Imagine a world where anything is possible…
On February 1st, 2017, the world was introduced to VR Chat. Currently in Steam Early Access, people are slowly discovering this now, viral game. Players adopt avatars, join chat rooms, and from there, it’s really not defined. VR Chat has become this digital, social playground. Players roam around and engage with what they please. With this much player freedom, it begs the question, is VR Chat really a game and does it really matter?
More than a game
Game designer, Greg Costikyan, believes that games are composed of purposeful interactions, structure, and goals. Most people may recognize SimCity as a game, but Costiykan believes it is a better example of a “software toy”. Unlike other games, SimCity fails to have objectives, win conditions, or end-goals. However, he stipulates that SimCity becomes a game when the user decides to treat it as such. The structure and the interactions are provided to the users, but the goals are subjective, individual, and user generated. In this vain, VR Chat is similar to SimCity; void of established goals, but open to opportunities to be a game.
VR Chat provides digital space in the form of chat rooms for users to explore their individual goals. VR Chat does supports games of capture the flag, bowling, and other community built games, but the preference seems to lean towards role playing games. The flexibility with avatar selection allows users to easily take on character roles in visual form. In these chat rooms, the story and narrative that users decide to develop in their RPG is completely up to their own creativity and volition. It’s when these RPGs begin to lose direction (if they had direction at all), that players blur the line between VR Chat being a game and being a “software toy”.
Nevertheless, VR Chat gives users a lot of agency and that agency provides entertaining and sometimes, fulfilling experiences. When a user logs onto the game, they are immersed in a new world and can enjoy the pleasures of escapism and exploration. It is, for the most part, an anonymous environment. With that, users can choose who they want to be, how they interact with the world, and who they want to interact with. Although the space is fictional, the experience, the conversations, and the relationships that can be built are very real.
VR, real life, and something inbetween
The fact that video games can consume a player’s time is not novel. Many gamers will even admit that they have spent hours on hours playing one, single game. Now, VR Chat is still fairly new, but it has a community of returning users that invest a lot of their time in the virtual world. Many users have mentioned how liberating it is to be whoever they want on VR Chat, free of judgement. People have taken the opportunity to be more vocal or extroverted in this software, whereas in real life, they may be introverted and would never approach strangers in conversation.
However, the joys of VR Chat are not without its negatives. The negatives may even outweigh the positive features of VR Chat. What becomes of a user’s real-life identity and relationships when they begin to foster and care more for their digital life? Depersonalization, derealization, and ultimate disconnect from the real world are conceivable repercussions of creating an identity and a life inside this software. These issues and problems can be scary because they exist and develop without visible sign or awareness. It becomes even more problematic when users can no longer make the distinction between reality and their virtual lives. VR Chat can be used to supplement social gaps that exist in a user’s life, but ultimately, the overall mentality or model is not sustainable. In VR Chat’s newness, this is just conjecture, but it is an issue that commonly comes up with video games that are avatar-based and immersive.
Furthermore, it would be naive to believe that fictional worlds are without their own problems. These worlds are not immune to hate or discrimination. If anything, the anonymous nature of VR Chat can, and does, cultivate negative environments. Famous for it’s meme status, Ugandan Knuckles is a prime example of racism and stereotype that was generated by VR Chat users and has gained virality on the internet. When adopting the Ugandan Knuckles avatar, players also take on an “African” accent and are on an endless search for “da wae” and their “queen”. Intentions may be light-hearted and in-jest, but hordes of poorly-rendered Knuckles harassing female avatars begin to flirt with the line of inappropriateness.
As it stands now, the game is mostly unmoderated. When advertising a game where “anything” is possible, the addition of restrictions, rules, and decreased autonomy for users could result in a downturn for VR Chat. Increased moderation could be the end of a blossoming user network.
Conclusion
VR Chat is unique, complex, and sometimes very confusing. It is all parts game, social media, and meme machine. It’s that strange inbetween that is most cause for concern. Whether it is a game or not, it is impactful. The medium may be benign, but it has the potential to be very influential on a user’s personality. VR Chat can be a game. The difference does, indeed, matter. The context in which users decides to engage with VR Chat has everything to do with the result. It’s not to say that all experience with VR Chat is negative or detrimental to social or mental health. However, it is important to be cognizant of the issues. The future success and user involvement with VR Chat is definitely one to watch.
—
I Have No Words & I Must Design: Toward a Critical Vocabulary for Games, Greg Costikyan
http://www.digra.org/wp-content/uploads/digital-library/05164.51146.pdf