Read The Proteus Paradox for Free Online Page B

. that’s why I play. [
World of Warcraft,
male, 20]
    For players interested in immersion, there are a variety of ways to become connected with the story of the online game. Some players create in-depth background stories for their characters that tether them in some way to other players or the story arcs in the game.
    It’s important for me to have backstories for my characters before I really enjoy playing them. For example, I know that Trigger, my dwarven rogue, is the younger sister of my husband’s character’s (Hawthorne) best friend. Thus when Trigger plays, it’s with a great deal of enthusiasm and not necessarily a great deal of sense. When Trigand Hawthorne group together, there’s a great deal of friendly bickering and/bonk going on. I think it’s a replacement for the acting I did in school, which is so hard to fit into my life as an adult. [
World of Warcraft,
female, 36]
    I’ve been playing as a Night Elf Druid who’s older than dirt, but has been hibernating for millennia. It’s been fun to play out her first encounters with humans, gnomes, and orcs, none of whom existed when she went to sleep. I’ve been playing her as the type that’s incredibly wise, formerly very powerful, but somewhat confused about the modern world. [
World of Warcraft,
male, 23]
    These character stories often lead to improvised, in-character interactions with other characters, referred to as role-playing. Although nongamers might assume that all online gamers role-play, given that the game genre is described as role-playing games, this form of improvised storytelling is actually a niche activity. The label “role-playing” was devised to mark the shift from army squadrons to individual characters in miniature wargaming, not the importance of storytelling. “Role-playing” thus has two very different meanings in online games. In
World of Warcraft,
the niche status of role-playing is made clear by the fact that only a handful of the hundreds of available servers are explicitly labeled as role-playing servers.
    Other players interested in stories may instead be fascinated by the stories of the game world—its characters, histories, leaders, and cities. These players are interested in exploring the world and learning as much as they can about the lore of the game.
    I love the stories around the new Everquest. I went from zone to zone talking to people trying to figure out how we arrived where we are in the story—500 years later and the moon of Luclin now gone. Where are those frogloks? I am anxious about getting through certain zones because I want to see/do more. [
EverQuest,
female, 37]
    I do enjoy exploring, but what I enjoy even more is the creation and participation in a story. Exploring the world is a large part of that. I’m a big reader . . . fantasy, sci-fi, and interesting biography. When I’m having my “best times” in game is when I’m pursuing a quest or participating in some grand adventure. [
EverQuest II,
male, 30]
    Of course, for some players, the sense of being transported into a living, breathing fantasy world is in and of itself already incredibly appealing.
    I don’t necessarily Role-Play a lot, but feeling like I’m “in” the game is really fun. For example, in EverQuest, I felt like I was just playing a random computer game. Whereas with World of Warcraft I really feel like I’m involved because there’s a rich history and I know a lot of the history about it. [
World of Warcraft,
male, 18]
    Online games appeal to a broad demographic because they tap into a wide set of gameplay motivations. Even in a dungeon group of five players, there might be a player who just wants to slay the dragon, another player who wants to know how the story ends, two brothers in different countries playing together to spend time with each other, and a player who is injecting some much-needed humor through role-playing antics.