Advancing Levels

I called up my friend the other day and the first thing out his mouth was to tell me that he had crafted a  Green Steel item in DDO (Dungeons and Dragons Online.) For anyone not in the know with MMO (Massive-Multiplayer Online) games, crafting is usually a skill that allows for the creation of items or upgrades, such as weapons, clothing, armor, etc. It allows the player to feel productive and creative within the virtual environment, and to establish alternate goals to a game that is based mostly on killing things, but what struck me was that my friend was so proud of the item he crafted that he talked like an eager parent. One would have thought he was able to reach into the game and wield the created staff himself. Subsequently, I found out that crafting this item took many man-hours of farming materials, raiding dungeons, and combining several different processes. When all was said and done he estimated it as a 2.5 month process that culminated in the creation of a digital collection of pixels and code.

Maybe you find that absurd, but I don't. However, it did get me thinking about how the happiness one gets from a video game stacks up next to real-world experiences. I mean happiness does not necessarily have to be linked to physical things, and video game achievements have been astounding players since Link opened his first treasure chest. Some will probably argue that it's fantasy and has no impact on real day-to-day life, but so is the feeling of euphoria one gets when their football team wins a game or from winning a hand of cards against your friends. Ultimately everything affects us through our mood and our mood colors how we see and interact with the world, whether it be the real one or a virtual one.

According to some contemporary beliefs there are different levels of happiness. On this scale what my friend experienced by completing a particularly difficult and useful in-game weapon falls into Level 2 Happiness (I think that's that's the ice-world level.) The creation and completion of his staff gave him a sense of accomplishment, pride, and furthermore a tangible and visible achievement that can be seen (and envied) by other players on DDO. Level 2 Happiness is a higher level of happiness than Level 1, which is classified as only momentary happiness. Its the feeling you get while eating an ice cream cone or riding a roller coaster. Its the kind of happiness you would get from playing Angry Birds or Tetris, a happiness quick fix. However, even this can be increased to Level 2 Happiness if you get a high score on the Pac Man leader board or on one of those Photo Hunt machines you find in some bars. You are essentially putting an accomplishment out for everyone to see and envy, (even if they won't think it is funny that you put A$$ instead of your real initials.)

Level 3 Happiness is when people start playing multi-player games with friends or strangers online. Feeling accomplished in a group setting is part of the human need and condition. We are driven to form civilizations, societies, and of course guilds. So it is only logical that contributing to a community or having pleasurable interactions with other individuals can help a person achieve an even greater level of happiness, (though it is admittedly hard to sometimes find "pleasurable" interactions with other people on the Internet.)

What all this means is that no matter the accomplishment it is possible to receive real and tangible happiness from a virtual world. In fact, the psychologist, Martin Seligman, gives another requirements for happiness as PERMA (pleasure, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishments.) Video games fulfill all five criteria. They offer not only pleasure and engagement, but also the potential for the creation of relationships, both real and imagined. Video games even have one advantage over real-life, they give the player meaning. They are goal oriented and accomplishment-based. Even the old Mario and Zelda games were about battling to save a princess. Nowadays, whether you play as Solid Snake, Nathan Drake, or Cloud from Final Fantasy you have goals, desires, and ambitions within that virtual world. You adapt the character's motivations and add motivations of your own, such as assembling the coolest weapon you can, just like my friend did. Accomplishment is a big part of happiness and it is something video games offer in spades. In fact, most games even have Easter Eggs (hidden goals and secrets which can be discovered) and systems for achievement. Xbox is famous for its achievement system which has almost becomes a game in itself. I mean how else are people going to figure out that you could kill an opponent in Modern Warfare by dropping a supply crate on their head?

Now, let me just clarify. All I am saying is that people tend to not give video games enough credit. All too often society treats the gaming community in the same way the literary community treats comic book readers. I am not advocating giving up your real-life to spend it entirely as a well-rendered avatar in a virtual world, no more than I would advocate giving up your job to volunteer full-time at the homeless shelter. Eventually too much of anything (good or bad) often forces paradigms to implode upon themselves like a neutron star. After all, Level 4 Happiness (the ultimate happiness) is about finding balance as well as a fulfillment with yourself and the universe around you, and its hard to argue that one will ever truly find all of that in a virtual environment... Then again, its arguable that the majority of humans never reach Level 4 Happiness. I certainly have not, but you can't stop trying. So until I reach enough experience points to advance to Level 4, I will continue grinding and strive to find my contentment in both the real and virtual worlds.