Modeling Reality With Virtual Worlds

Virtual reality; it's something i said wasn't my forte because i found it stupid and a waste of time but after thinking about it, i haven't realized i had become a zombie too; I find myself going back to my base adding to it, raiding others, and talking to these nerds online; wow. It surprises me that the addiction for a virtual contact is more aggressive then a physical contact to some, but in some cases I do understand it a little; it seems to be like this because the stereotype for these gamers is that they're not the muscular athlete type that they would wish to be dating hot girls, and in that sense they ran to a virtual realm that would allow them to be something like that athlete.

In the future you already see that many companies are planning on doing something that will actually physically let you see yourself  moving and doing everything in a game while sitting still; a more advanced version of the Oculus Rift, and Sony's Project Morpheus, these two ways for people to access the virtual world simply by clicking the "on" button then scrolling to what game you want to play. These simulation games can possibly be used for those who are permanently paralyzed, to freely live out their lives in somewhat of a better condition then they're in. In a world where they could see themselves move as if they were able to physically do everything themselves! In my opinion it would be better to have control over a virtual avatar for as long as they live while paralyzed, then having no control of their real bodies. The seemingly possible threat to this is that some who have control of their bodies may end up living their lives meaninglessly over their internet connection "questing" and leaving their bodies to decay in reality while they are seeing virtual images of what they believe is better.

Many game types such as "Sandbox games", like Minecraft and Gmod; as well as "Real Time Strategy Games (RTS)" like League of Legends and Dota 2 are a fuel to someones creativity. Most sandbox games are almost like a virtual set of LEGO's where you don't run of material, and saying that you can create almost anything from a small house to everything on Earth; and from what I see some people have already made real cities in that game. Some RTS games are already a source of broadcast entertainment for some, called E-sports a way for skilled players of a certain game to obtain fame and glory by strategically beating other teams, and the only way to beat other teams is by using the selected character in a more effective and creative way then the average person. By doing this you allow yourself to create new methods of doing things and giving you the ability to think faster and more effectively.

I see the virtual world being moved to something like the Oculus Rift or Project Morpheus in a few years, just because it was a highly anticipated form of entertainment by many, and if upgraded to fit what the people want, they may be able to become the new XBOX or PlayStation consoles.

Sources:

1. After Second Life, Can Virtual Worlds Get A Reboot. April 30, 2013. http://www.forbes.com/sites/dianemehta/2013/04/30/after-second-life-can-virtual-worlds-get-a-reboot/
2. Social Influence and the Diffusion of User-Created Content by Eytan Bakshy, Brian Karrer, and Lada A. Adamic. Proceedings of the 10th ACM Conference on Electronic Commerce, July 6-10, Stanford, CA. Available at: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~ladamic/papers/SecondLife/SocialInfluenceEC.pdf