In the world of possessions, most
people consider only the tangible things. Objects which can be touched, held,
worn, driven or lived in. However there
is a new universe of “stuff” which can be none of those. I’m speaking of the internet, online games
which cost real money, yet, when all is said and done, is pure fantasy. People spend hours, days or weeks to obtain a
treasured possession. Pretty interesting
when your whole world could come crumbling down with one tiny programming error
or a computer virus.
I was speaking to a virtual friend
of mine about writing this blog. I had
several approaches in mind when our conversation set me in a new direction. Our
game has homes including furnishings, ships, mounts, clothing, hairdos and
other fashion accessories, even pets. Some
of these can be obtained in the form of rewards for battles won, others purchased
with ‘in game currencies’ one version of which is in fact simply another name
for cash.
My friend who has so many accounts
on this game I can no longer keep track of who he is, is into decorating his
homes. I asked him why, and he really
couldn’t give me a direct answer. Was it
shock value, to make people dizzy, what?
He could only reply that perhaps it was both and more. ‘Malcolm’, (I’ll use one of his myriad
monikers) confided that he actually can’t believe that he spends so much time,
effort and money on something he can’t really enjoy. All of his houses (at least six for one
character alone) is at maximum capacity for objects it can hold, inside and
out. Many of these objects are the pets
which he is constantly trying to perfect.
He has no more room at his homes to save the pets so he has resorted to
selling them. Malcolm has a sense of
guilt about this, “It’s like selling one of my own pets.”
Angel another
friend stated that she bedecks her homes because she is not able to do it in real
life. She goes to great lengths, as does
Malcolm, to find just the right items to fill every possible room, selecting
wallpaper, and flooring. Angel actually researches
the available furnishings on the wiki pages dedicated to the game and has “school
specific” domiciles for each of her characters.
Me, I have
houses to keep my poor neglected pets who rush over and jump for joy at my
infrequent arrivals. They are just so
cute, especially the sharks who swim in my lagoons. I do not furnish the interior or exterior of
these virtual residences, rather they are used for storage of salable items as
a resource for when my characters reach higher levels. Unless I hit the wrong button, which HAS
happened, all of the places were purchased through the in game coinage rather
than actual cash. Sadly I do have a
fetish for the pets and the mounts! Many
of these things are a “must have” and are coveted by others. During our discussion, I told Malcolm that
when I really think about how much I have invested in the game it makes me a
bit nauseous.
Somewhere along the line, I have
learned my lesson as far as physical possessions are concerned. I have been doing my best to divest myself of
the countless collections of gewgaws and heavy furnishings. Perhaps it’s because all the busyness tends
to get overwhelming. Online, all one has
to do is log off and continue on your merry way, one is not constantly immersed
in stuff. Conceivably it could be
because if I move, I generally end up doing it alone, and online belongings are
far lighter than the physical.
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