Gamers get intimate over World of Warcraft

Playing in an MMO might be even more immersive than first thought.

Differences between the real and virtual worlds may not be all that great according to a recent study.

Researchers interviewed 62 World of Warcraft (WoW) gamers on the subject of intimacy and found that not only were gamers able to convey feelings, but build strong and stable relationships and ultimately break down the barrier between virtual and physical worlds.

Blizzard's money-spinning massively multiplayer online role playing game WoW has hooked millions of gamers all over the globe. While the older generation may bemoan the social impact of video games, according to the study by Pace, making it in the virtual world might not be all that different from the real one.

The transition from a virtual to real life relationship takes several steps, with gamers moving from their WoW avatars towards pictures and finally a physically meeting. One gamer said that after meeting what would become a "real life" friend on WoW, they would befriend them on Facebook, finally inviting them to their "offline" world, which one has to presume does exist despite claims from some of having played up to 16 hours a day of WoW.

The study's report also highlights the problem female gamers face with their male counterparts pursuing them in a "flirtatious and romantic" way once their true gender is revealed. One female player described a six week ordeal when a "guildmaster" would ask her personal information such as her name, address or job, whenever she had a game related query.

Rather worryingly, even being perceived as a female in WoW makes someone a target. One gamer admitted that the lure of a female avatar was enough to start things off, with the actual player behind the avatar being a male and his fiancée thinking the over eager gamer was "hitting on" her partner. Given that this was in WoW, the argument wasn't taken outside.

Despite such problems and the sneering from those who see online friendships as the reserve of the socially inept, the relative anonymity afforded by virtual worlds such as WoW or Second Life have helped those unfortunate enough to have suffered terrible experiences.

One gamer who thought he was "going crazy" chatted to another who had a degree in psychology about "everything". The gamer's therapy might not have been charged at real world rates but it provided a "beacon of hope" to the gamer. The gamer went on to the describe the closeness of their relationship as "father son". In another instance, one game received support and counselling from talking to another about childhood abuse.

While the research focuses on just WoW, it should be noted that similar communities and relationships are forged in other forms of gaming. Going back over a decade to those first person shooter (FPS) gamers who gathered on Internet relay chat (IRC) servers, many of the stories reported in Pace's research were played out, albeit in a slightly less graphical way.

Pace's research shows that relationships fostered in virtual worlds do have similar levels of depth as those found in the real world. Gaming, with its various mechanisms for communication, is far from an unsocial, solitary experience. In fact it can be a great way for people who would otherwise not meet to build long-lasting and meaningful relationships.

The report however also highlights some of the worst characteristics of the real world, with evidence of stalking, sexism and assumptions of personalities simply based on an on-screen representation of a virtual avatar.

Blizzard might have created the World of Warcraft, but for some who occupy it, the boundaries between the virtual and the real world are hard to distinguish.