Relationships formed

Games that are played online require you to play and share experiences with others. In some online games, the style of play can be solo with some interaction. Some games require teamwork to get the tasks completed.

In Second Life you can play the game solo or you can have interaction with others. This game allows people to do whatever they want to do. Since there is currency within the game, one can meet someone and take them on a virtual date within the game. When they find that special someone within the game they can do what they want to do. There have been some instances for people getting married within the game. A picture from The Huffington Post below show and example of what a wedding within the game can look like.

There are also times that people are so enamored with their online buddy in the game, they end up becoming married in the real world. Like anything else, when you spend a large amount of time doing something, whether it be work, gaming, or whatever, you form relationships. With these relationships come feelings, sometimes these feelings become intense and real relationships follow.

In World of Warcraft, relationships must be formed to complete tasks within the game. There are some parts of the game where you have to beat a main boss to collect “earnings” to help you character level up and become more wealthy.  To do this you have to make friends and possibly join a guild to complete tasks. Below is a picture from Joystiq.com to show how big this can be.

As you can see from above, this can be pretty huge. The relationships that are formed are not unlike Second Life. Since you are spending so much time with others online, you start to become attached to these people. I know of people who met their significant others from first meeting in WOW and forming the bond. From playing online with each other they decided to meet in real life and they become romantically involved. These formed relationships are not just limited to the games I have discussed here. There are many examples of people meeting up in the real world because they have met people from video games. I do not know if formed relationships were a main goal from developers but I think it is an awesome by-product of the games. As society becomes more tech-savvy, we become more distant and we from less bonds. Online gaming allows for people to be social when they normally would not be and for this, I think that online gaming is something that people should try if they are anti-social.