Reenchanting our worlds, M. Glander
Reenchanting our worlds – virtual worlds as community art
“I like to play it because it is another world,” says a boy in West Africa of the online
game he enjoys, and next door a Chinese shopkeeper girl wears a t-shirt with World of Warcraft
and responds to my query with “I love this game.” What is it about virtual worlds that keep us
coming back for more? Is it for an escape – yes, for some (ESA 2008; Rosencrans, 2003). Is it to
play – most would agree that they game, go on the internet, and into virtual worlds “for fun”
(Yee, 2006). I would propose that virtual worlds actually touch in us something more elemental
and encompassing than escape or play. Joy and wonder presented in the connections and
creativity of virtual worlds make it art. It is the aesthetic that draws us in and keeps us coming
back for more. By using Tolstoy’s definition of art that is, “a means of human communication,
joining them together in the same feelings, and indispensable for the life and movement
toward well-being of individuals and of humanity” (Tolstoy, 1899, p. 40), it is easy to see virtual1
worlds as an art form that reenchants our worlds from the mundane to the majestic.
Arguments have been made for and against (Bartle, 2003) virtual worlds as theatre, film,
literature, and community. In selecting the metaphor of art, we supersede these previous
debates that are subtopics of art. Virtual spaces are “art worlds”, as Howard Becker describes
with “groups of people who cooperate to produce things that they, at least, call art... The world
exists in the cooperative activity of those people” (p. 35). We continue to try to comprehend
this phenomenon through the metaphors we already relate to and understand. Though there
1
A.N. I use the term ‘virtual’ in this paper as the commonly used term, I think of the virtual as being as real as the
‘real’, but that is for another paper. “The expression ‘current community’ would be, essentially, much more
adequate to describe the phenomena of collective communication in the cyberspace than virtual community”
(Levy, 1999, p. 130).
1
Reenchanting our worlds, M. Glander
are many explanations and understanding of the interpretations or translations of art, art and
aesthetic attraction and seem to be core to being human. In Tolkien’s essay “On Fairy Tales,”
he shows the artistic attraction of seeing different perspectives, of realizing the ideal, and
encountering the possible. Virtual worlds do this for us as well, though their driving software
differs, the interactions and environments focus on human needs and desires.
This discussion of virtual worlds includes all Internet gaming, massive multiplayer
(MMO) communities, and multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs). Second Life, Open Sim and
IMVU, are virtual worlds that have a download but where interaction occurs online, and
Metaplace, which was completely contained in a browser, are popular virtual environments.
Sadly Metaplace had to shut down January 1, 2010. In these worlds, things available 24/7 that
we would not be able to afford to do or risk to do in normal life are possible in this ‘second’ life.
We like places in Second Life for amazing performance and ability shown such as Ballet Pixelle
and doing tai chi in space; for the capability of participating in activity whether dancing to a live
dj, romancing, flying, or building; for beauty that reflects an ideal as with representations of
Venice and Paris or gorgeous gardens and waterfalls; and for shopping that represents
acquisitiveness - our ability to have unlimited selections of hairstyles, animations, homes,
vehicles, and so on that we configure to add to the uniqueness of avatar, space, or interest.
HiPiHi founder and CEO XU Hui said, "Virtual worlds open up new possibilities to redefine the
mode of artistic/cultural production and creative expression, transcending the distance
between art works and spectators, constructing a brand new interactive instrument of artistic
creation and expression” (“Driving the Creative Arts Scene in HiPiHi Virtual World”, 2007).
2
Reenchanting our worlds, M. Glander
These spaces and other virtual worlds have helped to redefine art in the first decade of the
twenty-first century.
Art as enchantment –
The newness of cyberspace activity draws the viewer/creator into the virtual world
space. Once there, it is similar to the effect of fairy tales where Tolkien (1966) suggests the
reader can review his or her own world from the "perspective" of a different world. As one
enters the Second Life, World of Warcraft, or Lord of the Rings Online, a new world dawns that
is unique for each player. This concept, which shares much in common with phenomenology,
Tolkien calls "recovery," in the sense that one's unquestioned assumptions might be recovered
and changed by an outside perspective (Tolkien, 1966). Virtual environments allow us to
reenchant our worlds and our perspectives whether they be about gender, race, leadership, or
play.
The creation of an avatar allows for self-expression and an interface for communication
with others in the environment. Selection of name, gender, skin tone, and size, occupation and
affiliation is an art that significantly affects the gaming experience (Yee, 2008). In research
collaboration between Seriosity and IBM (2007), relating and inventing were key to leadership
in gaming. From personal experience, often the first avatar is similar to the ‘real life’
personality and characteristics, but with the second avatar the potential is unlimited. So for
example, in a Second Life role play, one might express themselves as the dominator for the first
avatar and then play a submissive role by creating an alternative avatar. This allows for creative
personality development and exploration into other points of view.
3
Reenchanting our worlds, M. Glander
Virtual worlds are art in that they make the ideal seem possible. Tolkien (1966)
describes fairy tales as providing emotional consolation through their happy endings. In games
like World of Warcraft, we enter anticipating beautiful scenery and fantastic battles with fierce
beasts that are winnable or with relatively insignificant consequences. The digital expressions
use the media, and the ideas transcend the media. Beck and Wade in their book, The Kids Are
Alright (2006), reported that gamers learned that ‘everything is possible’ (see image below) and
that each setback is a chance to try again. This differs significantly from the kind of learning that
most school settings offer where failure is punished and ridiculed. Happy endings, winnable
battles, and do-overs are expressions of optimism that each of us desires.
Figure 1: Impact of gaming on gamers, The Kids Are Alright, Beck & Wade, 2006, p. ??
Art as emotion Tolkien asserts that a truly good and representative fairy story is marked by joy: "Far
more powerful and poignant is the effect [of joy] in a serious tale of Faerie. In such stories,
when the sudden turn comes, we get a piercing glimpse of joy, and heart's desire, that for a
4
Reenchanting our worlds, M. Glander
moment passes outside the frame, rends indeed the very web of story, and lets a gleam come
through" (Tolkien, 1966, p. 23-24). The fairy tales of today are lived in two and three
dimensions that easily draw in the player to a world of mystery and evoke emotional responses
of joy and wonder where rule changing and rule breaking is recognized within the system.
Emotion interprets our world. Don Norman (2004) loves products that put together
emotion and design, or heart and mind: pleasant things work better, and we are more creative
and engage in better problem solving when we are happy. He describes three levels of
processing: 1) the visceral - emotions that attract or repel us from objects, environments, or
people, our desire for fun and happiness; 2) behavioral level – the useability or cleverness of an
item or space; and 3) reflective (superego) level – ‘does this make me look good’. In the
context of gaming and virtual environments, much attention has been given to design and
environment. The Godlove Museum team (formally entropy8zuper.org) expresses their goals
for design as “we try to use it to make something poetic and beautiful that is about human
things rather than machines” (Galloway, 2001). The beauty of art evokes joy and wonder.
More study can be done on the emotional engagement of virtual worlds that leads to
loyalty and community building. Tolkien points out, “thanks to man's capacity to be infected
with the feelings of others by means of art, all that is being lived through by his contemporaries
is accessible to him,… and he has also the possibility of transmitting his own feelings to others”
(1966, p. 40). With little effort, communication is possible across presumed boundaries and
barriers of time and space. Globally, people are now creating art together in ways that would
have been improbable prior to the internet's development.
5
Reenchanting our worlds, M. Glander
Art as communication introduces the idea that art can be found in many media –
literature, crafts, theatre, painting, sculptures, and virtual worlds (as seen in the Virtual Art
Initiative and the New Media Consortium). Art as this kind of exchange points toward
interactive audience rather than mere spectators and follows Habermas’ ‘dialogical aesthetic’
(1991) where art indicates the universality of human communication. This allows for a very
egalitarian approach (Benjamin, 1935; Sade-Beck, 2004) where anyone can generate and
respond to innovation and creativity. Case studies and experimental work have shown that
“individuals have a greater sense of presence when other avatars are in the same space, and
even when the other is a computer generated embodied conversation agent” (Gerhardt,
Moore, & Hobbs, 2005). Virtual environments allow millionaires to play next to those affected
by poverty, encourages dialogue between 13 year olds and 55 year olds, allows players from
Timbuktu and Kalamazoo to communicate and collaborate, and makes art of one avatar equally
available to all.
Art as connection –
More than any other single characteristic of virtual worlds, the connectedness allows for
a communication space like no other. “In cyberspace, for the first time, we create imaginary
worlds which can truly be shared…. We no longer have to follow the script. We can play inside
each others’ imagination” (Sinha, 1999, p. 131). The individual can manipulate his/her own
space while working with others:
environmental manipulations that are beneficial to some participants may in fact be
detrimental to others ... By allowing individuals to personalize their virtual experience,
virtual worlds hold the potential for better matching their optimal conditions. As
collaborative creative activities occur more and more in virtual settings, the construct of
6
Reenchanting our worlds, M. Glander
individualized collaboration will become increasingly relevant (Ward, T. B. & Sonneborn,
M. S., 2009, p. 219).
The community group of six with whom I interact closely allows for creative connections
across the breadth of Second Life. Our various involvements include the non-profit and role
play communities, sales and marketing, those who explore the SL world and focus on building
friendships, and creators and builders. Three of us were from Metaplace, and with its closing, a
number of spaces in SL and using Ning and Facebook were created to perpetuate the network
of friends.
Non Profit
community
Learn,
explore SL &
connect
My SL
posse 6 people
Role Play
community
Sales and
marketing
Creators &
builders,
esp artists
Figure 2: Second Life interconnections
We enrich each other with the eclectic experiences and learnings that we bring back to the
group. Through these social networks, we are affecting each other’s perceptions and artistic
creations.
As players and creators make choices with their art, then the art motivates choice with
an infinite number of possibilities and associations that are only limited by the medium. These
7
Reenchanting our worlds, M. Glander
choices are influenced and manipulated by others in that world through affirmation and
negation. In virtual environments, an item may first be created on order from a fellow player,
then a copy is put in a store or a home where others can see and buy it. This viral, playercentred marketing and sales is well-known in the virtual community and only roughly
duplicated in non-digital world interactions. Collaborative artistic creations in world are
actualized through unique and diverse communal exchanges.
Friends and family introduce most starters to the game or environment (Yee, 2006). So
it is not surprising that conversely online gaming relationships affect and/or turn into real-life
relationships. Many have heard the marital disharmony and gamers having had at least slight
conflicts over their gaming habits, but there are also those that point to gaming as saving
marriage (“Savant”, 2007; Shukert, 2008). In an interview with Ariana Huffington on Second
Life (2007), she proposed, “A lot of people who want to explore different possibilities, they can
now do it in Second Life instead of, say, leaving their wife — fulfilling some other fantasy. Why
not experiment? I think Second Life will save marriages.” Social networking connected with
gaming occurs both in-game and in forums, and a mosaic is created from the possibilities and
potentialities of combinations of innovative people in community.
Due to the current mercurial times, many nonprofits need to develop community
connections and collaboration to survive. Second Life has several communities including Nonprofit Commons. Events created by smaller organizations can inform the larger community for
non-profit awareness (Panganiban, 2009). In Metaplace, Global PlanIt (http://globalplanit.org,
also with presence in Second Life) and 3D Squared (http://3dsquared.ning.com) organized a
Charity Day to present their missions and goals while conducting tours of their worlds and
8
Reenchanting our worlds, M. Glander
answering questions. This was followed by Raph Koester, president of Metaplace, playing
acoustic guitar and singing songs via live stream with emphasis on human needs and
thankfulness. Social networking of this kind is artistically being developed using multiple media
to be more cost effective and to partner for resource sharing.
The global influences found in MMO games as with Perfect World and Shaiya and in
virtual environments such as Open Sim and Second Life expand our choices and appreciation of
the Other. Gadamer (1989) describes this as the ‘fusion of horizons’ where we bring our views
to the literature or Other, and where the two ‘fuse’ there is created a new thing: perspective,
interpretation, or art. Hybrids may be considered illegitimate mongrels, yet language creoles
and many artistic forms are dynamic, widespread, and highly used. In the world exchange,
anime and manga from Japan are influenced by film and cartooning of North America and are
reformed, reshaped, and created into new images as with Speed Racer and in the MMO game
Maple Story. Founder Xu Hui describes HiPiHi as:
This mix of Western-Oriental artistic and cultural fusion and exchange, in a virtual world
medium that cuts through space-time constraints, is about to begin and give rise to
amazing and wondrous opportunities. The eventual benefit in all these activities will far
exceed any economical value affixed to it and will be a significant innovation in terms of
fusing art and information technology (“Driving the Creative Arts Scene in HiPiHi Virtual
World”, 2007).
Machinima, video works created from the capture of live action in virtual worlds, are
collaborations that favor speed, cost saving, and flexibility over the higher quality of prerendered computer animation allowing for inexpensive collaborations. Since the gaming world
is so multicultural, there are opportunities that other fields do not have for mixing and remixing
knowledge that draws from an even larger population. Whole new constructs rise out of the
marketplaces at cultural crossroads.
9
Reenchanting our worlds, M. Glander
Conclusion There is challenge in studying and researching virtual worlds – so far ethnography and
some phenomenological studies have emerged successfully, but the creative nature of the
environment means the ‘river one steps in now is not the same river the next time’. We can
only gain snapshots, making them rare and valuable as with art. The virtual world is “a digital
reserve of sensorial and informational virtualities which are updated only in the interaction
with human beings” (Levy, 1999). In this way the creator enchants and animates their worlds
with information, meaning, and interaction. Potential exists for using virtual worlds and the
artistic nature that calls us to develop better worlds for education, mental health treatment,
and conflict resolution. Through these global interactions and dream realizations, the lines blur
between physical and virtual worlds. These shared realms are emotionally evocative, created
through connections, and communicated to an unprecedented potential audience – art that is
truly reenchanting our global communities.
10
Reenchanting our worlds, M. Glander
References
Anders, P. (1998). Envisioning cyberspace. San Francisco, CA: McGraw Hill.
Bartle, R. A. (2003). Designing virtual worlds. New Riders Games.
Beck, J. and Wade, M. (2006). Kids are alright: how the gamer generation is changing the workplace.
Harvard Business School.
Becker, H. S. (1982). Art worlds. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Benjamin, W. (1935, 1992). Illuminations, The work of art in the age of mechanical reproductions. UK:
Fontana Press.
Brown, J.S. & Thomas, D. (2007). The play of imagination: Extending the literary mind. John Seely Brown
web site. Retrieved from http://gac.sagepub. com/cgi/content/abstract/2/2/149 also at
http://www.johnseelybrown.com/playimagination.pdf
Difede, J. and Hoffman, H. (2002). Virtual reality exposure therapy for world trade center post-traumatic
stress disorder: A case report. CyberPsychology & Behavior v.5 i.6.
“Driving the Creative Arts Scene in HiPiHi Virtual World” (2007). HiPiHi web site. Retrieved from
http://www.hipihi.com/en/html/en_news006.html
ESA (2008). Sales, demographic, and usage data. Entertainment Software Association.
http://www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/ESA_EF_2008.pdf
Flew, T. (2005). New media: An introduction, second edition. Oxford University Press.
Gadamer, H. (1989). Truth and method. 2nd rev. edition. J. Weinsheimer and D.G.Marshall (Trans). New
York: Crossroad.
Gerhardt, M., Moore, D., & Hobbs, D. (2005). Close encounters of the virtual kind: Agents simulating
copresence. Applied Artificial Intelligence, 19, 393–412.
Habermas, J. (1991). Discourse ethic. In Moral consciousness and communicative action. MIT.
Huffington, A. (2007). Interview with Arianna Huffington in Davos. Second Life Reuter site. Retrieved
from http://secondlife.reuters.com/stories/2007/01/24/interview-with-arianna-huffington-indavos/
Katsh, E. (2003). Can avatars lead us to a new model of dispute resolution? New York Law School.
Retrieved from http://jobfunctions.bnet.com/abstract.aspx?docid=101121
Kester, G. H. (2004). Conversation pieces: community and communication in modern art. Berkeley, CA:
University of California Press.
Kirkpatrick, G. (2007). Between art and gameness: Critical theory and computer game aesthetics. Thesis
Eleven. 89(1), 74-93.
11
Reenchanting our worlds, M. Glander
Kisselava, O. (1998). Art and Virtual Worlds. Source, Lecture Notes In Computer Science; Vol. 1434
archive. Proceedings of the First International Conference on Virtual Worlds
Klabbers, Jan H.G. (2006). The magic circle: Principles of gaming & simulation. Vol. 1, Modeling and
simulations for learning and instruction. Rotterdam/Taipei: Sense Publishers.
Lévy, P. (2001). Cyberculture. MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Norman, D. (2004). Emotional design: Why we love (or hate) everyday things. NY: Basic Books.
Panganiban, R. (2009). Metaplace day of charity. Betterverse.org. Retrieved from
http://www.betterverse.org/2009/12/metaplace-day-of-charity-raises-funds-for-3dsquaredand-global-planit.html
Rosencrans, D. (2003). Playing around: My adventures on the Zone.com. iUniverse, Inc.
Rymaszewski, M., Au, W. J., Wallace, M., Winters, C., Ondrejka, C., & Batstone-Cunningham, B. (2007).
Second Life: The official guide. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Sade-Beck, L. (2004). Internet ethnography: Online and offline. International Journal of Qualitative
Methods, 3(2). Article 4. Retrieved from http://www.ualberta.ca/~iiqm/backissues/3_2/
pdf/sadebeck.pdf
Galloway, A. (2001). Immersive art on the web: interview with Michael Samyn. Originally appeared in
Rhisome’s Digest. Retrieved from http://www.afsnitp.dk/onoff/Projects/samyninterview.html
“Savant”. (2007). Marriage + Gaming = Game Over? Destructoid.com 02.06. Retrieved from
http://www.destructoid.com/elephant/post.phtml?pk=29668
Shukert, R. (2008). How Rock Band saved my marriage. Salon web site. May 27. Retrieved from
http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2008/05/27/rock_band/?ybf1=1.
Sinha, I. (1999). The Cybergypsies: A Frank Account of Love, Life and Travels on the Electronic Frontier.
London: Scribner.
Smith, J. H. (2006 update). Computer game research 101: A brief introduction to the literature. Gameresearch.com. Retrieved from http://game-research.com/index.php/articles/computer-gameresearch-101-a-brief-introduction-to-the-literature/
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1966). On fairy tales. The Tolkien reader. Ballatine Books.
Tolstoi, Lyof N. (1899). The complete works of Lyof N. Tolstoi. Aline Delano (Trans.) NY: Thomas Crowell
& Company.
Ward, T. B. & Sonneborn, M. S. (2009). Creative expression in virtual worlds: Imitation, imagination, and
individualized collaboration. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. 3(4), November,
pp. 211-221.
12
Reenchanting our worlds, M. Glander
Yee, N. (2008). The character creation process. The Daedalus Project. Retrieved from
http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/archives/001636.php
Yee, N. (2006). The labor of fun: How video games blur the boundaries of work and play. Games and
Culture , 1, 68-71.
Web sites on gaming/virtual worlds research:































http://game-research.com/
Digital Games Research Association= bib
Entertainment Software Association
Game Innovation Database
Game Studies- http://gamestudies.org/0701
Gamebiz
Killer List of Arcade Games
Ludology.org
Moby Games
The Games Journal archives
www.gamasutra.com – game developers
bnet.com
http://womengamers.com/articles/
http://www.gamepolitics.com/
Serious Gaming http:/www.seriousgames.dk/company.php
Daedalus: http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/archives/000338.php
http://www.odr.info/ Online Dispute Resolution
www.digiplay.info – bib http://www.digiplay.org.uk/wikindx3/index.php
Association for Business Simulation and Experiential Learning (absel.org)
Buzzcut.com
Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (elspa.com)
International Association for Game Education and Research (iager.org)
International Simulation and Gaming Association (isaga.info
ISI Web of Knowledge (isi22.isiknowledge.com)
Interactive Software Federation of Europe (isfe-eu.org)
Journal of Game Development (jogd.com)
Slashdot Games – http://games.slashdot.org
The Independent Games Developers Association (tiga.org)
Virtual Art Initiative. Media Working Group. Retrieved from http://www.virtual-artinitiative.org/Virtual_Art_Initiative/Virtual_Art_Initiative.html
New Media Consortium - http://virtualworlds.nmc.org/
SIMworks - Simveillance – Gallery Project, http://www.simgallery.net/sp.html
13