Chapter Three,“The Mechanics of World-Making”, left me unsatisfied. In the first paragraph Edward Castronova proposes the question , “if we could all live in a world that came closer to our fantasies than this world, how many would resist the temptation to do it?” I read through 22 pages detailing what exactly draws people into fantasy worlds, the innovations in the various technologies of place, immersion, migration and artifical intelligence, and was left with only half of the answer. Yes, we could live, (well interact), in a world that suits our ideals more than this one, assuming, of course, that your fantasies do not involve being physically present in the world, or modifying your voice to fit the demands of your new synthetic world. But exactly how many people, I am still left wondering would opt for fantasy over our everyday reality.

I'm fairly confident that I would never check out of earth, my reality, for a fantastical synthetic one. Regardless of the numerous technological advances that have been made since the book has been published, and will continue to be made. (well for at least the next 10-15 years)

Since my knowledge of gaming is elementary at best, I struggled to connect with this excerpt. In addition to not being familiar with World of War Craft,or any of the other role-playing games mentioned, the question of why anyone would want to dedicate so much of their time to an intangible objective remained, and remains, beyond me. Castronova said himself, in the technology of place section, that a major appeal of more recent games is their constancy; you cut down a tree and walk away, the tree will not reappear. My major concern with the consistency of any synthetic game, is that when you physically go to sleep and wake up, you are in a different world. You have to leave your waking reality to get there. People should try and make the best of their actual world.

With this being said, I have had numerous brief enchantments with the popular PC game, The Sims. But even as a youth, my joy with this particular synthetic world died as soon as my character became wealthy enough to afford a computer. Their would be a brief period of frustration when my Sim's “fun” meter would go down and it thought constantly of it's new computer or old television. I wanted it to go to work, clean the house, get a promotion, to do something productive to advance her life. Then the reality faded, and my reality set back in. I had just spent a week (or so) of my own life on the computer, “having fun” , and not advancing.

The Sims, at the time of it's release, and at the time when I purchase it, was at the cutting edge of role-playing technology. But still, I would rather actually go outside, plant flowers that I can smell, make food that i can taste, feel the temperature changes. It is not enough for fantasy worlds to be aesthetically pleasing to our eyes and ears. Why intentionally immerse yourself into a world with only two senses?