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| Sword Art Online's main characters Kirito (left) and Asuna (right). |
*Minor spoilers ahead*
I have enjoyed this series from the beginning, sure the plot isn't terribly original but being a longtime MMORPG player myself I was able to relate to the emotional state of the players. The stress of fighting a challenging dungeon boss and the exhilarating feeling of victory are just a couple reasons why I am consistently drawn to this genre of video game. But the thing I connected most strongly with were the friendships that were formed and the love that developed between Kirito and Asuna.
The feelings that they develop for one another reminded me of a few of the online romances I have had in the past. The first MMORPG that I ever got addicted to was Final Fantasy XI. I was pretty heavily addicted to the game for two of the three years that I played it. It was not uncommon for me to stay inside for days on end traveling throughout the world of Vana'diel with my friends. I became so close with some of them that I would do whatever I could in order to spend time with them, including calling in sick to work on multiple occasions. The fact that I hated my job with a passion was all the incentive I required. I eventually became deeply infatuated with a couple of the girls that were in my guild. We communicated both inside of the game and out. I developed feelings for them, thus making the world of the game all the more enticing since that was the only way I could be with them. I was sucked in completely, Vana'diel became my second home.
This is the situation, albeit a more extreme version, that Kirito and Asuna find themselves in. They both played the game in order to escape their realities and after two years of being stuck in there they decide they may as well make the best of a shitty situation. They take a break from their guild, get married, and settle down in a small home. Eventually they even foster a child they come across and start a family. In an emotional scene at the mid point of the series the couple is distraught over the fact that they may never meet in real life. They would prefer to stay in the game if it meant they could be together. Some may wonder how someone could fall in love with a person they only know as a character in a video game. When you spend as much time as I did on a game like that things can become blurred. You may not be together physically but the bonds you have transcend the virtual world.
As addictive as games can be in their current form Sword Art Online got me thinking about how much worse they could be. Should virtual reality technology ever reach the level that we see in the show I fear that we would witness much more extreme cases of gaming addiction. The more immersed you can become in a game the more real that world will be to the player. They may develop relationships with not only other players but potentially some of the NPCs (Non-Player Characters). Those would be the most dangerous of all since they only exist in the game, a player may be hesitant to log out because they are unable to be with that NPC anywhere else. Thankfully I do not see this being a concern for the foreseeable future. Virtual reality devices have a troubled history in the entertainment world, with the exception of some amusement park rides, and remain expensive and often unwieldy. This potential problem is something to think about should the technology ever reach the levels of Sword Art Online.
A lot of online gamers get unfairly labeled as being anti-social when in fact they are some of the most social gamers around. Sure, many do tend to be socially awkward in real-life situations but when they immerse themselves in a game they are able to come out of their shells by taking on a new persona. I don't consider myself to be socially awkward in the real world but I will admit that I tend to come across as very effeminate via casual internet conversation. I use emoticons regularly and sprinkle my conversations rather liberally with internet slang. The fact that I play female characters all the time probably does not help the situation much either. Why do I play female characters? If I'm going to be staring at an ass for hours on end I would prefer it be the ass of a woman. Powerful women are sexy!
My current "drug of choice" is Star Wars: The Old Republic. I have been playing it since the closed beta and I am still having a lot of fun playing it. Since my experience with Final Fantasy XI I have learned to control my addiction. I only play when I have free time which is not often during the school year. I still enjoy making friends from all over the world via the games I play but I don't let it run my life anymore.
If you're interested in checking out the show it can be found here: http://www.crunchyroll.com/sword-art-online
