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Synopsis
Surveys the growing popularity of virtual reality worlds as represented by such online games as World of Warcraft and Second Life, explaining how virtual arenas have become representative of new social, political, and economic orders that have captured the attention of millions of everyday people. 20,000 first printing.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book gave me a new perspective on online games, politics and fun. Castronova manages to explain why MMORPGs are taking up so much of people's time that there is actually an exodus going on. It is also interesting to read about his ideas for a "fun society", where the goal is fun for everyone rather than general economic growth, with game design and public policy increasingly becoming the same thing. I agree with Castronova that community is an important factor for making games fun. Still, I find that as online multiplayer games become more and more like the real world in terms of social hierarhies, reputation, commitment and dedication, some of the fun factor disappears and the games become more of a job with chores that need to be done each day and night. Apart from finding the book to maybe lack some of these nuancing thoughts on online fun, it is an interesting read which made me "lol" several times.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a decent book about the virtues of virtual worlds, but Castronova's first book Synthetic Worlds is much more substantive and convincing. If you haven't read his first book yet, then buy that one instead of this.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The central theme of Exodus is the concept of "attention migration". That is: that more and more people choose to immerse themselves in synthetic worlds (Castronova's word instead of "virtual worlds") - MMOGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Games), like Second Life and World of Warcraft. Today they have at least 16 million registered users, and the number is increasing quickly. Also, some of these synthetic worlds function like alternate societies with their own norms of conduct, citizenships, economies, codes and policies and so on. In a information society where attention is central, the increasing attention spent on synthetic worlds will (according to Castronova) create a "atmospeheric event"...
Castronova writes well and he discusses this social phenomenon and it's probable future impact in an interesting way. Though at times I think the discussion becomes a little repetitive, and I can't totally agree that "real" societies will have to become more "fun" and gamelike to compete with the synthetic counterparts. But it is a fascinating thought.
Castronova writes well and he discusses this social phenomenon and it's probable future impact in an interesting way. Though at times I think the discussion becomes a little repetitive, and I can't totally agree that "real" societies will have to become more "fun" and gamelike to compete with the synthetic counterparts. But it is a fascinating thought.
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