well; communicating. As for 3D worlds, I can only imagine that the amount of interactivity, and more importantly, gameplay, is further recognized for the player to both have fun and socialise.