Open - Virtual Psychology

There are two questions about virtual reality. How will it benefit mankind? And how will lead it to destruction in the wrong hands?

These questions were asked by some professors that were interviewed for the VR research documentary he recently watched. Kyle just played Terrasphere for a week now and despite there were no problems with the game so far, those documentaries made him wonder about the benefits and dangers of virtual reality. Being a psychology major student, he specifically wondered about the mental state of a virtual reality player. As VRMMOs usually causes the players to immerse themselves in the virtual world, they can play out their desires and goals they weren't able to do in real life. However, there is a chance that they will lose themselves in an imaginary world created by data. Also, reacting to a virtual death may affect the emotions of the player than a real death of someone close to them.

Walking down near the row of bookshelves in the library, Kyle looked around in order to search for some books about virtual reality and the psychological changes of VRMMO. After he found them by the upper right corner, he went to the nearest computer in order to search more about some VRMMOs that were released from the past through the internet. With all of these questions in his head, he might as well try to find some answers by himself. Sure, his decision on making his VR psychology research as part of his thesis was still 50/50, but he needed to solve the mysteries of the changes the player have through VRMMO. While he originally tried to investigate Terrasphere's origins, he needed to know the psychology of the virtual reality players. He hoped that this research would give him a clue about the reason behind the game he was playing right now.

 

Proving to anyone that I have truly played Terrasphere is a Herculean effort. Everything about it is seemingly designed to make its player sound like a pathological liar. "Yes, someone passed me an SD card with the client on it," or "Yeah, I've taken screenshots but I can't export them out of the game," or "I got a glitched email after watching a commercial that interrupted the morning news and nobody knows where it came from."

And so when I say that I have played Terrasphere, you will have to take me at my word. It is perhaps difficult to ask for that level of trust from someone I don't know. PLACEHOLDER NEED REWORK? TOO PRETENTIOUS? (if you have to ask the answer is yes)

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Leah scowled in frustration, drumming her finger on her crappy little desk. Inspiration was slow going, and she still had so much to write about. The little post-it note stuck to the corner of her laptop continued taunting her, all those unwritten bullet points looming at her as she stared with dull eyes at her word processor.

• Astorea: siege aftermath
• Interview the king??? idiot idiot idiot there was a CEREMONY
• interview ANYONE
• azog
• killer (Eleanor that quest)
• VR history
• psych? death affliction

She wasn't getting anywhere with what she was working on now. Maybe she'd be more productive if she switched to something else. She'd hit her limit on borrowings at the local library but she had a yearly pass on the Hyperloop. No reason not to use it now that she had it. Besides, maybe it would do her a bit of good, getting out there and seeing a new state. Nothing against Pennsylvania, really. But she was going to lose it if she didn't do something, and a day trip to another state was as good an idea as any other.

No way was she leaving her laptop here, no matter how sturdy the deadbolt proclaimed it was. She stuffed it and her charger into her pack, threw in her notebooks and pens, shoved her pass into her pocket with her phone, and quickly made her way out. None of her neighbors were out and about which was just fine with her.

(She fought back the lingering urge to look back and make sure that they weren't there, that she wasn't walking away, that she wasn't leaving anyone behind. She hated it, she hated this curse that seemed to plague her even outside of the game.)

It took practically no time at all between the hyperloop and her fast walking pace to end up in New York City. She made a beeline straight for the library. Sure she didn't have a card here, but that's why she brought all her notebooks.

Since it was on her mind the whole trip, she figured she could start with the psychological part of her research. Call her old fashioned but she had the good old Dewey Decimal System memorized by heart, and it wasn't difficult to find the section about VRMMOs and psychology. Slim pickings, but better than nothing.

There were noticeable gaps, though, meaning that there were books that had only just recently been taken off the shelves. Huh. Leah didn't expect that to be a topic of particular interest to most people. Thankfully though, she saw someone nearby who had a bunch of books on the topic by a computer.

If he intended on checking them out, she wouldn't be able to have access to them. She sighed and made her way over to the young man. "Excuse me," she said, putting on a faint smile. "Are you going to check those psychology books out? If you are, would you mind me taking a look at them first? I just want to take some notes, I promise it won't take much time."

@Jace Vale

 

Since he was so focused on his research, Kyle gasped in shock when he heard a woman's voice. Thankfully, he managed to calm down once he turned his attention to her. "O-Oh... I was about to, but since you asked, I can let you borrow them for a while." In actuality, he didn't have any kind of thesis deadline, yet he still wanted to know more about the subject of virtual reality and the mental psychology of it. However, he wasn't selfish when it comes to books, so it might not hurt if she could borrow them for a while.

But because of his decision, he had to stay in the library for a while so he can able to check those books out once she was finished with. Guess he might try to make a conversation with her by asking a simple question as long he avoids interrupting her work. "But what do you want them for?"

@Claire Thalassa

 

Leah gave a grateful nod to the boy. "Thank you very much. I won't need all of them, just the one by Greenman, and 'Do NPCs Dream of Electric Chocobos?' As you can see, I've got my own stack here, too," she said, glancing briefly down at the four books she had taken.

"If you don't mind, could we go over to a desk? I prefer to handwrite my notes." And look, it wasn't that she was bad with computers. She totally knew how to use Microsoft Word and Excel and all those other fiddly little things. She even had her own personal finance spreadsheets, that she made herself from scratch! But handwriting was just felt better. And besides, she couldn't type as fast as she could write.

She wasn't all too interested in making conversation, but it would be rude. And she did basically just take this guy's books without warning. "I'm doing some research for an article I'm writing. I'm a freelance journalist," she said, making her way over to a desk and pulling out her notebooks and pens. Flipping open to a blank page, she settled down and got ready to write.

Teeline classes were a few weeks of hell trying to break the 100wpm barrier, but it came in handy a lot of times. Such as now. She did a bit of testing to make sure her pen was working right, and then got to it. Greenman's 'Introduction to Transferred Consciousness in VR Design' wasn't quite a beginner text, but it wasn't as dense as some other things she had browsed through previously. And 'Do NPCs Dream of Electric Chocobos?' was quite obviously a pop-science text, so that was no trouble either. Outlines flew from her pen, looking mostly like uncoordinated scribbling to people unfamiliar with Teeline.

She wasn't quite that good at writing while speaking, so she could only break for conversation whenever she had to take a quick break. Briefly, she wondered if this boy might have heard of Terrasphere. It wasn't the biggest and shiniest VRMMO around, considering the secrecy regarding it, but there were definitely more players around than she expected, given that there couldn't have been much advertising about it.

 

Kyle's eyes widened at how many books she has gotten. He must have guessed she was interested in virtual reality psychology as well. Though he wondered why a freelance journalist like her would be interested. Of course, he didn't bother to ask why she won't use a computer as he too preferred handwriting his notes as well. You could say writing notes was a habit of him.

"I see. But why are researching about virtual reality psychology? Are you doing an editorial about it?" Now that he thinks about it, why virtual reality? From what he knew, there aren't as many Deep-Dive games lately due to the law. Though, he wondered if she might play Terrasphere as well. There was a commercial about it, that's how he joined it in the first place. But still, he doubted that she would have time to play it unless she was part of a gaming site.

 

"It's a rather interesting topic. Seems to have caught a lot of attention recently." Now, strictly speaking, anything about Terrasphere was still pretty illegal. But then again, it wasn't like the DVRS could do anything to enforce the ban on playing the game. Realistically, there wasn't much anyone could do about people just talking about the game, law enforcement or not.

Still, she felt rather possessive of her article. Don't talk details about things that aren't published yet, keep things quiet until it's all ready to be shown to the world.

"Not really an editorial. More like a long feature. More and more things are going through VR nowadays, and it's always good to cover all your bases when you're writing on a topic you're not entirely familiar with." And wasn't that drilled into her head over and over again throughout the whole process of getting her degree: Do. Your. Research.

Done with Introduction to Transferred Consciousness in VR Design, she closed that book and handed it back to the kid, shaking her hand a bit to loosen it up. Hm. Now if he was also interested in VR psychology, then she might be able to get some information out of him through an interview. The best possible outcome would be if he was a player of Terrasphere, though some general VR game knowledge would also suffice.

"Excuse me for asking, but what's your interest in VR psychology?"

@Jace Vale

 

He can agree to that fact. Ever since he saw that commercial and played the game, there have been news reports about its existence and the debate of virtual reality and it's adverse effects on the long-term player. Even with Terrasphere's existence just fueled the fires of this topic further and further through social media and the politics itself. Speaking of which, he was surprised that this journalist planned to use the psychology of virtual reality as her main scoop for her article.

"Considering how many programs and news specials about them popping in and out of the channels lately, I feel that virtual reality may become a controversial topic in the US with the DVRS still hanging on the tightrope about this topic," Kyle said as he took the book that the journalist handed it back to him. "Besides, with every innovation comes with problems to society."

Then when she asked him the same question that he gave her, Kyle froze just a thought of her already knew of his connection to the game. He wanted to lie, but since he was on the same thought of her being a Terrasphere player, he felt it would be better than to keep it by himself. "I'm actually a major in psychology. But I think the real reason would be the game that seemed to be the source of the virtual reality attention."

He had to say this very quietly so no one even the other readers nearby would overhear their conversation. Otherwise, they might catch wind of what kind of game Kyle was talking about. "And right now, I'm one of those people within that game."

@Claire Thalassa

 

Interesting response. That he was a psychology major did add some context to the whole thing. She supposed this was one of those interdisciplinary major things, combining VR with psychology? Or, whatever, maybe he just had an interest. A classmate of hers from secondary school had an odd fixation on something like carnivorous dinosaurs or just plain old dinosaurs or something along those lines. Psychology was an interesting topic and she couldn’t count on both hands how many of the people in her first year journalism module fancied themselves the next Freud or Jung.

But he seemed oddly nervous at her simple question. Hmm. And the way he said ‘that game’... When talking about virtual reality games and being unwilling to name it, there was probably only one game that could refer to. If she was right, there would be a lot of possibly interesting information she could get from him.

As a test, Leah said, “Hm. Just so we’re on the same page here, does the word ‘Brisshal’ mean anything to you?”

@Jace Vale

 

Just hearing that familiar word was enough to convince him that she was a Terrasphere player. If anyone asked that same question, they might even ask the nonsensical word from her. And since he knew that Brisshal was the starting point for new players as well a good place to grind for them, he guessed that she was also aware of that area's role.

"Yes. It's a forest that newcomers start in that was located in Stokbon and I feel we should whisper to avoid eavesdroppers." A bit direct, but from that email, he had to follow the rules of it such as never divulge to anyone about the game or how he was playing with it. He wasn't sure of the motive behind the secrecy, but he might try to follow it due to the laws that DVRS sternly follow. "How long did you play Terrasphere anyway?"

@Claire Thalassa

 

So he was a player of Terrasphere. Excellent. What were the chances of running into another player of Terrasphere on basically just a normal excursion to the library? Unfortunately, Claire didn’t have the time to prepare for and conduct a thorough interview, no matter how much she actually wanted to.

“Interesting,” she said, her smile growing larger. “I haven’t played for very long. Not much time to, unfortunately, what with work and all. The news never sleeps, as they always say. I’ve been around for a few weeks, I guess.”

She flipped to another page on her book and finished up her notes on ‘Electric Chocobos’. She hardly had the money to stay overnight in New York, and besides, she would want to be getting home soon. “Listen, I would really like to ask you some questions about your experience with the game, but this probably isn’t the place for such a sensitive discussion, and I’m not fully prepared for the interview. Would you like to meet up sometime soon in-game, so I can fully verify that you’re actually a player of the game? And would you be willing to answer some questions for an interview?”

Just to assuage some concerns, she added, “You won’t have to be identified if you don’t want to be. We can do your in-game name, just your first name, just initials, or you won’t have to be identified at all. I just need a few questions regarding your impression of the game.”

She handed him back the last book. “I have to be going soon, but how about you tell me your in-game name? I’ll add you as a friend when I get back, and we can work out a meeting time from there.”

@Jace Vale

 

Kyle's eyes widened when she asked him for an interview. It was not just his shyness that made him reluctant, but the memories of his fame haunted him for a bit. Thankfully, that memory was short-lived when the journalist assured him that he won't be completely identified. At least that was one way to avoid from destroying privacy completely.

"Sure. And as long my identity is a well-kept secret, I'll try to answer your questions for the interview." Once he had the ‘Electric Chocobos’, he arranged his stack of books before he carried them in his arms. But before he can check these books out, he had to do one more thing. "Jace Vale. What about yours?"

@Claire Thalassa

 

Jace Vale… It rung a few bells. He was probably someone she had interacted with before, though she couldn’t quite recall when. There were a lot of players around, so she didn’t exactly remember everyone. At any rate, she wrote it down so she would remember it later on.

“In the game, my name is Claire Thalassa.” After a brief moment, she tore out a page of her notebook and quickly scribbled down her email, her phone number, and her actual name, Leah M. Parker. “Here,” she said, handing it to him. “Sorry that I don’t have a card ready, but this should work in the meantime. If you need to get in touch with me about anything, here’s my contact information.”

Seeing that he was ready to leave, she gave him a quick nod, gathering her materials. “Thank you so much for agreeing, and also for the books. I’ll send you a message in-game when I get the chance. I’ve got to type up my notes now, so I won’t take any more of your time now. It was nice to meet you.”

@Jace Vale
[exiting thread]

 

@Claire Thalassa... He had to admit, that beautiful name definitely fit her completely in terms of her appearance. And while he hasn't met her online yet, he guessed that might be a mage or a hunter. Either way, he was grateful that he met someone like her as accepted her contacts without any hesitation.

"That's okay. I hoped I helped you on your article a bit." Well, lending her some books he planned to check out wasn't much help, but at least it did help her a little. "The pleasure is all mine. I'll see you in the game until then." With that, he went to the counter to check most of the books he needed for his research before he left the library. Yet, his meeting made him even more curious at the psychology of the game that has given to the players so far. If he learned more about its mental effects, he might able to discover something about the game and its mysteries of its creation.

-EXIT THREAD-​