LARP vs. Virtual World

Today we talked about two different ideas of becoming other than yourself. The first kind we talked was called LARP. This stands for live action role play. The other idea was the virtual world which includes computer games such as World of World craft and Second Life. The many difference between the two ideas of becoming somebody else is physical interaction. In Larping people get together and create clans and kingdoms that they defend against another group. They get together on weekdays and weekends to practice and assign roles for the battle that is ahead in the future. But not only do they concentrate on the game but they built friendships and relationships that are real. In the virtual world you don’t get this interaction. You get a virtual character and you can battle or meet other people’s virtual characters. And most people create a character that is nothing like themselves, so are you really “meeting” people in the virtual world? Or are you meeting this person that really doesn’t exist? It seems like from our readings that people use this to make up a fantasy and to escape the reality of life. On the other side, yes, people are becoming something else, but you’re getting to interact in the real world which makes the situation so much more different. It seems so much healthier to be outside meeting others through a common interest, instead of sitting inside and meeting fake and virtual people 50 hours out of the week.