Taylor

Taylor writes about the different types and levels of socialization within different virtual worlds. In MMORPG's, players join together as guilds or fellowships and use each other's respective roles to defeat a powerful monster. In worlds like LambdaMOO and Second Life, socialization is what drives the game. Without user interaction, there would be no point of the world. While I haven't cooperated with other users to complete quests yet, I can tell that some experiences are in place to prepare for socialization. For example, I was recently trained as a craftsman and weaponsmith. Once I start having to work with others, these new skills will be important, in case I need to build weapons to replace damaged ones. I am a little frustrated right now, at all the little quests I have been sent on. The quests where I have to kill a number of beasts such as wolves or boars are fun. But lately I have been sent to find sand, or a fishing rod. These quests are a little nerve wracking since some of these items are so hard to find and you have to run around to find a number of them. Needless to say, I am excited for some of the bigger things LOTRO has to offer. I am excited now that I have leveled up to 10, and to be able to experience the features of MUDS that we have been reading about. Working together with the kinship that we will soon create, to kill bigger monsters, is sure to be even more fun than just getting my feet under me as a beginner in a virtual world.